As a car reviewer, you can generally tell the kind of market a manufacturer is pitching its latest products at by the venue in which they choose to launch them. If they opt for Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi – as many do – the ride in question is likely to have a little more poke than a flatbed truck. So much was obvious with Porsche, unleashing as it did the outrageous new 911 GT3 and 718 GT4 (both RS models) at the UAE’s Formula One racetrack. Sporty and loud are the two most obvious things to say about them, but these are vehicles with serious velocity. Even by the standards of the nippiest production wagons on the planet, the performance figures for this pair are nothing short of eye-watering. There is some variation between the two, but not a lot. At full whack, the GT3 RS will hit 296kph and go from 0-100kph in 3.2 seconds. The GT4 maxes out at a higher 315kph but has a slightly slower up-to-the-ton figure of 3.4 seconds. Yas Marina Circuit was an ultra-pertinent venue, given that these statistics nudge the ones on the spec sheets of F1 cars. Out on the circuit, you have to drive sedately when setting off from Yas’s pit lane, but as you get on to the track and start moving properly, something little short of automotive Armageddon happens. The acceleration is fierce as you put your foot down and the g-forces you experience in the bends are in an entirely different league to those some will have felt pulling handbrake turns in your first car. As you move up through the rev range, it sounds like the gears are being changed by someone with a sledgehammer and the whistle of the engine behind you is both exhilarating and exuberant in terms of the emotions it evokes. Suffice it to say, if you took one of these out on a track day, you’d likely have the fastest Tin Lizzie there. Speed aside, though, the GT3 and GT4 are a lot more comfortable to drive than what Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton will be using to tear around in when the F1 rolls into Abu Dhabi for the final race of the season. They are not as roomy as your average 4x4, but more spacey than a lot of vehicles with this kind of speed and power. It’s all tastefully decked out inside, too. You get the usual neat, luxurious brand accoutrements that give off a distinctly supercar vibe. You’re never too far away from a few racy interior stylings, either – whether they be dials or door handles – that tell you you’re in a vehicle built for high-octane thrills. Porsche’s reps are keen to underline that these are not just track-day cars and you can use them for everyday motoring. They’re not wrong, but whether you’d want to is another matter. The GT4 feels more of a road car than the GT3, but both are positively goading you to put your foot down at all times. However, if you like being the centre of attention, the engine noise alone would certainly get you noticed on the morning commute. Just try not to rattle the pedestrians too much when you set off from the traffic lights.
