MikeN

Whoa guys, I think we're going too far here. To my knowledge I haven't seen any *official* Porsche release stating that the Cayman S is going to be any sort of a track car. Yes, many of journalists have induced tons of speculation into the picture......but all I have heard from Porsche is that it will be a bit more hard edged than the Boxster or 911.......but still no official track weapon. I don't think it will be that much lighter than a Boxster.......just the basic weight savings of not having a foldable top......no special panels, no lighter underpinings, normal 3.4l engine (probably 95% of the original 996 engine), standard Boxster interior, etc. Nothing really special here......for now.

It's a Boxster coupe with slightly more power.......so by default it will be a better track car than the Boxster and given the mid-engine design probably better than the 997S.......no big surprise here, at least to me. But will it be a true track car?......no, I think it will be a great street car that should also be great at the track.

Now if they do manage a CS version.......that could be the car some are dreaming of here.......I don't know if the "S" will be that though.

ian

Mike,

While I do agree that the Cayman S is not going to be a track beast right out of the box, what I feel is most exciting is the potential that the car represents. An "affordable" mid-engined coupe is a step in the right direction, and after the tuners get a hold of these things they will be beasts. It is only a matter of time before someone put one on the market with the 997S motor, or perhaps the 996 GT3 engine swap? And hopefully Porsche will follow through with the CS model in the not so distant future, and I have my fingers crossed that it will make it to the US.

NC-P-Croc

To me this will be the ideal Porsche (ideal for me firstly because of 'affordability', which is relative when I see folks that have 2 or more Porsche's, let alone any other cars). 'Affordable' for me is a relative term when it's price is likely to be $60k compared to my $37k car. Ideal because of mid-engine design and the handling that brings, ideal because of storage capacity for such a small car, a hardtop (not a fan of soft-top roadsters), and the new 987 chassis and 3.4L engine. Mine won't see the track, I got that out of my system, perhaps an autocross or two would be fun. I had been looking at mid-80s 911s, hoping for a 2nd car, a 'toy' in addition to my normal car, but I can really only justify one car, one car payment, so I put down my deposit and am told by the salesperson I'm P1 on that dealer's list. Would make one hell of a Christmas present depending upon when they start getting here.

Cupcar

The Caymen won't be any better racing car than a Boxster or 997 if it still has the wet sump engine, which it will.

P-Car fanatic

I think it comes down to one thing

do you need rear seats or not?

NeedPorscheSpeed

May I recommend a 1995 968...

hly

having two little back seats vs. better handling from a mid-engine platform, what to do

Fast40th

Backseats have sold many 911's... ask me how I sold the idea of buying a 911 to my wife!
In all seriousness I certainly needed the backseats to take my toddler with us in our driving adventures with the 911... For small families with children who want to have fun with a sports car, the 911 offers the best thrills. IMHO the 911 is the best "family" car!

perfectlap

The Cayman will be expensive because its the future of Porsche.

Boxsterund914

I read through this post and was amazed at how many people bring such strong prejudices/opinions to this thread. Here's one more. One does not need to be paying very close attention to see that Porsche has been trying to get away from rear engine, air-cooled cars for a long time. It is a real testament to the incredible engineering ablities of those at Porsche that they have been able to make such an anachronistic design remain viable for so long.

Allow me to climb up on this thing...... there, that's better....

Someone said that it is easier to drive a Boxster fast? Think how stupid that is...why should any driver have to learn to overcome an inherent design fault through some long and arduous learning curve? And to what end? Porsche isn't exactly dominating motorsports right now with rear-engined cars. Let's face it, if Porsche put an equal size motor in the Boxster, it would freakin' blow the sox off the nine-eleben, no question about it. But, but.....that would make it the drivers' fault when the car hit something and not the car's fault.... whilst the driver was valiantly attempting to control the anachronistic wooly beast of a proud 911. <sigh>

It's comfy up here

Has anyone been watching the 911s getting creamed by FREAKIN' CADILLACS!! on the Speed Channel? Please bring back mid-engine P-cars so our brand can win some races for crying out loud.

Hey, I kind'a like the viewfrom so lofty a perch.

I believe that 911's are cool and fun but cutting edge technology? Who are we kidding? It is time that the factory that makes and markets some of the best value-proposition sports cars available today stops being limited by the 911 die hards that are holding the company back......Don't think they are? They told everyone that the 914 wasn't a "real Porsche" they told everyone the 928 wasn't a "real Porsche" they told everyone a 924,944,968 etc. wasn't a "real Porsche" they are telling everyone that the water cooled engine design is not good and not "real Porsche"............Good Grief! get off it. Porsche is actually having to price position and market their cars around a rear engined car as the banner carrier?

Look at me, way up high like this

What, after all, is "real Porsche" all about? when the original rear-engine air-cooled design came about "real Porsche" was about thinking outside the box and trying new technologies and new designs in search of more and more performance. This kind of thinking gained Porsche a following ..now the following they gained want Porsche to follow the followers and not do the thing that gained them the following in the first place? OK then.

I, personally, would not have considered a Porsche if the Boxster was not in the line. I think the mid-engine design makes a lot of sense, I like the convertible and I love the balance and handling. It reminds me of the 550, I would like to find one of the 2.5 cars (I have an S model) and just "go to town" lighteneing the thing down to bare bones, put a big motor in it and .... but that wouldn't be a "real Porsche" would it? I guess I better not.


Wow, I'm a newbie and I'm going to get creamed for this post, pardon while I practice my ducking skills.....now the bob and weave.......the serpentine running maneuver........

blackboy

As far as the Speed GT series is concerned, it's important to realize that all cars are performance restricted. The greater the performance potential the greater the restriction.
All in the name of tighter competition. It would be interesting to see which car would win if they were all let to race as they were originally built. Could be Cadillac or Porsche or Corvette or.....

autobahnNY

The Boxster seems easy to drive since the limits are so high. Even with a standard suspension. When driving the Boxster at 9/10-10/10 you have to pay special attention. As for as the 911 being more of a challenge...why do most add suspension upgrades such as x74 and pss9? Seem like that would make the 911 drive less challenging, hence easier. That's why I don't buy the Boxster is easier to drive. They are different. As a performance car you want the best setup possible. Its not necessarily about being easy

Sean

I don't get the "easy to drive fast" label either. Isn't that a key objective of sports car design?

I guess the same could be said of a Radical. It's easy to drive fast. A GMC Suburban, OTOH, really offers a challenge to drive fast.

perfectlap

looking at this Cayman around the ring....yep the Cayman is the future flaghsip of Porsche.

The car that saved Porsche from bankruptcy will also be the car that leads Porsche into its next era.
The Panamera will appeal to the non-purists who buy 911's because it has four seats(sort of) and the Cayman will be 100% concentrated on performance. Making it cost nearly as much $$$ as a 911 is part of the long term vision. Better to make it exclusively priced from the get go. There will be many levels of Cayman like a Cayman GT3. Maybe not now but it will come. Start saying your goodbyes to the rear engine legacy.

gtdrei

Boxsterund914

I agree with most of what you say from that lofty soapbox. I may have been the guy that said it's easier to drive a boxster fast than a 911, at least I think I did, any way, I believe it.
Bear in mind that the Cup cars 'racing ' in the Daytona series are not only severly intake restricted,but, I believe, also have some restrictions on suspension height, designed to make them uncompetitive. This series is a NASCAR owned POC designed to help American cars win. No properly set up Cup Car or ALMS GT spec GT3R would lose a race in that series.

The GT3's have been heavily restricted since 2003, when Kevin Buckler's Racer's Group GT3 won Daytona outright, almost sweeping the race with the 3 car team, and trashing the 'Daytona Prototypes'.

TRG is now campaining a Pontiac in the Grand American series.

Are you kidding me ?

Robin