mshahidz

Does anyone here own, or has driven a 2013+ Cayman S?

I have the 991 GT3 at the moment and am loving every second of it.

A friend of mine is in the market and is looking at a Cayman S w/ PTV + PDK and was wondering how far apart these cars are.

Of course the outright speed, sounds, and transmission won't be matched. However, what I was wondering was, does the Cayman feel this connected and exhilarating, even if it's a few levels down on the scale?

FYI there aren't any local dealers with Cayman S's available for test drives which is why I'm asking this here

shizzle

The Cayman S is an entirely different animal to a GT3. Handling, speed etc is all very different. Is the Cayman S fun to drive? Definitely! They handle like go-carts and the manuals in them are like butter (I really like the cable-driven feel). I would say that the Cayman S actually feels more connected than a 991C2S, but it probably won't stack up well against a GT3 (but it shouldn't given that a Cayman is half the price).

Cyrek

I'm a die hard 911 guy. My gt3 on its way while waiting I traded my 997 I went in for 991 s and left with a 14 cayman S PDK sport chrono. The car really is amazing for what it is I just think it needs more power and the chassis could easily Handel it. To enjoy the car personally I need it above 5k sport plus and triple digit MPH. With all the nannies activated it will instill a level of confidence unmatched in any thing else even the M's. Porsche's typical pool of buyers is not reached through this forum for the cayman however for real drivers the cayman should be considered. The 991 is almost to good but the Cayman S reminds me more of the connection I felt in my 997. If the new mid engine super car I here about from Porsche arrives and is under $250k and 450 plus HP.......I will buy one and start a new love affair

reidry

Well let me start out with a disclaimer. I haven't driven the new GT3. I have driven the 2014 Cayman S and currently own a 2012 Cayman R. I am a recent convert to Porsche coming to the brand from Chevrolet Corvette where I previously owned a 2009 Z06 and a 2010 ZR1.

The Cayman is a very capable car, both 987 and 981 platforms. The lateral grip is nothing short of amazing - you look at the tire widths and you'd never guess the car is easily capable of > 1g. Before buying my Cayman R I took a hot test drive in a 981S, in a nice quite under developed area with a good section of twisty blacktop I know we were over 1G and it stuck like mad - the little built in g-meter agreed we were over 1, though I'm not sure I agrred that we hit the 1.13g max it indicated.

The normal mode of the PDK in the Cayman is definitely programmed for economy - you can get to 7th gear at 40 mph. The paddles allow you to quickly change gear though to temporarily override the economy minded normal mode. If you do nothing to override it, this mode with the 325 hp motor makes the car feel underpowered. When you're stuck in traffic and you're plodding along and you see that path to jump ahead and bolt down a nearby off ramp you gotta be assertive, grab the paddle, drop a couple of gears and bang away you go!

In sport mode the transmission holds the gears longer, I still find it a bit economy minded, though not nearly as much so as normal. In the 987 I find this mode to make low speed handling a bit herky jerky.

In sport plus the revs stay high, at decent speed the revs are 4000+.

I prefer manual - you feel that you're part of the operation. It holds the gears as commanded unless your actions would cause the motor to stall or over-rev. With the way the chassis in these cars feels glued to the ground, they feel alive and I find driving them to be engaging and rewarding. Sure the absolute speed and maximum acceleration is less than a GT3, but the drive is very good.

I've read a number of new owners discuss the noises in the new 991 GT3. It sounds like the GT3 doesn't have undercoating and may have less sound deadening than the other 911 variants. This is definitely different than the 981S - it has all the standard road going noise isolation - here it will feel different than a GT3.

Turn-in ... the 987 and 981 are amazingly precise. Driving these cars I can put the tires within tenths of an inch of where I want them. When driving the Corvettes I didn't feel that I could do that repeatably. Now the rear steering on the new GT3 combined with the electronic differential has been discussed and it sounds like the GT3 may turn in more smoothly and perhaps respond even more immediately than the Cayman. The Cayman differential is widely discussed as nearly useless, anyone who gets serious with the Cayman goes aftermarket LSD.

To sum up I think the 981S is a great drive, but for me it wouldn't substitute for the 991 GT3.

Ryan

azzurri

Used to own a Cayman--great car. Still miss it and when I see them on the road (very rarely), I remember fondly the driving feeling of the car.

That being said, there is no comparison between the two cars. Not even close, other than the badge. Two very different platforms, balances etc. Both super to drive, but not even apples to oranges I'd say. Having said that, I wouldn't mind having a Cayman nowadays if given the option. Love the turning feel and rotational pivot about the cockpit

CAlexio

I drove a boxster Spyder and felt like for $60k, there was simply nothing which offered a whif of the exotic super car experince, amazing road connection and feel, and go-kart like handling. I still keep an eye out on eBay for manual ones with the carbon buckets.. Very tempting always

Hoopumpers

Right on! You get it.

My Spyder is the only car I've ever owned that makes me say: "I will never sell this car". It's nearly perfect. My favorite car ever (will see if 991 GT3 can trump it)

gonzobreeder

yep I've driven the cayman s

Not as quick found the car wanted to understeer quite a bit. On the short squirt I had I couldn't really assess the handling. Never really got a chance to get it up on it's tyres but I did find bumpy roads tended to make it jump around a bit. It didn't feel as planted as my c2s which really surprised me

Loved the engine noise just next to your ear. Ride was just ok but you really notice the short wheelbase.

Great car but so so different from a 911 never mind the new gt3 which i haven't even driven.

I found the pdk manual shifting absolutely stupid. counter intuitive. Even after a few km never got used to it and found myself downshifting instead of upshifting. It spoilt the car in my opinion. Thank go they;ve fixed it in the new gt3 I reckon that would have been a deal breaker for me.

The latest model looks so much better than the old model which looked like a helmut head.

Like I said nice car but it just didn't do it for me. I am a 911 bloke though so pretty biased I suppose.

Hoopumpers

No doubt these cars push like crazy until some negative camber is dialed in. Makes all the difference in the world.

gonzobreeder

do you think the 20's had something to do with it as well. I remember my m3 came with 18's and I stupidly bought some 19's for it. Mate did that screw it up.

On 18's the car felt so sweet. sure fashion dictated 19's but it lost all it's feel and felt like I couldn't push as hard with confidence.

sin911

I've taken a 981 Cayman S on a test drive in afternoon traffic, so my opinions on the matter are really negligible...

The car felt underpowered for sure! I don't think Porsche wants it's entry level coupe to compete against the bread and butter and I can't blame them from a business perspective. The low end power is, well, low. It doesn't have that jumpy throttle response or the power to make it happen.

The chassis felt really good though, I must give them that. Since the drive was really brief I couldn't see the handling capabilities but judging by the fact that the front track width was substantially increased it should have a pretty sublime handling.

The new electronic steering is not my favorite though, it has definitely numbed down the connection to the road. Maybe not by much but it's absolutely there when you do a side-by-side comparison.

As mentioned, it's not a fair comparison between a GT3 and Cayman S. Two very different platforms for different purposes. I'd take my GT3 over a Cayman S any day of the week.

Back when I heard the rumors about the Cayman R I was really hoping for a dialed down GT1 based engine with a high redline (3.2-3.4L, 370-380hp, with 8k redline) and decent suspension. If that was the case then I would have bought one and never sell it. But I was let down by Porsche...