M Danger

So whats the consensus? Place a deposits now? or will demans be low enough that dealers will have more cars than buyers so you can get a discount a month after the cars arrive any way?

I wonder if for the price and power will lose buyers. also, if its at an odd price point where people who can afford it would just was well buy a 911, where as others who might have been interested, that could afford a boxster would scoff at paying more for a coupe.

not to mention i think since theyve taken SOOOOOoooo long to bring this car out, many potential customers may have just said "forget it"

Gator_86_951

Haven;t got the jack anytime soon (ie 2.5 years maybe). If I bought one it would be used.

Palting

My bet is that it won't be such a hot seller. It's an excellent car, but the price comes too close to a 911. I have the 987S, and the Cayman S is essentially a better performing coupe version. I also have the 996 C4S. I like them both, each one better than the other in several different categories. Comparing the two, I think the mainstream American car buyer would put more weight to the categories that the 911 is better in. There will be two types of Cayman buyers. One type will want the "best" Porsche but is already stretched for the Cayman and can't quite afford the 911 even with leasing. The other type can easily afford a 911, but will buy the Cayman because it's new and novel. If I didn't have my current Porsches but knowing what I know with the two I have and was looking to buy a Porsche, , I would buy the 997 over the Cayman because the prices come too close to each other. I would be a mainstream car buyer.

If I were looking to buy a Cayman, I would wait out the first few months. Waiting would probably save me several thousands of dollars.

Jim Michaels

I've placed refundable deposits at two dealers so far, just to get in line. Those who have placed deposits have over six months to decide whether they really want to order one, and, if so, how to spec theirs. Perhaps this is the new Porsche some people have been waiting for; essentially the "Boxster Coupe Plus." Some of us passed on the original Boxster because it was a cabrio (and a bit too "soft" and under-powered initially), and the 996/997 because we thought it had moved a bit out of the sportscar classification into the GT classification. The early versions of these had some teething problems too. But the Boxster and 996 brought in a lot of new Porsche owners. According to Excellence, in 1998 only 16.4% of Boxster owners had ever owned a Porsche before. With the Cayenne and Carrera GT, Porsche now has most bases covered, but we're still waiting for the pick-up truck and the mini-van.

MikeN

Had a deposit down since end of '04. I still don't know if I will be going ahead with it......still waiting for an ordering guide, etc. High price, no sunroof (yes I do like this option), and not that much more power over the Boxster S is keeping me on top of the fence for now.

I don't see the Cayman being in very high demand.....even from the start......nothing like the Boxster when it was first introduced or even the present 997. People will want it, but not a ton of them. I will probably sit down with the order guide, spec one out, and see what I will have to pay for it. If my dealer sticks to MSRP or tries for anything above.....I'll probably walk. If the options work out to my liking and I get some sort of discount (I won't be asking for the moon....maybe $1k-$2k) I may go with it.

But you are right......this car has been much to long in coming and doesn't appear to be 'da bomb I was expecting. I might just wait another year or two for a slightly used 997, 996 Turbo, 400HP M3, etc.

M Danger

Yeah im in agreement for the most part. Im not really 911 guy, im the kind of person who likes the "other thing"(with in reason). Ive just really wanted a hatch back, though from the looks of it, it still doesnt have as much room as a 944. If i wasnt going to turbo charge it, i would opt for a 997 S(i guess the kind of have me, im a porsche guy, so i have to get a porsche, assuming were talking new cars here) In some way its not about the cost but the value and i think thats where porsche might lose out.
If i can get one for 55k and its not tottaly stripped down i might go ahead.(as long as it doesnt come with those awful wheels).
THe dealer i put my name down at said MSRP, im just not sure they meant as opposed to a discount VS a markup

Cupcar#12

waiting to see what the used market wil be like on this one -
I would make a killer track car once you ditch everything inside add some safety stuff and take her racing.

carreracup21

Rob, My thoughts exactly. I must say this car looks like a killer ride in stock D class, as I suspect that's where it will end up in PCA. It also looks like a great platform for a RS or track friendly variant. Sounds like the primary hurdle for serious track duty will be the oil system and whether they can come up with a dry sump. Still there are a lot of 996's and 997's out there racing in GAC with the wet sump and they seem to be ok.

nyca

do we know what equipment will be standard on this car yet?

ScottS

I am not sure about the two types of buyers thing. I have a deposit on the club sport to keep my 996 C4S Cayenne company. Or I might buy a regular S ( with DSG) for my wife. The newness factor is very interesting to many people. Also a 65K well optioned sports car is a very viable and not a stretch for many. Almost an afterthought. Remember Porsche is a very smart company. Perhaps with a proper sports car not quite the 911( call it the anti-911), perhaps the cayenne induced buyer will transition to a sports car as an addition to their SUV. A key element in business is bringing the new customer further into your product line with additional product. Just a thought. Then later on, we'll see the 4 door P car and the brand will get even bigger.

Gator_86_951

Exactly what i was thinking........I can't handle owning a street only porsche.

Delesh

Aside from the initial demand from those who want the newest ride, I feel the cayman will attract those who cannnot afford a 911, as people have said, and the more hardcore enthusiast drivers. Not that I think it is inferior to a 911 (on the contrary actually). I think this is a great opportunity to show that porsche is once again serious about making a hardcore performance machine. I really hope porsche brings out a high performance low weight version (club sport?). This would help to solidify the cayman as a performance model versus a 911-light and continue the porsche tradition, that many feel porsche has abandoned(cayenne), of building innnovative, high-tech, and lightweight cars built solely for optimum performance. If porsche built this model stripped out with a high performance 3.4l or 3.6l engine pushing ~350hp and other goodies to show off porsches engineering prowess (maybe option of advanced dsg?)with a price around 60-65k I think it would be a classic. I do not feel this cayman model would, even with its high performance, cannibalize sales fom the 911 as the 911 is much more refined and GT oriented. They would also do well to go racing with it. Anyway, I am just hoping that porsche, now that they have secured their independence are ready to set themselves back on the road to special performance models for all of us hardcore enthusiasts.

Cupcar#12

i think for PCA/POC racing the oiling system with the aftermarket extra capacity BK peice and a baffle should be OK - the races are realitively short, serious endurance racing is out i would imagine with out some serious mod's.
let's see if the do a GT version - i doupt it will be raced by porsche however - but who knows nowdays - they have proven they can make money off the racng cars and another priced below the GT-3RS/R would be a volume leader in that biz.

MJSpeed

I agree plus it would fit right in to the SPEED Challenge Touring Car Championship, with it's older brother, the 911, in the GT Championship. I believe it's only a matter of time.

Rick Longano

How about this ? Since the 997 GT3 Cup is going to go in the $ 150 K range landed in the US, maybe a factory Cayman Cup will fit into Porsche Motorsport's future plans ?!

Rick Longano