I consider myself a Porsche enthusiast. I enjoy reading the topics here on rennlist/rennteam/6speed, not only on 997, but in the 996, Boxster, Caymen/GT3/Turbo forums as well (well OK I sneak a peak on the 993 forums as well ). I enjoy the chatter, arguements, flammings, etc and have a pretty high tolerance (not much bothers me, usually) to comments, self riteousness, statements, opinions, etc.

It is amusing to hear the 993 owners claiming that they have the last of the 'real' 911's, how the imperfections of their cars give it more 'character' etc. Boxster owners seem fairly civil, vivacious, but caymen owners/posters seem to have a real chip on their shoulders. I wandered by caymanclub.net just to get a feel of how happy Cayman enthusiats are with their cars. Most of them seem great guys/gals, but the underlying tone seems to be elitist/defiant. The constant complaints that Porsche deliberatly 'sabotaged' the cayman by making it underperform 'to protect' the 997, the non stop comments how rear engine design is out dated, how cushy the 997 is, useless rear seats, lack of storage space, the cabin is too quiet, stearing feel is lacking, lack of communication with the driver, how vastly superior the cayman is in handling etc, etc. (I'm not going to debate these points as most are subjective).

Its funny how rarely if ever do 997/996 owners critisize other members of the Porsche family despite the other cars many flaws. The thing that annoyed me the most is the latest comments that the 997 is not a real sports car (whereas the Cayman is). If that is a way for Cayman owners to justify their purchase, well so be it, but come on.....997 not a sports car?

This leads me to questioning the definition of a 'sports car' = An automobile equipped for racing, especially an aerodynamically shaped one-passenger or two-passenger vehicle having a low center of gravity and steering and suspension designed for precise control at high speeds. Here is the link: http://www.answers.com/topic/sports-car
According to the definition, the 997 certainly does satisfy the criteria (latter on there is a comment how 2+2 configuration was designed to lower insurance premiums etc). Since the 997 outperfoms the Cayman in almost every measurable test of 'racing' (show me in which race did the Cayman beat a 997) how is it that the Cayman is a sports car and the 997 (911) is not?

I did not want to start a flame war (so that is why I posted on our 'home turf') and usually things like this rarely bother me, but I needed to articulate my feelings on this matter.

 

We all drive legitimate sports cars. If cayman owners object, they are just baiting you. I don't think anyone would dispute that the 911 is a sports car. What's up for debate is where caymans belong in the porsche family, what role it will play in the porsche lineup, and what long-term commitments porsche will have for that car. I'm confident 911s will be around as long as Porsche exist. But did the 356 last? 914? While demand for the cayman is good, will it considered years from now as a boxster with a hardtop or heir to the mantle of 911? Will the cayman get the 3.8? 3.8 turbo? No matter how popular the cayman becomes, it will not eclipse the panache, pedigree, and proven racing success of the 911 any time soon.

 

If anyone says a 996 or 997 is not a sports car they do not know what a Porsche or a sports car is. I also often browse the other forums but never post on them, like you said, I can see the chip on their shoulder and don't see any point in defending what I say although they know it is correct.

 

Well Deven , according to your dictionary link ,a " sports car " is defined (among other things) as having only one or two seats .
That being the case , our beloved 'eleven is no sports car except perhaps for the GT-2 .
( Damn old ' Ferdie for insisting on adding rear seats just so he could take his Brats along . Lol )
I guess we'll have to yank them out or be satisfied with only owning the best sports COUPE ?

 

Its funny because I thought that too, but latter in the 'definition' under seating, there was a comment about 'emergency' seating making the sports car a 2+2 (and aparently also lowering insurance premiums in doing so).

I usually don't post on the other web sites unless it is a more generic question, but my thoughts were how Cayman owners view 911 owners and what they would be thinking if you ran into them during a rally or DE event, or any Porsche related event. My suspicion is that the true 'cayman enthusiast' will look down at you for having a 'sub-par' car and actually resent the 911; because of its existance the cayman is 'detuned' or 'underpowered' etc. ('because people like you keep buying 911's, the cayman will never reach its full potential').

 

I've driven or owned virtually ALL of them;

The 911 is one of the (few) TRUE Sports Cars on the market.

And they lived happily ever after... The End.

 

To me a sports car is a car with either no back seat, or an incredibly small back seat such as in the 911. The days of judging what is a sports car simply by its speed are gone thanks to Mercedes, BMW, Bentley, Audi, etc…..

 

Strange that I only lust for the following sport cars: CGT, TT, and GT-3... You don't see the Cayman on my list... I wonder why? If I had purchased the Cayman instead of the 997, I would've added the 997 to the above list.

It almost seems that everyone with a sport car just wants to player hate on the 997. Okay, is it because deep inside their brain housing group they need to justify their own purchase. I am gland my choice was the 997, now I sleep at night knowing I own the best true sport car on the market today!

 

Can a sports car have automatic transmission?

 

I resounding "YES, YES, YES"!!!!!!!!!

 

Deven, I don't get the same feel about Cayman Club that you do. In a recent thread started by a 997 owner who was thinking of trading his Carrera in for a Cayman, most posters told him to keep his Carrera. I think the Cayman owners on that board are some of the most open minded automobile enthusiasts I have found on the internet. While this board is also exceptional, there are many 911 owners on other boards that spend most of their time bashing Boxsters and Caymen.

There isn't any universal accepted definition of sports car and when Road and Track did its best all around sports car issue last year they spent some time on it. Sports cars started as two seat convertibles with stick shifts and many purists still go by that definition. Road and Track called the M3 a sports car when they compared it to a Corvette and 996. To anyone but the most jaded narrow minded person, the 911 is clearly a sports car.

Alan

 

[QUOTE=cvazquez]I am gland my choice was the 997QUOTE]

So, your thyroid is happy? Maybe your pancreas?