IL_Pete

I took delivery of a 2021 Cayman GTS 4.0 Manual last week. Holy cow! What an incredible car.

I had been shopping for a few months, trying to figure out what I wanted. Here’s the backstory. I had owned a couple of Porsches a long time ago, a 1996 Boxster and a 1997 996 C2 Cab. I loved them both. I also had many BMWs and Audis from that timeframe, but I liked the Porsches the most, the Boxster for the Mid-Engine handling, and the 911 for the performance, and the iconic status of it. (294 HP seemed like a lot at the time!)

Then all sorts of life things happened that got me out of that hobby with the sportcars. The tech crash of 2000-2001 was rough on my industry, and it no longer seemed acceptable in my work environment to drive a really expensive car, as a leader it didn’t set the right example. Also around the same time we went from 1 child to 2 and shortly after that to 3, and then all the cars were big ones from there. (Now 20 years later here, the oldest is out of the house, and the middle one is off at College. So I can get a small car again.)

I had owned 2 Teslas over the last 7 years, and was into the Electric Car thing. And then two things happened at the same time that led me to the Cayman. My 17 year old son had declared he wanted to learn to drive a manual and get a manual car that he could mod to his liking. So I started test driving manual cars for/with him, like Civics, WRX’s, GTI’s, etc. It was fun, it brought me back to my early manual car days. Then also my younger brother got Cancer, and passed. We were very close, and that was a real wakeup-call as to our mortality and the short time we have to live our lives to the fullest.

So I started test driving 911’s, Boxsters and Caymans. I was shocked and dismayed about the high percentage of new and used Porsches with the PDK versus the Manual transmission. Finding a Manual new or used with the options I wanted was like finding a needle in a haystack. I quickly honed in on the Cayman, I think I have been lusting for one since they came out in 2005, and I was infatuated again when the 718’s came out in 2017. The 911’s are terrific, but the Cayman is more “right” for me.

From there I looked at a lot of things, the S, the 2018-2019 GTS 2.5L, the 4.0 GTS and the GT4. I really liked the 4 Cylinders, the higher torque in the lower RPM was awesome. But I did fall into the camp of those that preferred the traditional Porsche sound of the Flat 6 Naturally Aspirated engines, so I narrowed it down to the GTS 4.0 or a GT4. I had test driven a GT4 (PDK). It was great, but (much to the dealer’s chagrin) I scraped the front lip pulling back into the dealer, so that seemed to me like that would be a hassle. And while I absolutely LOVE the looks of the GT4, I wanted something a little more stealthy, so the GTS 4.0 with basically the same engine but more subdued looks seemed like that might be a good way to go. I was still looking at both, and if I had found a GT4 with the color and spec I wanted, I probably still would have bought one. I was close to pulling the trigger on a GTS 4.0 Manual in GT Metallic Silver (a finish I love with the Cayman) in CA (I live in IL, hence the Username) - but it was going to be a pain to do it remotely and get and shipped and deal with all the IL Registration remotely.

I was close to compromising and considering a PDK GTS 4.0, since those were a little more easy to find, and I went into a local dealer to check one out. The one I went to check out had sold the previous day, but while I was there the salesperson I was talking to said “you wouldn’t happen to want a manual, would you?” He had just found out in the morning meeting minutes ago that a customer-ordered Manual GTS 4.0 had become available, the car was inbound and the customer had just backed out. It was remarkably close to checking all the boxes for my desired spec and features, so I put a deposit down that day! It came in about a week and a half later. I am very grateful I had the good fortune to walk into that dealer on that day when it had become available. It wouldn’t have lasted long, I was told that after I put the deposit on it that several other folks had expressed interest in it.

The biggest dilemma I had was that it was a PTS Color, Albert Blue. I dug that it was going to be a unique PTS color, but it also added a lot of cost to the car, basically made it close to being the same price as a fairly well equipped GT4. From pictures I liked the Albert Blue (I generally do like Blue cars), but I didn’t love it, I felt I would have picked something a little lighter and perhaps brighter from the PTS options in the Blues. Now that I have it, the Albert Blue is really growing on me, a lot - it is more so of a “Classic” look and goes along with that thought of having a stealthy car. I dig it!

So here it is, in all its glory!





(The color is interesting - from afar it looks darker, and then closer up, it looks lighter...)

More to follow here shortly on my thoughts on the car so far, and the spec.

TXshaggy

Albert is an epic blue! On my short list until I punted on the whole PTS thing!

Keep posting in the PTS thread!

UncleDude

Whoah!, congratulations. I am a fan of that colour on that car, very nice and understated as you say.

Goodwood

Congrats, you were very lucky to get into a GTS so quickly, and such a great color! What era/decade is Albert Blue from? It must have been a standard offering at some point.

Makers

I wasn't familiar with Albert Blue until I read your post. Now it's my favorite Porsche blue! It's gorgeous! My bet is you're going to turn lots of heads with that one. Enjoy!

UncleDude

Looks like 1970 - 1972. Old School!

https://www.rennbow.org/porsche-colors/AlbertBlue

mammothcar1

Beautiful car, congratulations!
Whoever spec'd this seemed to know what they were doing since they had a PTS allocation available.
The color, along with the silver painted wheels is such a classic combo.
It seems like sometimes, things happen for a reason, whether finding the right house, right spouse or in this case the right car.
Enjoy the great memories you'll make with your son and family with this car, and sorry to hear of the loss of your brother.
Post up some pics of the interior!

josephr25

You'll forget about the money you paid pretty quickly. How nice to have a PTS ready for the taking

dnimi123

very pretty color for the car!

RxVol

Beautiful! Make some memories with your son!

sanderabernathy

So you lucked into an abandoned PTS in an awesome color with a manual. Good for you. That’s awesome. Happy for you.

IL_Pete

Wow, thanks for the many replies here!

Will do on the PTS thread - that is a killer thread!

Yes, I do feel very fortunate!

That's quite the compliment, thanks!

Thanks!

At first I didn't care for the Silver Wheels, but they are growing on me. Agree with regards to that being a classic look, with the darker blue and the silver wheels.

Will do with regards to the interior. Spoiler: It is amazing as well, Black RaceTex GTS Interior Package with the Carmine Red stitching, seatbelts and the Tachometer. The contrast of the Blue and the Black and Red is really terrific! Also the Steering Wheel and Shift **** where selected as Leather, as standard with that interior they are RaceTex, which I don't as much care for.

I think I agree!

Yes, we have had some great rides in it so far. We also picked out his car, we pick it up this week. Getting him a 2021 Mk7.5 GTI in the Base Trim, in Black. We were looking at used ones, but they are doing killer deals on new ones, so we decided to get a new one. Exciting couple of weeks...

What are the odds? I can't believe that happened. The weird thing is that I was on the way to a BMW dealer to possibly buy an M2 CS, because I couldn't find a manual Cayman GTS 4.0. We stopped at the Porsche Dealer on a whim to check out the PDK GTS 4.0, and then this happened. We went to the Porsche Dealer, left and went to drive the M2 CS, and then I decided I did not want the M2 CS and went back to the Porsche Dealer to ink the deal on this Albert Blue one. It was meant to be!

IL_Pete

Spec:

Interior Color
Leather/Race-Tex Interior in Black/Carmine Red i.c.w. GTS Interior Package
GQ

Packages
Premium Package
P9G

LED Headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus (PDLS+)

Light Design Package

Power Folding Exterior Mirrors

Lane Change Assist (LCA)

Porsche Entry & Drive

Heated Multifunction Steering Wheel
489

Luggage Net in Passenger Footwell

BOSE® Surround Sound System
9VL

Exterior
Model Designation Logo on Rear Changed to "718"
718

Fuel Cap with Aluminum Look Finish
XYB

Performance
6-speed Manual Transmission
480

Power Steering Plus
658

Wheels
20" 718 Sport Wheels in Satin Black
393

Wheel Accessories
Wheels Painted in Silver
346

Interior
GTS Interior Package
088

Steering Wheel and Gear Lever in Leather
858

Adaptive Sport Seats Plus (18-way) with Memory Package
P07

Smoking Package
583

Interior Leather
Steering Column Casing in Leather
XNS

Interior Race-Tex
Sun Visors in Race-Tex
XLU


Interior Carbon Fiber
Manual Gear Lever with Carbon Fiber Trim
XHH

Door-Sill Guards in Carbon Fiber, Illuminated
XXD

Interior Aluminum
Pedals and Footrest in Aluminum
EFA


(I would have linked the VIN Analytics page, but it is not working for this VIN for some reason.)

I dig the spec. About 80% of this is I would have spec'ed anyway. None of the remaining 20% bother me, and it is not missing anything that was a must-have for me. Pretty amazing for this to line up so well for me, I am pretty picky. If it didn't have the 18-Ways, I probably would have passed. Same for the switch back to Leather Steering Wheel and Shift **** even with the GTS Interior Package.

The one that surprised on how cool it is and how much I like it is the Steering Column covered in Leather. It looks amazing! (Nick Murray - you were wrong! ) I will post a pic of that when I get a chance.

sanderabernathy

You’re lucky the Cayman was still waiting for you. LOL

IL_Pete

No doubt! I don't know what I would have done if it was no longer available...