Cayman?
- Thread starter mikfinch
- Start date
carrera4boy
Ex Club Member
Seconded.
Its not a 911 and never will be.
You just didn't have enough money for the greatest car that was ever built
Porsche 911
Its not a 911 and never will be.
You just didn't have enough money for the greatest car that was ever built
Porsche 911
Guest
New member
I note this is in the 996 section, so forgive me for intruding. I've ordered a Cayman, wouldn't have bought a 911 (car needs to be either four seats or two, child seats no use to me; and I'm biased against rear-engine layout). So I'm a conquest Porsche purchaser.
Love the looks, prefer Cayman to Carrera, though that's a beautiful car too. The drive is great: I'm looking for a car version of a touring motorcycle, I suppose!
Love the looks, prefer Cayman to Carrera, though that's a beautiful car too. The drive is great: I'm looking for a car version of a touring motorcycle, I suppose!
carrera4boy
Ex Club Member
oldfogey
Hi Mate,
Sorry, but ive looked at the Cayman from every angle and cannot see how its styling, power, performance, equipment, name etc is better than a Carrera.
can anyone help me[:-][8|][>:]
Si C4 996
Hi Mate,
Sorry, but ive looked at the Cayman from every angle and cannot see how its styling, power, performance, equipment, name etc is better than a Carrera.
can anyone help me[:-][8|][>:]
Si C4 996
Yes, take your dark glasses off...[
]
]
Guest
New member
Apparently (according to Autocar) the Cayman need not have turned out how it has.
The was a design that had the rear window vertical with rear butresses and a flat cover at the back, like the old 908 (I think it was).
Anyway, they decided it would be too claustophobic.
While I admit the hatch is more practical and gives more useable space and room, the other design would have been more interesting.
As for performance - Boxster S laps the 'Ring in 8:18, 997 Carrera (non-S) in 8:15, Cayman 8:11.
The was a design that had the rear window vertical with rear butresses and a flat cover at the back, like the old 908 (I think it was).
Anyway, they decided it would be too claustophobic.
While I admit the hatch is more practical and gives more useable space and room, the other design would have been more interesting.
As for performance - Boxster S laps the 'Ring in 8:18, 997 Carrera (non-S) in 8:15, Cayman 8:11.
Guest
New member
I ride a VFR800i: the Caterham is more Fireblade!
Oh, and re looks, firstly beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we'll always have differences of view. Secondly, the current Carrera has gone a bit bland in my opinion and the Cayman has more excitement. Power to weight, equipment are very close for road purposes unless we go into the higher reaches of the Turbo or GT3. I respect anyone who has one of these, but that's too much temptation for me for road use.
We considered a new Boxster S and Cayman before buying a 5 year old Carrera. The Carrera was both £10K cheaper than a moderately specified Boxster S or Cayman, plus someone had already taken the 50% depreciation on the original list price.
This is our first proper sports car and having now driven the Carrera for 2 months, we definitely made the right choice, as the previous owners had really looked after the car and it still looks and runs like new.
The plan is to upgrade to a 996TT in a couple of years, then I'll be getting close to matching the sub. 100mph acceleration of my motorbike
This is our first proper sports car and having now driven the Carrera for 2 months, we definitely made the right choice, as the previous owners had really looked after the car and it still looks and runs like new.
The plan is to upgrade to a 996TT in a couple of years, then I'll be getting close to matching the sub. 100mph acceleration of my motorbike
carrera4boy
Ex Club Member
Stuart
Modified Cayman i think you'll find. Even their marketing manager confirmed it wasn't a normal Cayman.
Modified Cayman i think you'll find. Even their marketing manager confirmed it wasn't a normal Cayman.
sawood12
New member
At the end of the day the Caymen is a Porsche and will be a damn fine car (as all Porshces are and always have been) and will be almost as quick as a 911 in the hands of someone who can drive well enough to get these cars anywhere near their limits (i.e. that excludes the vast majority of us!). However people will by the Caymen for the same reasons that people buy BMW 330 coupe's instead of M3's - because for whatever reason they can't afford or cannot justify the expense of an M3 so the 330 is the next best thing.
Would I buy a Caymen? Yes
Will I buy one? probably - in a few years time after someone else has swallowed the horrendous depreciation that it will undoubtedly suffer.
Why will I buy one? Because I can't afford a 997!! I'm not ashamed to admit it.
The 911 is still the car the others want to beat - not the Caymen, and that's the way Porsche want things to stay for the moment at least. If Porsche were not serious about the 911 then why have they put a smaller engine in the Caymen therefore killing any chance of it being a true competitor. It's clearly aimed at a different market sector.
Also at £44k it's a rip off. It should be cheaper than the Boxter S.
In any case i'm looking forward to the Panamerica - the new 944!
Would I buy a Caymen? Yes
Will I buy one? probably - in a few years time after someone else has swallowed the horrendous depreciation that it will undoubtedly suffer.
Why will I buy one? Because I can't afford a 997!! I'm not ashamed to admit it.
The 911 is still the car the others want to beat - not the Caymen, and that's the way Porsche want things to stay for the moment at least. If Porsche were not serious about the 911 then why have they put a smaller engine in the Caymen therefore killing any chance of it being a true competitor. It's clearly aimed at a different market sector.
Also at £44k it's a rip off. It should be cheaper than the Boxter S.
In any case i'm looking forward to the Panamerica - the new 944!
carrera4boy
Ex Club Member
I actually agree with you Scott. Well put. It's a bit of a rip off too at 44k.
0-60 in 5.4 seconds[] which is apparently the same as a 10 year old 80,000 mile 993, so well done Cayman engineers. My C4 996 however was average timed at 4.9 secs at Burntwater aerodrome, Essex.
I'm sure there ARE many people who can afford a 911 but choose to buy a CaymanS, because there's very little difference in performance. But Jeremy Clarkson started it[]
I'm sure the Cayman will grow on me. I've asked for a test drive too. So my perception will move from book cover to positive detail....possibly[]
Simon[][]
0-60 in 5.4 seconds[
] which is apparently the same as a 10 year old 80,000 mile 993, so well done Cayman engineers. My C4 996 however was average timed at 4.9 secs at Burntwater aerodrome, Essex.I'm sure there ARE many people who can afford a 911 but choose to buy a CaymanS, because there's very little difference in performance. But Jeremy Clarkson started it[
]I'm sure the Cayman will grow on me. I've asked for a test drive too. So my perception will move from book cover to positive detail....possibly[
] Simon[
][]
sawood12
New member
It's also only just as quick to 60mph as my 18yr old 109k mile mildly modified (sub £1k's worth of mods) 944 Turbo.
I've not read the Evo article yet but from what I gather the more worrying thing is that they reckoned the 10yr old 993C2 was a match to the Caymen in terms of handling. And the 993 was running 10yr old/80k mile shocks and suspension bushes! We all know that suspension components are not like fine wines in that they don't get better with age so it says more about the 993 than the Caymen!
I've not read the Evo article yet but from what I gather the more worrying thing is that they reckoned the 10yr old 993C2 was a match to the Caymen in terms of handling. And the 993 was running 10yr old/80k mile shocks and suspension bushes! We all know that suspension components are not like fine wines in that they don't get better with age so it says more about the 993 than the Caymen!
sawood12
New member
I thnk it's a rip off because it is strategically priced to bridge the Boxter/911 gap. Convertable versions of a car are more costlty to produce and are usually more expensive than their roofed counterparts due to the extra structrure that needs to be built in and the costs associated with the folding roof. Despite the marketing spin Porsche have put on the Caymen it is still a Boxter with a roof on (I don't mean that to sound like it's a bad thing by the way).
I realise that the selling price of products don't necessarily reflect their manufacturing costs, i'm sure a 911 isn't that much more expensive to manufacture than a Boxter if at all, but it is a perception thing. What are you really getting with a Caymen that you don't get with a Boxter and is it worth an extra £6k? I know the Caymen has what might be described a rear seats and a hatch back but in reality how usefull are they? I know the back seats in my 944 are next to useless and the hatch might be long but is not very deep which again renders it useless for anyting but the weekly grocery shop and luggage for one.
If people are on a economy drive and want to save money over a 911 why don't they go the whole hog and get a Boxter and save even more money? As far as I can see the difference in performance between a Boxter S and a Caymen S is even less than between a Caymen S and a 997 Carrera. I personally prefer a tin roof over a fabric one so would always prefer the Caymen but not if it was going to cost me £6k more. I just can't see what i'm getting for my money.
I realise that the selling price of products don't necessarily reflect their manufacturing costs, i'm sure a 911 isn't that much more expensive to manufacture than a Boxter if at all, but it is a perception thing. What are you really getting with a Caymen that you don't get with a Boxter and is it worth an extra £6k? I know the Caymen has what might be described a rear seats and a hatch back but in reality how usefull are they? I know the back seats in my 944 are next to useless and the hatch might be long but is not very deep which again renders it useless for anyting but the weekly grocery shop and luggage for one.
If people are on a economy drive and want to save money over a 911 why don't they go the whole hog and get a Boxter and save even more money? As far as I can see the difference in performance between a Boxter S and a Caymen S is even less than between a Caymen S and a 997 Carrera. I personally prefer a tin roof over a fabric one so would always prefer the Caymen but not if it was going to cost me £6k more. I just can't see what i'm getting for my money.
This is something we have always been led to believe i.e. convertables are more costly to manufacturer; we pay extra because of the luxury and perception of having one can justify the extra value; they cannot cost any more when you look at the scale of at which cars are manufactured.
Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members
Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions
