[KKM3]

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to drive both a 2011 Cayman R and a 2010 gt3 back to back. The drives consisted of 30 minute run in both cars up mullholand canyon in souther Cali. First off, I would highly recommend auto gallery in woodland hills for anyone looking to get into a Porsche. These guys are amazing and go the extra mile to help you with the entire buying process. I bought my 911 from them and my next car will be purchased through them as well. Ok, now on to the good stuff. The first drive started around 2pm, and the cayman r equipped with a manual transmission was first up. We took topanga canyon up to mullholand and thats where all the fun began. Before I start getting into the mind blowing handling, let it be known that the cayman has 1 of the best, if not the best manual transmission out there. Who the hell needs a dual clutch when the manual in this car is this good. Secondly, the 3.4 liter flat six is as responsive as the engine in the m3 and a lot more response than the bigger 3.8 liter dfi engine in my 911 and with 330 hp and weighing in at only 3000 pounds, the power to weight ratio is not that far off a carrera s. it's fast, much faster than what I was expecting. Felt just as fast as my e92 m3. The steering feel was very very good although IMO my 911 has a heftier meatier feel which I prefer a bit more. When it comes to pin point precision nothing is better not even the almighty gt3, more on that later. For those of you who have had the pleasure of driving the mullholand canyon know what a great twisty road it is, especially when there are no cars in front of you cock blocking. We got lucky on both drives. There were a couple idiots who were driving 25mph but luckily got out of our way. You will never know driving bliss until you drive either of these cars. I was blown away with the cayman r and was sold after the first couple of long sweepers. Fellas, the cayman r is arguably the best handling car in the world. This cars stays so flat through the curves it's utterly amazing. The pin point laser precise steering and perfectly balanced mid engined layout will get you through a turn at mind blowing speeds. Talk about confidence inspiring, wow, WHAT A MACHINE! And at a reasonably priced 70k. Having possibly the best handling and most driver focused car in the world for that price is a steal IMO.

Next up was the gt3 which I've driven a couple times before. We took pretty much the same exact route. With 435 hp the gt3 felt Much faster than the cayman, and was one of the nicest sounding motor exhaust noises I have ever heard. The steering had plenty of feel and very precise as well. The difference is that when driving the gt3 through some corners, it can get a little scary,The gt3 is a very thrilling ride but no where near as confidence inspiring as the cayman. I enjoyed the nervous feeling it was very exciting. The 2 cars are an absolute joy to drive, just in very different ways. I will not soon forget the amazing time I had in the gt3 and the amazing sound tht care makes. However I will not miss the brutally hard clutch and shifter. The clutch is soooooo hard and cant imagine using it on a regular basis. Some people like it a lot but for me, I'll take the 6spd in the cayman.

The nice thing about the gt3 is that the seats were pretty comfy and offered many levels of adjustability. The buckets in the cayman make it extremely hard to get in and out of and offers no adjustability except for moving forward and back. IMO its a small price to pay for such an amazing driving experience. I'm sold on the cayman. At 70k, I'm saving nearly 45k over the gt3 for a car that is arguably the best drivers car in the world. I have such a new found level of respect for Porsche. Not since my e36 m3 have I felt this way about a car. I urge all car enthusiast, everyone that enjoys an amazing handling car to go and drive a cayman r. I will wager that most will come away with a new level of respect for Porsche and their dedication to making cars for people who love to drive.

Hopefully in the next few weeks, I'll have the exact one I want in my drive way.