Pro driver Randy Pobst hot laps the 2020 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 around WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for MotorTrend's 2020 Best Driver's Car presented by Tire Rack.
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00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 This is the 2020 Motor Trend Best Driver's Car
00:16 right here on WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
00:20 These are the Best Driver's Car Hot Labs
00:22 brought to you by Tire Rack.
00:23 Let's go.
00:29 The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 is the rawest car
00:34 at this year's Best Driver's Car competition.
00:36 It's also the only competitor available
00:39 with a manual transmission.
00:41 Like its predecessor, the new GT4 sports
00:44 a naturally aspirated flat six,
00:47 essentially borrowed from a 911.
00:49 In this case, it's the 992's motor
00:51 with both turbochargers removed
00:53 and the front suspension from a GT3.
00:56 The Cayman is both the lightest car here,
00:58 a good thing, as well as the least powerful.
01:01 Not so good when it comes to laps.
01:04 With 385 horsepower, the previous generation GT4
01:08 lapped WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
01:11 in one minute, 37.43 seconds.
01:15 Let's see what Randy can do
01:17 with the new 414 horsepower version.
01:20 (car engine revving)
01:25 I don't know how fast I'm going, but I'm loving it.
01:29 Race car.
01:30 Little entry oversteer.
01:33 I like that first apex tight.
01:41 (car engine revving)
01:44 Little push in the middle.
02:03 Little turn in oversteer.
02:05 (car engine revving)
02:08 Fun car.
02:17 (car engine revving)
02:22 (car engine revving)
02:25 A little earlier turn in at nine.
02:42 Think that's quicker.
02:45 10.
02:47 Into the bowl.
02:49 (car engine revving)
02:52 Woo, drifty.
02:58 (laughing)
03:01 Woo.
03:08 Very racy feel.
03:13 The shifter's so light and quick.
03:17 Woo, that was so much fun.
03:19 - Well, sir?
03:25 - Race car.
03:28 - Bit of a real car, isn't it?
03:29 - Race car.
03:30 It loves being on the track.
03:32 - If there's anything to complain about with the GT4,
03:34 is it stiff on the road, right?
03:36 It's like, "Ugh, it's a really stiff car," but here?
03:38 - Well, Laguna Seca is smooth,
03:41 and I just feel like I'm in one of those IMSA races.
03:45 It has a shifter of all things.
03:46 - I know, it's weird, right?
03:47 - Yeah, it feels weird, but it's a delight.
03:50 It's very quick and light.
03:52 Just as quick as you can move the lever,
03:53 you can get a gear.
03:55 And the engine goes all the way to 8,000 RPM.
03:58 Gearing's tall.
03:59 You're in second gear forever,
04:01 so I use second gear in every slow corner.
04:04 My only complaint is a little teeny bit of entry oversteer,
04:07 and a little teeny bit of mid-corner understeer.
04:10 - Oh, really?
04:11 Remember we had that problem with understeer
04:13 on the last GT4?
04:14 - Huge.
04:15 - So, the last GT4,
04:17 which was also a naturally aspirated six-cylinder,
04:20 did like a 137-something lap time.
04:24 Do you think you went faster?
04:26 - This car feels so well-balanced.
04:27 It had to be quicker, Johnny.
04:29 - Yeah, it was.
04:30 It did a 136.14.
04:34 Yeah, so, in today's world,
04:37 somehow that's not quick.
04:38 10 years ago, it would've been the quickest car here,
04:41 by about six hundredths of a second.
04:42 Remember, it's only got 414 horsepower.
04:45 - It loves the racetrack.
04:46 What a pleasure.
04:47 - Well, there you have it, folks.
04:49 That is the hot lap for the Porsche Cayman 718 GT4.
04:54 Thanks for watching.
04:55 (upbeat music)
04:58 (engine revving)
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