Cayman v 911 - The Gap Closes?

Rob987

Some of you may recently have seen that both the Boxster and Cayman have been given a mid life "makeover". The Cayman S is now kicking out 320bhp/273Ib ft with 0-60 in 5.1s. With the optional Sports Chrono package, PDK clutch and launch control this figure is cut to 4.9 seconds. All this in a car capable of 30.1mpg due to the new direct injection engines. This is pretty much 911 territory. Add in improved suspension, some tasty cosmetic enhancements and, for the first time, a limited slip differential, it would appear that the Cayman S is now a serious alternative to its bigger brother....

Or is it?

Graham_B18C

Rob987 wrote: »

Some of you may recently have seen that both the Boxster and Cayman have been given a mid life "makeover". The Cayman S is now kicking out 320bhp/273Ib ft with 0-60 in 5.1s. With the optional Sports Chrono package, PDK clutch and launch control this figure is cut to 4.9 seconds. All this in a car capable of 30.1mpg due to the new direct injection engines. This is pretty much 911 territory. Add in improved suspension, some tasty cosmetic enhancements and, for the first time, a limited slip differential, it would appear that the Cayman S is now a serious alternative to its bigger brother....

Or is it?

AND...it looks far better! I think the Cayman is one of the best looking cars around

Rob987

Grahamo999 wrote: »

AND...it looks far better! I think the Cayman is one of the best looking cars around

Et voila!

Anan1

Looks like a 911 that's just wriggled out of a mousetrap, IMO. It's not bad looking, just a bit squashed at the back.

samsemtex

Thats a bad photo but i think its far more attractive than the 911

ytareh

'Affordable' Porsche !?Pah, maybe secondhand in 15 or 20 years ...and then there's the new 2 grand 'green ' tax ...Maybe these had their place during the boom years when more could at least 'aspire' to own one but post Greens /post boom(and post Draconian motoring law enforcement-Sure youd probably be a national villan on the nine o clock news if caught doing 200kmh nowadays ...Jeez!) they may as well be a Bugatti Veyron .ANY 09 reg car seems to be a rare luxury now.
The days of enjoying performance cars are almost gone -short of maybe a blast up the Sally Gap -and then all it takes is one 'concerned citizen'to have you in the dock.Sure half the 'exotica' I see nowadays is in the slow lane of the motorway being driven by females(and males in fairness now that I think about it !) for whom the car is a lifestyle accessory or young fellas who cant afford the petrol if they go over 60mph.
Drop dead gorgeous though yeah...Green with envy ...Wonder how many they sell this year ?Is the basic version even under 100k?

peasant

The 911 is "the Porsche" and to quite a few loyal Porsche fans there never will be another Porsche.

Lots of people aspire to owning one, few can and some that could won't because it is a bit pipe & slippers as far as the owner demographics go.

Cue a mid engined Porsche that's just as good as the 911 (or as close as makes no difference) but that will never be "the Porsche" and therfore doesn't upset the purists and the "mythos", can be sold a smidgen cheaper without watering down the brand, appeals to an altogether younger audience (and more of them) ...and hey presto, you've got another sales success and happy customers all round (As the Cayman, while not "the Porsche" is still very much "a Porsche" and no one needs to be ashamed for having one ...to the contrary)

galwaytt

lads, ye're getting it all wrong.

The Cayman is for those who couldn't stand a Boxster.

The Cayman is what you get before you're 'en familie..' and when you're there, and the new Big Salary, and the Ultimatum comes.........then you get a 911. Well, it does have the +2 - and Believe Us When We Say It - this is a Big Deal. So, faced with a choice of Porsche with +2, or a cigar chomping CL series, it's no contest.

Two completely different markets.

Which is where they are completely fubar'ing at the mo - they haven't got anything for the 'middle' demographic. In other words, people who need the practicality of a 911, but aren't on FÁS chairman / Anglo Chairman's wages.......but can stretch to TT or Lotus money.

That's a lot of people.

So buy the last, next-best thing: 968.

....or two.........as you do

mygti

while porsche make some beautiful cars accross their model range, i think that the boxster s is a car for the wife,also a nice model.
while the 911 is for the man thats made in in life,,997 carrera s.
and the cayman is such a car for the man that has yet to make it..like a young pretender..:cool::eek::cool:

mygti

as i said porsche make a beautiful car.all models are classic cars or classics in the making,even the base entry level models.personally i dont like the carrera GT.give me a 911 any day ,even an entry level model.:p:cool:

Rob987

LIGHTNING wrote: »

It annoys me the way people call the boxster is a girls car, its a excellent car that handles far better than any in its calls be it TT or Z4. As for the 911 being the only proper porsche thats a load of horse muck. Tell that to the people who own a carrera GT or a 356. That said due to the fact that I own a "entry" level porsche I may be a bit biased

Am afraid I'm rather biased too, for the same reason! Here is the new Boxster S - in my view far better looking than the Cayman S.

johnk123

There a very nice car the boxter, but unfortunatly, I always see it that the only reason people buy the boxter is that they can't afford the 911. Still though, I'd still say they're great fun to own.

Ferris

johnk123 wrote: »

There a very nice car the boxter, but unfortunatly, I always see it that the only reason people buy the boxter is that they can't afford the 911. Still though, I'd still say they're great fun to own.

99% of people who say this have never driven a porsche and probably never will. I've driven a Boxster S and its a cracking drive from a proper focused sports car. Haven't driven a 911 yet however.

You don't look at someone in a M3 and say that they couldn't afford an M5.

NedKelly

Ferris wrote: »

99% of people who say this have never driven a porsche and probably never will. I've driven a Boxster S and its a cracking drive from a proper focused sports car. Haven't driven a 911 yet however.

You don't look at someone in a M3 and say that they couldn't afford an M5.

+1

smash

Wasn't there reports at the start though that the cayman was restricted so it wouldn't embarrass the 911?

Mr.David

Yes it was feared to become a 911 eater. That said, we could have a 911 GT2 RS 200kg lighter with 580hp which would be a serious serious machine:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/porsche/default.asp?storyId=19312

I want one!!

johnk123

Ferris wrote: »

99% of people who say this have never driven a porsche and probably never will. I've driven a Boxster S and its a cracking drive from a proper focused sports car. Haven't driven a 911 yet however.

You don't look at someone in a M3 and say that they couldn't afford an M5.

Thankfully I'm one of the 1% then. Lucky for me my dad has a 911 turbo.)

But yes, I agree I shouldn't have said that. The boxter is a great car that suits the needs of some people perfectly. A much better choice than a Z4 I think.

Rob987

galwaytt wrote: »

So buy the last, next-best thing: 968.

....or two.........as you do

I absolutely loved the 968 when I was growing up, especially the ClubSport version. My first Porsche was a 987 Boxster S, which I'm still running. My next car will (surprise surprise) also be a Porsche. I'm caught between a 997S, the new Boxster S above or a 993 Carrera S.

Decisions, decisions, decisions...:)