clembo

Ah-ha, the old GT vs. Sports car debate. Wow it has been a while. Although most of us 991 owners cannot fit our cars in our driveways, we still feel that they are sports cars, we must be wrong. I must not have a "real" manual transmission in my car, it must be fake. I must not have been tracking the car last summer, I must have been taking it to Nordstroms to buy a new Ascot with the other "GT" chaps.

Thanks to all of you who have not yet driven one to set us straight.

oldman40

touche! reason and logic apparently do not apply to this discussion...


tangram, i think you have succeeded in your goal to stir things up with this comment. but you would agree it is hard to generalize the 991 buyer. some prospective buyers may be considering a 981 vs. 991/911, but this is sort of a venn diagram with only a small number with overlapping interest in both. as a prior 993 owner, you are the exception, not the rule.

i am sorry to break this news to you, but i never even considered the cayman on my list. never looked at it, never checked out the configurator, website, nothing. no interest whatsoever. i believe that i'm the silent majority here.

truthfully, i did look at the R8, maserati GT sport, bentley gt, and aston dbs. all different types of great vehicles too, but from a performance, pedigree, and engineering standpoint, none of them captured my imagination the way a 911 does--probably comes from my childhood dreams, 911 tradition etc. in fact, at the end of my car buying research, i would have considered any model year 911 over any of these others. but please acknowledge that beyond any simple need for status symbol, there are many other vehicles out there that outpace the cayman and its so-called competition with the 911.

as far as anyone is aware, the cayman is not the next 928, ie the previously planned replacement of the 911. that ship has sailed, likely never to return in our lifetimes, and why we are celebrating the 911's 50th year.

tangram

Touche! You've rightfully called me out on this one. Those extra two seats have always stuck in my craw. What was Porsche thinking? And I've never liked the sunroof either.

fantom

The cupholders and glovebox in the Cayman will really **** you off

gota911

First off, I am not trying to stir the pot, and for the record, I currently own a 997.2, which I bought 18 months ago, and had a 996.2 prior to that. Clearly, I don't have a dog in this fight.

When this thread had only 4 pages or so, it reminded me of some threads from two years ago when the 991 was ready to launch. Some, but not all, of the 997 owners were wringing their hands in disgust that Porsche had lost its way with the new 911. They argued that the 991 had become a GT car, it was too soft, had too many electronic gizmos, etc. Many of the "pro 991 group" accused those 997 owners of being defensive because their 997 was being threatened by the new 991.

If you took this thread and changed "991" to "997" and then replaced "Cayman" with "991," this thread would then fit nicely with those two year old "991 vs. 997" threads.

It is fascinating to read the reactions of 991 owners to one journalist's comments about preferring the Cayman to a 991. I find it interesting how people's perspective changes, depending upon which side of the fence they are on at that time.

BTW, I REALLY like the 991 and would love to have one. If I were to buy one now, my wife would kill me, then divorce me.... in that order.

Maybe in a couple of years, after the new house is built, I will own one.

chuckbdc

Actually, I prefer the Boxter over the Cayman any day. Cayman owners are too stiff.

aussie jimmy

does that make the boxter owners too loose?

mrstep

Yeah, I mean everyone knows manual transmissions became fake when they went above 5 gears, right?

BTW, are we still meeting at Nordstoms for lunch and matching Ascots?

jmct

A big +1 on that.

mrstep

He loved everything about the 991 when he reviewed it as well - but it's hard to disagree that if he wants a smaller car with 2 seats, then the Cayman is for him. It's just not the same thing... But neither is a Panamera, Cayenne, C7, 458, etc. Which is fine.

My 991 is exactly what I was hoping for, but I don't feel any need to dislike the other models. I think the pot stirring started 3 posts in with (not your post!): "The Cayman is the perfect 911. The 2 seats in the back of 911 is a joke. Maybe only less than 1% of the owners use these Lilliputian places. Put the 3.8 in the Cayman and there is no more reason to the 911 to exist. And for people who really want back seats, they can go with the Panamera or the Cayenne. I think that Porsche is in a funny situation ... little brother is getting stronger l"

The Cayman is not the perfect 911. That just makes no sense, the 911 has always been 2+2 for its 50 year history. If you don't want 2+2 get a Smart car then - or a Cayman, but don't call it a 911.

kosmo

i find this comment from AUtoblog interesting:

"As with most Porsche products, it's what you don't see that separates Cayman generations, starting with the chassis itself. The body shell is now 44-percent aluminum for the first time. The move slashed body-in-white weight by some 103 pounds while increasing torsional rigidity by a baffling 40 percent. What does that mean, exactly? Porsche says the base Cayman is now twice as rigid as the Boxster and substantially stiffer than even the 911, making it one of the most rigid sports car chassis in the world."

iambon

I got this from planet 9

987 Boxster 16.500 NM/degree
981 Boxster 40% more, so 23.000 NM
987 Cayman 30.000 NM
981 Cayman 40.000 NM

and also the list from German car forum

Alfa 159 - 31.400Nm/degree
Aston Martin DB9 Convertible 15,500 Nm/deg
Aston Martin DB9 Coupe 27,000 Nm/deg
Aston Martin Vanquish 28,500 Nm/deg
Audi A2: 11,900 Nm/deg
Audi A8: 25,000 Nm/deg
Audi TT Coupe 19,000 Nm/deg
Audi TT: 10,000 Nm/deg (22Hz)
BMW E36 Touring 10,900 Nm/deg
BMW E36 Z3 5,600 Nm/deg
BMW E46 Convertible 10,500 Nm/deg
BMW E46 Coupe (w/folding seats) 12,500 Nm/deg
BMW E46 Sedan (w/folding seats) 13,000 Nm/deg
BMW E46 Sedan (w/o folding seats) 18,000 Nm/deg
BMW E46 Wagon (w/folding seats) 14,000 Nm/deg
BMW E90: 22,500 Nm/deg
BMW X5 (2004) - 23,100 Nm/degree
BMW Z4 Coupe, 32,000Nm/degree
BMW Z4 Roadster: 14,500 Nm/deg
Bugatti EB110 - 19,000 Nm/degree
Bugatti Veyron - 60,000 Nm/degree
Chevrolet Corvette C5 9,100 Nm/deg
Chrysler Crossfire 20,140 Nm/deg
Chrysler Durango 6,800 Nm/deg
Dodge Viper Coupe 7,600 Nm/deg
Ferrari 355: 1,024 kgm/degree (bending: 727 kg/mm)
Ferrari 360 Spider 8,500 Nm/deg
Ferrari 360: 1,474 kgm/degree (bending: 1,032 kg/mm)
Ferrari 430: supposedly 20% higher than 360
Ferrari F50: 34,600 Nm/deg
Ford Focus 3d 19.600 Nm/deg
Ford Focus 5d 17.900 Nm/deg
Ford GT: 27,100 Nm/deg
Ford GT40 MkI 17,000 Nm/deg
Ford Mustang 2003 16,000 Nm/deg
Ford Mustang 2005 21,000 Nm/deg
Ford Mustang Convertible (2003) 4,800 Nm/deg
Ford Mustang Convertible (2005) 9,500 Nm/deg
Golf V GTI: 25,000 Nm/deg
Jaguar X-Type Estate 16,319 Nm/deg
Jaguar X-Type Sedan 22,000 Nm/deg
Koenigsegg - 28.100 Nm/degree
Koenigsegg CC-8: 28,100 Nm/deg
Lambo Gallardo: 23000 Nm/deg
Lambo Murcielago 20,000 Nm/deg
Lamborghini Countach 2,600 Nm/deg
Land rover Freelander 2 - 28,000 Nm/degree
Lotus Elan 7,900 Nm/deg
Lotus Elan GRP body 8,900 Nm/deg
Lotus Elise 10,000 Nm/deg
Lotus Elise 111s 11,000 Nm/deg
Lotus Elise S2 Exige (2004): 10,500 Nm/deg
Lotus Esprit SE Turbo 5,850 Nm/deg
Maserati QP - 18.000 nm/degree
Mazda Rx-7: ~15,000 Nm/deg
Mazda Rx-8: 30,000 Nm/deg
Mazda RX8 - 30,000 Nm/degree
McLaren F1 13,500 Nm/deg
Mercedes SL - With top down 17,000 Nm/deg, with top up 21,000 Nm/deg
Mini (2003) 24,500 Nm/deg
Opel Astra - 12,000 Nm/degree
Pagani Zonda C12 S 26,300 Nm/deg
Pagani Zonda F - 27,000 Nm/degree
Porsche 911 Carrera Type 997: 33,000 Nm/deg
Porsche 911 Turbo (2000) 13,500 Nm/deg
Porsche 911 Turbo 996 Convertible: 11,600 Nm/deg
Porsche 911 Turbo 996: 27,000 Nm/deg
Porsche 959 12,900 Nm/deg
Porsche Carrera GT - 26,000Nm/degree
Renault Sport Spider: 10,000 Nm/degree
Rolls-Royce Phantom - 40,500 Nm/degree
Saab 9-3 Sportcombi - 21,000 Nm/degree
Volkswagen Fox: 17,941 Nm/deg
Volvo S60 20,000 Nm/deg
Volvo S80: 18,600 Nm/deg
VW Passat (2006) - 32,400 Nm/degree
VW Phaeton - 37,000 Nm/degree

kosmo

the new cayman at 42,000 is right up there!

iambon

Chris Harris just fell in love with the new Cayman
In corners he said;

"That is a great essence of a great mid-engined car and it is why the Cayman always has the slightly advantage over the 911"

.

fxz

he said also

"not perfect..."
"small sport car"
"it s not a track car"

don t you have the money for a 991 ? buy it!

do you have the money but you d prefer a mid-engine car ?
Buy an Audi R8 (money will stay in family as well )


but please stop comparing Apple with Oranges