Doug&Julie

Co-worker just brought the issue in for me to read. Some highlights...

"When you move to the rear, there's no mistaking the Cayman for a Boxster, a 911, or anything else on the road."

"Dynamically, though, the Swabian reptile is sensational, impressing most with the fluidity of its motions...as long as you drive it neatly, this car almost never sheds its composure."

"You can slide this car all the way to the lmit at virtually any velocity."

"...once the fat Michelins let go, you can drift from dusk to dawn."

"As with every serious sports car, the Cayman's essence is timing, rhythm, and coordination."

"The new Porsche is actually everything the 911 has not been for most of it's career: confidence-inspiring, super-stable, totally balanced, quite forgiving, a gifted storyteller that is equally good at listening."

"The Cayman confirms the theory that the Boxster platform is an all-time masterpiece...you can see why Porsche chairman Wendelin Wiedeking doesn't want to give it any more power."

"...it's potently obvious that this car could easily cope with an extra 100 hp."

"...it is such a seriously quick all-rounder and track day hero."

MikeN

Just got mine yesterday and pretty much liked everything that was mentioned.......however I found two things really interesting......

One was the comment about the interior......"First impressions are that the Cayman is as snug-fitting for the driver as it was for the passenger and that the mid-mounted engine makes life hard for the air-conditioning; the cabin serves up rump roast over frozen heart as a summer dish."

As I live in a hot climate this is a *big* concern for me.......hopefully Porsche is listening and will fix the problem......if indeed it is one, could just be a test mule abnormality though.

Next was the comment......"Without PASM, Rohrl's trip around the 'Ring would be three seconds slower."

$2k PASM upgrade for 3 seconds???.....did I get that right? I'll be sticking with the stock suspension thank you.

Doug&Julie

I've heard a lot of people say that PASM is really only for hard core track junkies, both on the Boxster and 911. So you won't be the only one...

Also, I think they're saying that w/out PASM, the ring time would be three seconds slower than the 911? ....which would be...what...seven seconds slower than with the PASM? Maybe I'm not reading it right...

MikeN

Hard to tell.......the article kinda jumps around a lot in that area.....I'll be waiting for more write ups!

Doug&Julie

There's an article in the new Excellence. Interestingly, Porsche doesn't come out and admit that the Cayman is faster than the base 911 at the 'Ring. The author of the Excellence article openly questions Porsche's "facts".

Unfortunately, the Excellence people must not have gotten to drive the car yet. Too bad...I'm with you, I can't wait to hear more impressions about the car!

...and I'm already tired of seeing the silver promo car with the Boxster red (..er, is that Cayman red?) interior.

MikeN

Ya, I haven't really seen a "great" article yet......keep getting better, but not there yet.

That would be the silver on "special leather" terracotta......a nice but truly different color. I'm ready to see more of the silver on blue car or any other color for that fact.

Doug&Julie

Yeah, don't get me wrong, it's a nice color combo. I just want MORE and DIFFERENT.

bet

The Excellence article had some huge mistakes like listing the engine as 3.2 liter and 0-60 times of 5.4. It caused me to lose some confidence in the other "facts" and opinions in the article. The Automobile article was quite interesting. I can’t wait to drive the car.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the A/C. Having owned a Boxster I did not notice any of the problems Automobile mentioned. The Cayman S driven was a "test mule" so maybe some of the heat and sound insulation was missing which allowed more heat to permeate the cabin. Of course the activities the people were engaged in (track driving) may have caused the drivers and passengers to have elevated body temperatures and they may not have been in the car long enough to let the A/C fully cool them down. I would analogize to like if I go to the gym at lunch and come back all hot (after showering of course) and sit down in my leather office chair. The back side of me is still very hot until I am in the office long enough to totally cool off.

MikeN

Thanks for the insight Brian......I was kinda thinking the same thing. I actually took a closer look at a new Boxster last night after reading the article.....just to see what differences there would be as I haven't heard any complaints from new Boxster owners on this issue. So I think your right.......hot day, track driving, test mule, two people in it, etc., all joined to cause the problem.

Doug&Julie

Keep in mind, it IS a hatchback, so it won't cool as easily as the Boxster. Still, I can't imagine the Boxs...er, the Cayman's AC system not being able to keep up with the increased glass area heating the interior. I'm sure Brian is right....it's probably more to do with environmental elements.

Jim Michaels

Re the comment that PASM might just be for track junkies, I would consider the 10mm lowering and shock absorber firming for a "more sporting ride" to be a very mild change. Similarly, the Sports Chrono Package (SCP) changes to throttle response and rev limiter in sport mode seem rather mild. Thus, serious track junkies might want to get the standard fare and later enhance suspension and engine performance with more drastic changes when the aftermarket tuners provide them. I plan to get both the PASM and SCP. Drive to autocross and track venues in comfort and just press the sport button on the dash rather than always driving a semi-permanent compromised car.

mark34

Your second quote says..."dynamically, though..." Does the "though" indicate that this follows some serious criticism? I hope this hits the bookstores soon!

Doug&Julie

I think it followed some sort of comment on the storage. There was a lengthy paragraph on that for some odd reason...

Now I'll have to buy it to check it out myself!

bet

If I remember right (I will check tonight) that comment came right after the criticism of the "snug" interior (which I am a little baffled by considering everything looks exactly like the Boxster - and this is even mentioned) and the suspect AC.

bet

Doug may be right. There was a rather lengthly discussion of the trunk under the hatch being roughly the same size as the Boxster rear trunk, then how the hatch area was somewhat limited because of the slop of the glass and how there were excited to see the deep forward trunk from the Boxster. They even mentioned there were two deep storage bins with flip lids from where the Boxster top mechanism was...it was rather odd.