Motoracer348

Apologies in advance for what might already be discussed to death but I'm new to the forum, which I joined because I'm contemplating buying a 982 Cayman. My question is about best build for dollar. I want to keep the MSRP under $70K (well under, if possible). It looks like I could get a 982 Cayman S with a manual transmission and no options besides "sport seats plus" and a seat heater, or I could get the base 982 Cayman with DCT (which I might prefer in a car with turbo lag), PASM, locking diff and sport chrono. My sense is that for a daily driver, the standard suspension and open diff should be fine. I would also consider buying used 981 Cayman S if I can find one with a suitable build. So, what's preferred: 1) optioned 982 Cayman; 2) 982 Cayman S stripper; 3) 981 Cayman S?

Yogi911

I have not driven a "982". Most will call it 981.2 or 718 around here. Usually 718

Anyway i think there is am easy answer to your question. Would you rather have an optioned out base or lesser so "s" with more performance. For example prior to porsches i had corvettes. I always chose stripper z06's to optioned out base although i admit the z06 added lots of other goodies. A better example might be a bmw. Would you rather have a stripper 335 or a optioned 328. What kind of car are you coming from?

Personally i think the 718 will be better around town due to tq and turbos. If all you care about is straight line speed you are looking at the wrong car but the 718 "s" is the one to get.

However if i was in your shoes i would buy a decently optioned 981 cayman S for 50-60k with CPO warranty and save the money and call it good. The 718 will be around for a few years. If you like your 981 and want to "upgrade" in a few years there will be the opportunity to get a 718 at that time.

DaveCarrera4

S is better in many ways, especially occasional track days. But if it's a grocery getter a non S is fine.

zedcat

On the nomenclature, I received the desk toy thing a few days ago and it has a label on the box saying 982. So perhaps PAG is using that internally. May see it on some part numbers.

Base w/ options vs S stripper has been pondered for years. Stating the obvious- test drive them all. I have not driven the 718s yet but will be interested to see how perceptible the turbo lag is and how much difference if any the VTG on the S makes. Some years ago I chose a 987.2 base with PASM, SC, and other options rather than an S. It was just a weekend fun car and only did 2 track events in 3 years. I never regretted the decision for the 2.9. Best of luck.

kurbycar32

I'm with Yogi. While I am new to Porsche its always been my policy to never buy a new motor the first year its released, I dont want to discover the manufacturing bugs for them.