GaV₄S₈ was prepared by direct heating of the elements at 1123 K. The crystal structures were refined from single-crystal data at room temperature (RT-GaV₄S₈, GaMo₄S₈-type, F4̄3m, a = 9.661(1) Å, Z = 4) and by the Rietveld method at 20 K (LT-GaV₄S₈, R3m, a = 6.834(1) Å, α_rh = 59.66(2)°, Z = 1). Magnetic measurements show weak paramagnetism with a temperature-dependent magnetic moment between 1.5μ_B(50 K) and 1.9μ_B(300 K) compatible with one unpaired electron per V₄ cluster. Ferromagnetic ordering was detected below T_C = 10 K. DC electrical conductivity measurements between 30 and 320 K reveal semiconducting behavior. GaV₄S₈ undergoes a structural phase transition at 38 K from cubic to rhombohedral symmetry, as known for GaMo₄S₈, but with an opposite change of the rhombohedral angle α_rh. This behavior is explained by self-consistent band structure calculations and simple cluster orbital schemes for GaV₄S₈ in comparison with GaMo₄S₈. The results prove that the directions of the structural deformations are determined by orbital interactions and depend on the electron count in the tetrahedral metal cluster units.