The GT4 RS is one of the best Porsches built in the last decade. Right now, you can buy one for less than people paid for them two years ago. Both of those things are true, and understanding why tells you something useful about where this market is heading.
This is not a distressed car story. The GT4 RS has not depreciated because something is wrong with it. It has softened because of what happened around it — and that distinction matters if you’re thinking about buying one.
What the car actually is
Start here, because it’s easy to lose sight of the machine in the middle of a market discussion.
The GT4 RS carries the 4.0-litre flat-six lifted directly from the GT3 — 368kW and 450Nm of naturally aspirated output through a 7-speed PDK, with a redline at 9,000rpm. TopGear South Africa It is mid-engined, rear-wheel drive, and built around a chassis that runs 40% more downforce than the standard GT4. The airbox sits directly behind the occupants. At full throttle, you hear everything.
Two years after its launch, reviewers still rate it among the very best Porsches they’ve driven — a car that hits the sweet spot between the GTS 4.0’s daily usability and the GT3’s track focus, at a price significantly below the 911 RS variants. Goodwood
The car itself is not the problem.
How the market got here
When the GT4 RS launched, demand outstripped supply by a significant margin. Dealers in South Africa and globally added premiums above list price — the so-called ADM, or additional dealer markup. Buyers who wanted the car badly enough, or who expected values to hold or rise, paid them.
The GT4 RS has since joined the ranks of the quickest depreciating Porsches, with prices dropping roughly 13% over the past year — unexpected for an RS product, and a direct result of buyers who entered during the hype now facing losses on cars they bought above MSRP. OctoClassic
The mechanism is straightforward. A car bought at R3.2 million with a significant dealer premium needs to sell at R3.2 million in the used market to break even. The used market does not care what someone paid. It cares what the car is worth. The high depreciation for the GT4 RS is largely attributable to ADM — buyers who paid over MSRP cannot recover that increment in the resale market. Porsche 718 Forum
What this has created is a used market where the GT4 RS is priced at or approaching what it should always have cost. That is not a warning sign. It is a correction.
The end-of-production question
Here is where the story gets more interesting.
The 2025 model year is the final curtain call for the current 718 generation. Porsche has closed order books, and while limited new stock remains in dealer inventory globally, no further production is planned. CarBuzz The replacement will be electric. Electric replacements are not expected until 2027 at the earliest — leaving a gap in Porsche’s lineup and no petrol-powered successor to the GT4 RS on the horizon. Stick Shifting
This matters for buyers considering a GT4 RS now, for two reasons.
The first is supply. New GT4 RS cars are finished. As of early 2026, used GT4 RS inventory is broadly available — with over 100 CPO examples listed in the US market alone and new dealer floor stock sitting unsold. Porsche 718 Forum That availability window is finite. Once the remaining new stock clears and the early owners who want to exit have exited, the pool contracts.
The second is context. A naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six at 9,000rpm in a mid-engine GT car — there is no replacement for that coming from Porsche in the near term. Whether the electric successor matches the GT4 RS dynamically is a question the market cannot yet answer, but it will ask the question loudly the moment those cars arrive and enthusiasts begin to compare. History suggests that when the last-of-a-kind status of a driving experience becomes undeniable, values follow.
What this looks like in South Africa
The SA market for the GT4 RS reflects global trends with some local nuance. The rand’s movements relative to Euro pricing mean our list prices were already a significant premium over European equivalents at launch. The GT4 RS was listed at approximately R2.79 million new in South Africa. CcarPrice Used examples that came to market inflated by ADM are now competing with that baseline — and losing.
The practical consequence is that a buyer entering the market now is not paying the speculator’s premium. They are paying something closer to what the car is actually worth as a driver’s tool. On the South African used market, a clean, low-mileage GT4 RS with a service record and without a tracked history is currently available at a meaningful discount to its original asking price.
The South African pool is thin by global standards. We did not receive the volume of cars that the US or European markets did, which means choice is limited and the right car requires patience. It also means that when sentiment shifts — as it typically does for last-of-line cars once the successor arrives and the comparison becomes stark — the local market will feel it quickly.
The buyer’s calculation
The GT4 RS is not for everyone. This needs to be said plainly. It is loud. The ride is firm even by sports car standards. There is no manual option. PDK-only on a car at this price point is a genuine trade-off for buyers who care about that. The car does not soften itself for daily use the way a GTS 4.0 does.
But for a buyer who tracks regularly, who wants the most focused naturally aspirated Porsche available under GT3 money, and who is entering the market now rather than two years ago — the calculation has shifted considerably in their favour.
The window where this car is both available in reasonable numbers and priced at correction levels is not permanent. The used market for last-of-line RS cars tends to find a floor, and then — once the supply side settles — it tends to do something other than fall further.
We are not making a prediction. Markets are uncertain and the rand adds a variable that changes the arithmetic in ways that are difficult to forecast. What we are saying is that the conditions that made the GT4 RS look expensive for two years have largely unwound, and what remains is a remarkable car at a more honest price.
If you’re looking for one in South Africa, or want a clearer view of what the right example looks like and what to pay, speak to Crystal Drives first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the GT4 RS depreciate so sharply if it’s such a good car?
The car is excellent. The depreciation has almost nothing to do with the car’s quality and everything to do with the premiums buyers paid above list price at launch. When demand was at its peak and supply was constrained, dealers added significant markups. Buyers who paid those markups cannot recover them in the used market — the market prices the car, not what the previous owner paid for it. The correction was predictable and is now largely complete.
Is the GT4 RS a good daily driver?
Honest answer: it depends on your tolerance and your roads. The suspension is stiff, the cabin is loud at speed, and the airbox behind your head is intrusive in a way that is thrilling for the first hour and noticeable after three. For Johannesburg and Cape Town urban use, most buyers find the GTS 4.0 a more liveable daily choice. The GT4 RS is at its best on an open road or a circuit — if that matches how you plan to use it, the compromise is worth it.
Will values recover once production ends?
We don’t predict markets. What history shows is that last-of-line, naturally aspirated GT cars from Porsche tend to find a floor once the supply of early-seller cars clears the market. The GT4 RS is the last petrol-powered mid-engine RS car Porsche will build for the foreseeable future. Whether that translates to appreciation depends on factors — rand strength, the electric successor’s reception, global collector sentiment — that are impossible to call with certainty. What we can say is that the floor is closer now than it was a year ago.
What should I look for when buying a used GT4 RS?
Service history from a Porsche specialist, evidence that the car has not been tracked hard without appropriate servicing, and original condition throughout — no aftermarket exhaust without the original included, no significant modifications that cannot be accounted for. Weissach package cars and Paint-to-Sample colours carry a premium and historically retain it. A pre-purchase inspection by an independent Porsche specialist before any offer is made. Crystal Drives can source and vet examples for clients with a specific brief.
