991S CPO all day long. Far superior car in every way. I'd get a Cayman S over the GTS anyway, especially since the sport suspension is a fairly cheap option. Smoked out lights and black trim that came from the marketing department instead of engineering is laughable to me.

Carmine is cool but a waste of money considering the awesome colors you can get from the free-700$ range too. If you're going to track "maybe 2-3 times a year" like you said, I think any Porsche sports car of any trim level will be extremely pleasing, including the ones you already have. Is your track day fun really going to hinge on that extra tenth of a second? Would you even honestly notice if you didn't see it on a timer after the fun was over?

To me the GTS solved a problem that didn't exist and fills a role already filled, perhaps to a degree measurable with a micrometer. A 981C-S will be 99% what the GTS will be, it will look better (classier) and will likely be significantly cheaper especially with standard market discounts. Also the stock Cayman S wheels are the second best wheels they offer IMO (second to the 50th...and I bet if you found someone to shadow box paint them...) and you're not forced into that smoked out fast and furious look for no reason.

Also ymmv but I hate the gaudy look of Alcantra suede interior. At least they give you the option of deleting it if you order but I bet 90%+ lot cars will have it. I'd gladly leave the 15hp on the table for what you save with a Cayman S, not to mention the boy racer bling you're not forced to get. I also doubt you'll notice the 1/10th on the chrono over the S either, unless you track a ton. Or end up picking up a Wonder Bread sponsorship and going semi pro with it or something.

To me a Cayman S very nicely equipped in the low to mid 70's is far superior to a 90-something thousand dollar GTS. Once you get anywhere near that, 991S CPO all the way, and twice on track day. All that said though, you really can't go wrong. It's just all varying degrees of awesomeness.

 

What he said.

 

I was looking to purchase a Cayman S and after configuring them to over $90k I made the jump to a 991S and am certainly happier (if not poorer ) that I made the move.

I'm am likely in the minority, but I'm just not all that overwhelmed by the Cayman GTS. Seems like 10 parts marketing to 2 parts performance.

 

Yep, except I like the alcantara. I paid in the 90s for a new ordered C2S with everything I wanted and nothing I didn't. I like the carmine and the alcantara but the price difference to the Cayman S and the C2S doesn't make sense to me. That being said none of these purchases are rational exercises buy what speaks to you so you can go at least one year before yearning for something else/new.

 

I asked the same question to a Japanese certified Porsche mechanic before I decided to go with the 991. He said, sure Cayman GTS is cool, but overall, the parts made for 991 are still higher quality and better engineered (and more expensive).

 

Oh and the mid-ship engine is so overrated once you drive the 991. 991 drives just as well and in many occasion handles mucho mucho better. With pasm, there's no match.

 

Stick with the GTS.
I will probably get assaulted for saying this, but I also think it looks better.

 

The 911 is better value for money. As soon as you take delivery of the Cayman it is used, just like the 911. Except the used 911 is worth a lot more than the used Cayman.

 

Yeah, except for the fact that both cars share the majority of parts. Maybe the japanese techs are trained by the marketing dept? And mid engine is inherently better. Fact. Full stop.

 

At $54k, a yellow base 981 Boxster with Sport Suspension (X73) gets you all of the purist Porsche engineering contained in a loaded GTS or 991S at half the price.

 

Do you have facts to back up this statement?

 

Facts to backup the parts sharing? Like body panels, glass, engines, interiors, electronics? Well yes, it's the PET (sic?), you can download it and compare the models or just ask your tech. Anecdotally it's obvious; like the fact that many parts share designation; ie 991, 981, etc. I just had my windshield replace and it was clearly marked for both models as a limited example.

The fact the mid engine is inherently better as a platform, is illustrated by every clean sheet race car design and needs no explanation.

The cayman is an amazing vehicle for the price considering the S model, and certainly the better buy depending on the owners requirements. If it's to strut around the country club or office parking garage it may be overshadowed by the 911 by certain folks and not by others who can't differentiate or don't care. YMMV

Either way denigrating the cayman or boxer to exult the 911 is a futile effort at best and to the initiated an exposition of ignorance.

 

Dude, you're doing a lot of generalization. I'm talking about mid-ship in cayman and boxster compare to 991. Not mid-ship in ALL race cars!

Go drive both cars, attack corners the same way, and I'm sure you know what I'm trying to say. Mid-ship in cayman or boxster are so over-rated compare to 991. I say this again, freakin over-rated compare to 991 and I too drive a boxster (besides 991).

Not trying to insult you because you seems to know your stuff, but you sound exactly like the salesman that tried to sell me the GTS. So who to believe? Mechanic that actually work on the car or salesman that reads from catalog? Unlike the salesman guy, the mechanic has much higher salary and I know for a fact that he doesn't get commission from car sales.

I think the opinion that Cayman GTS is being so similar to 991 is a sales pitch, nothing else. It's so much like a real-estate business: Wooden house with a lot of nice furniture or identical house with less nice furniture but made from bricks. Take the furniture away, and you'll see which house you want.

 

I just had my windshield replace and it was clearly marked for both models as a limited example.

The 991 and cayman use the same windshield?

 

As an owner of an 981cs and someone that misses the torque and power of my old 996tt (no comparison in handling) that the 981cs does handle very nice and the mid engine does turn much easier than my old turbo. I've not driven the 991 series, but I can't see how it could possibly be as nimble. Quick is a very different story as acceleration after the apex is easily given to the rear bias and unfortunately the Cayman S and GTS are still lacking in ponies in comparison to the 991s and above. I think the 981cs has to be just easier to drive.

Am I wrong?