Have never seen the back end of one.........

In the rear view though, they look really small

 

Stock for stock, same skill level driver, a CaymanS is not going to beat a 996TT on ANY track. It loses on the Nurburgring by 15 seconds (7:56 for the 996tt and 8:11 for the CaymanS). You want to talk about conditions.....even the slightest bit of rain, the CaymanS is a handful. A 996tt is unbeatable in less than ideal conditions. Yes, the CaymanS is more "tossable" but it only makes up for its lack of power by so much and it ain't near enough to beat a 996tt in a race. Now, the Farnbacher Loles CaymanS with 3.8L engine and 400+hp is a different story... but there you are in 997GT3RS price range........and we all know how bad *** the GT3RS is.

I'm not going to knock any Porsche (car) as I love 'em all.

 

Well, as everyone has said it isn't really apples to apples...but I've ridden in several. One as an instructor at an Autox that was set up by GMG with a little supsension stuff and an excellent driver. The car was absolutely awesome, fast and composed....then a stock one with a newer driver and I was STILL impressed. Handled and turned in like a champ, a word I see written here several time is "balanced" and I'd agree.......a really fine sports car and perhaps like the Boxster that it sprang from a little closer to the old sports car ethos of light weight, moderate power, and great handling....wish Mrs. Cooper would let me load up the garage with more cars!

 

I'll tell you what, I sure like how those CaymanS are holding up on resale. Seems like enough Pcar fanatics across many different previous models want a piece to keep them in demmand on the 2nd harnd market. Good news for the 2nd owner of a CaymanS... Could work out being one of lowest depreciating sports cars beind sold today.

 

I've owned two Boxsters and have driven the Cayman. The mid-engine design provides a really different "feel" for the driver. In the Cayman the driver feels like his body's center of mass is actually carving the corner - there is no front end dive, and no rear end lag. Turn-in is also sharper. But aside from these presentations, the car really doesn't go around a corner any faster than a Turbo. As a matter of fact, I found the mid-engine design lacking in "grip" (in a large fashion) coming on-throttle post apex.

I'm much happier in the Turbo...big time cornering ability, big grip on-throttle, better steering weighting, much more stable, and obviously much better power.

 

Cayman S. Great sports car, plenty of power given its weight and perfect neutral handling. i also love the ability to switch between sports and normal suspensions- i will always get this option in the future.

Before the test, I was wondering a bit about where the Cayman fits into the porsche lineup. 1) Is it a coupe version of the boxster? Then why does it cost more? 2) is it a cut-price carrera? then if it's so good, won't porsche cannibalize its own sales?

Now it starts to make a bit more sense to me. The Cayman has been presented by Porsche as a more "pure" sports car than the boxster, and counter to any claims that the boxster is too soft. You want a sunroof? Sorry, the that would compromise the rigidity of the shell too much, not available, at least not in Germany!. Decide- do you want to drive, or get a suntan.

It's also more different than it looks compared to the 996 due to the engine layout. Also as someone pointed out, the 996 is more a GT than sports car- kind of hard for me to get used to having grown up with the image of the 928 as porsche's answer to the GT question- but now I agree. Throw in the signifcant price difference, and it's unlikely that Porsche will lose too many 911 sales to the cayman.

Unless you will track the car, the boxster S kind of makes more sense. 1. it's cheaper. 2. basically has an equal amount of storage space. 3. the option to go top-down. look, the cayman is brilliant, i admit looks better, and i think anyone buying one will enjoy it immensely, but what's really clever is how porsche identified a not-very-apparent niche in the market, and are now successfully selling a coupe version of a convertible for more money on mostly just looks and image.

 

I was recently on the track at the Streets of Willow ( Springs, in CA) with my TT and another Caymen S. I found my car not terribly well suited to the circuit (Brakes, lag, weight, body roll etc.) and had my hands full staying with the Caymen (admittedly, the guy was a great driver, and he was litterally driving the tires off the Cayman, I was probably runnin 8 1/2 - 9 1/2 10ths)......But I'll tell you, no matter what, that Cayman S was very impressive on that course. Sure, I could over power him where I had the room, but he wipped me or at least stayed with me thru the turns and overall was pulling the same lap times as I. And I'm telling you, it was no slouch under the full power pulls either. I was IMPRESSED. But I've yet to drive one.

 

The driver obviously makes a huge difference.

Do you know what kind of tires the Cayman was running?

Is your Turbo stock?

 

Four days ago I picked up an '02 996TT. This is my 2nd 996TT. I traded a '96 993C2 for the TT. When they first came out I drove a Cayman S and was VERY impressed.

Some time has passed and a month or so ago, with the new car itch starting, I drove the Cayman S again and a 997S for the 1st time. The 997S was a wonderful feeling GT car, but it has lost something that my '96 993C2 has. That pure sports car essence is gone and has been since the last 993s rooled off the line. The Cayman S was less impressive the 2nd time, as many things are after the initial adrenaline buzz is past. The car still handled extremely well, as many have noted and I also felt on my initial drive.

I live in the foothills west of Denver with many world class sports car roads at my doorstep. This should really give the edge to the Cayman S along with the fact that this car is not my daily driver. What I found on the 2nd drive was that the Cayman S was very cramped (I''m 6'3" - 235 lbs) and felt sort of insubstantial when compared to the 997S. Am I outgrowing the desire for the pure sports car experience, maybe, but I think something else is really at work. I learned long ago to be careful which sports cars you buy and what you pay for them.

The '05 997S & '06 Cayman S I drove recently were both used, so the 1st big hit were taken by someone else on both cars. The 997S was listed at $85K and the Cayman S at $60K, as I recall. Both could be bought for less and both were still under factory warranty. There are a few used 997Ss out there. There are ALOT of used Cayman Ss out there. Alot of people, apparently, bought the Cayman Ss when they were the new Porsche on the block and now have decided they're not what they want. Recently invoice deals on '06 Caymans were the rule not the exception, and big discounts are available on '07s. Obviously, supply and demand is a factor in this equation as well. I personally think Porsche is building too many Caymans to keep pricing- retail or re-sale, at all firm. Additionally the Cayman IS A GLORIFIED HARDTOP BOXSTER carrying a premium over the ragtop version??? It's no wonder that in the secondary marketprices are extremely soft. The secondary (used) market is the most objectiive, legitimately priced market- No fancy Porsche store showrooms w/ attractive new car lease offers, etc. No brand new car hype. If you want to maintain reasonable resale values don't build too many cars and don't price the hardtops more than the ragtops.

Now for the 996TT. The 996TTs are remarkable cars from a all around perfromance standpoint. The turbocharged GT 1 race derived engine smokes the 997S or Cayman S. This is particularly important at 6000 feet. The all wheel drive system allows mortal men to harness and fully enjoy the power available. The interior is full leather and extremely comfortable when compared to the Cayman, the interior comfort is similar to the 997. The car I bought was a one California owner '02, 33k miles, lightly optioned car. The maintainance records were meticulous, 30K service just done, has new brakes and fresh tires. Now the clincher- I paid approx. $62K for this car. I could have paid a little less for the Cayman S, but it's half the car and I'm terrified about future resale value. I could have paid $20K more for the 997S, with much less power, particularly at altitude, and still have some pretty steep depreciation ahead. One last point- I have the window sticker for my '02 TT- It stiickerd just shy of $120K...

The 996TT is the clear winner IMHO, when taking all factors into consideration.

 

How about a 996 C4S vs. a Cayman S??

 

FLB....I hear you. I've had the 997S, the base 997 , 993C2 and 993TT, and I still have a 500hp Dinan S2 modified BMW M5.....not withstanding my "on the track" comments above, I too think the 996TT is the clear winner on the streat and for everyday use. It's just that at the limit, on a short road course Streets of Willow, I felt the my near stock TT was a bit out of it's element.

To answer the other questions above; my '02 996TT is stock except chipped and ported headers. I was running Yokahama Neovas ( nice, near R compound tire, but poor street choice), the Cayman S was on bald, OE Pilot Sports (that were nearly melting of his fronts, better in the rear).

And yes, he may well have been a far better driver......but I've done track events in my 911's for 25 years and rank myself as pretty good.

 

Do yourself a favor and install Porsche's best 996 Turbo suspension...X73...and let me know how you then fair against the Cayman. It only stands to reason that both cars should be in "Porsche's best" configuration before drawing any hard conclusions.

 

Clearly, a 996TT with a street/track modified suspension (let alone a full race setup) would make it unbeatable against the Cayman S on virtually any track.

 

I don't consider X73 a "modified" suspension...it's was a factory option for ROW Turbos.

 

I did not refer to the X73 as a "modified suspension." I was making a general comment about the performance of 996TTs with suspensions upgraded from the base configuration.