Cayman / Boxster S a real Porsche?

[shimshimhada]

Real Porsches are MR:

[HEY32G]

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one that's sick of the 911 design....I wholeheartedly agree that with Porcshe's engineering they could make some fantastic automobiles, that might even be worth the price they charge.

[HEY32G]

Originally Posted by KenB

There is a reason that the 911 is one of the most successful racing platforms of all time (other then the 911 faithful not accepting any other designs). The GT2 is putting down ring times equal to or better then the Carrera GT with less hp (given more time to develop the chassis, and they could have refined the C-GT further).

Part of the reason the 911 has been so successful is that married men can have one because it has back seats (or at least we can tell the women that there is a back seat).

Also, lets not forget the 911 is a helluva lot cheaper then the C-GT

You make some good points. Are you tiring of the design? I think it's still an attractive car, but I just wish Porsche would move on. Just my opinion.

[hl0m4n]

lol i say that to my friends and vice versa. i don't see a boxter as a p-car. just a poor man's porsche is the way i see it. but the caymans and carrera 4s are great cars that i will consider p-cars and of course everything higher from turbo-gt3 .

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

lol i say that to my friends and vice versa. i don't see a boxter as a p-car. just a poor man's porsche is the way i see it. but the caymans and carrera 4s are great cars that i will consider p-cars and of course everything higher from turbo-gt3 .

I think a lot of people think like that and to be honest I thought that too until I drove one back to back with a 996 then 997 and drove home with my first Boxster. A lot of peopl think that when something costs more, it's better and that's not always the case. I really fell in love with the back end which resembles James Dean's death car in my opinion.

And believe me, once you start loading up the options on a Boxster, no poor man can afford it, I could have easily had a modestly equipped 997 for what my pigged-out 987 cost.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by KenB

There is a reason that the 911 is one of the most successful racing platforms of all time (other then the 911 faithful not accepting any other designs). The GT2 is putting down ring times equal to or better then the Carrera GT with less hp (given more time to develop the chassis, and they could have refined the C-GT further).

Part of the reason the 911 has been so successful is that married men can have one because it has back seats (or at least we can tell the women that there is a back seat).

Also, lets not forget the 911 is a helluva lot cheaper then the C-GT

This is true, but the 911 has had more development, and has all the latest technology. If they put an equal amount of effort into the MR layout I bet they'd see even better results. It doesn't have to be a C-GT successor, just a high end Cayman or something.

[Year's_End]

lol. That's why you buy a used 996 that's taken a massive depreciation. Looks damn near the same and costs about half the price.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Loyalist

Exactly. Porsche puposefully under-engineers their MR cars so that they don't dominate the 911's. It's one of the things about Porsche that bothers me, right next to the ridiculous pricing of their options and their grossly unnecessarily large profit they make.

I've got no problem with Porsche making as much profit as they can - they had enough lean years to enjoy the fat ones.

I do hate that they're essentially fixing the horserace as far as the 911 goes. Yep, there are 911s doing stellar things right now, but only because Porsche is reigning in the Cayman/Boxster platform. Every record the 911 sets should have a footnote: "The Porsche Cayman would likely do better if Porsche had put the same engine in it."

As far as the 987s being real Porsches. That argument had only tenuous validity when talking about the 944/968/928 cars, which used completely different engines and chassis than the 911. Since the 986 was released, the Boxster and 911 are the SAME car - the chassis and hardware are identical, and the engines are the same blocks with slightly different tuning; most of the parts are interchangeable! This is how Porsche started making so much money when they released the 996/986 platforms - they can move the engine back a bit on a Boxster and charge an extra 20 grand.

Saying the 987s aren't real Porsches and the 997s are, is like saying Jessica Alba is totally hot, but her identical twin sister Jennifer is a dog because her hair color's different.*




*Note: there's no Jennifer Alba, it's an analogy.

[Year's_End]

Informative post.^ Thanks!

[mmm def]

Went through my finances, looks like i could only do a base boxster with maybe a few options like heated, xenons and 18's. Now the question is would I regret giving up my nice 335I sport for a regular Boxster?

I think the handling/performance could make up for the straight line loss...

Or am i fooling myself?

[footie]

If anyone doesn't consider the Boxster or Cayman as a proper Porsche they are either one of three things.

1/ Jealous
2/ Haven't driven one
3/ Have a 911 and hated the fact that the cheaper car existed and was better to drive than theirs.

They are without doubt the peach in the Porsche range and the cars which all other sub £50K coupe/roadster are gauged against and often as not fail to equal never mind beat. Sure there are quicker cars for the money and prettier but none have that final spark of greatness that either the Boxster or Cayman have. They are without doubt the best sub £50K cars in their class and I don't see anything in the near future changing that opinion.

[marcos]

All you need to do is drive a Cayman S--your buddies will be instantly forgotten. I almost signed for one immediately after an impromptu test drive. If you don't need a back seat--go for it!

[footie]

Originally Posted by marcos

All you need to do is drive a Cayman S--your buddies will be instantly forgotten. I almost signed for one immediately after an impromptu test drive. If you don't need a back seat--go for it!

If you think they are impressive on a short test drive then try one on the track, or better still try it against other would be rivals and you will find that few get close to the finesse and accuracy of the Cayman S. I remember at one event there was a few 997s, normal ones as well as S models and the star of the day was the little Cayman S, minus it's LSD.

Don't get me wrong here, a slip is important at times but in the case of the Cayman on that track it never became an issue. May be with more power things could have been different but in it's present form one could argue that a LSD is an item surplus to requirements.

If I hadn't just received my new ride at the time I do think I would have signed on the dotted line for one.

[md80tom]

Should make a Cayman GT3 lol. wait what??

[Year's_End]

If they did that then nobody would buy the 911 GT3.

[sinnet112]

Well at the very least you can get the bodykit to make it look like one

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by mmm def

Went through my finances, looks like i could only do a base boxster with maybe a few options like heated, xenons and 18's. Now the question is would I regret giving up my nice 335I sport for a regular Boxster?

I would. I test-drove the Cayman S before deciding on a Z4MC, and I really liked it, but every time I seriously considered it, I found myself researching how to get more power - I went from pricing intakes and exhausts to speculating if I could swing an engine swap with my next bonus.

By contrast, when I pictured myself owning the Z4M, I thought about getting the aero kit sideskirts and oem CSL wheels (both of which are on the way). That told me which car's performance I found more satisfying.

[sdiver68]

A few questions on the Cayman S:

1) I assume the A/M addresses the lack of LSD? Quaife? EDIT - OK I found this one, yes Quiafe does make an LSD...about $2K installed.
2) Does mid-engine drone get to you on trips? I had an MR2 once...
3) A good forum of Cayman fans, not 911 snobs?

Thanks!

Right now, my plan A is the GT-R...but I'm keeping the Cayman S as my plan B/C/D/E/F(?).. (along with some other options)

[OverDrive]

options for my next car: GT-R, E92 or E90 M3, Cayman S
________
TOYOTA CAMRY HISTORY
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Toyota tf102
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Kitchen Measures
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LovelyWendie

[BMWE90]

I really dont give a damn what anyone says about Boxster/Cayman, if I could get into a Cayman I would do it in a hearbeat. That car looks so freaking damn sexy (saw a very clean black Cayman just yesterday and it looked soooo freaking good!!). And it handles pretty damn well too.

[Los Angeles]

Caymans remind me of:

Audi TT
MB SLK
BMW Z4
Volkswagen EOS

Too small and cute. Something girls look good in.

Don't flame me for the Z4 comment.

**Although I must admit, when I see the car from the front, it looks very 911-ish. So..

[sdiver68]

Originally Posted by KenB

1. The lack of LSD is not a huge issue on these cars on a road course. AutoX is another story, and LSD would be helpful. At Thunderhill there is only one section where the lack of LSD is even noticeable, and that is if you are really getting aggressive.

2. The Cayman, Boxster, and 911 are all noisier then the E9x for example, but engine drone is not a problem. You get more tire/road noise then anything else, not enough to bother me or be intrusive on a cell phone call for example, and that is in the Boxster.

3. theautobahn.com was good, but pretty dead now.

Thanks!