pstoppani

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/02/...ebut-in-march/

mooty

WHAT is wrong with you, pete.
stop tempting me.

pstoppani

Well, you kinda need more power if you are going with those fat 285 rear tires... don't you think?

bhensarl

Wow. I'm not exactly sold on the 997 aero kit front spoiler, but who can argue with the X51 in a Cayman?
Brian

bet

I agree. Why go to the expense of making it look like a 997 from the front? If you are going to mess with the look then go with Carrera GT lights and make it more unique instead of looking like the 997. Or if you want the 997 loot experiment with the front using the the spy pictures of the GT3 and incorporate the top vent design to allow cooling from the front radiators to come up over the top and decrease the front end lift. Or leave it with the Cayman look and just give it more power.
Whatever the case may be you can't argue with the more power.

mkell

Wow! Any price speculations?

mooty

it's over 100k.
base car is 60k.
conversion of engine related stuff is 40k.
add a few bux for suspension and body pcs.

mooty

cayman doesnt need more power, it needs dry sump, LSD and some coil overs.

DCLee

I politely disagree-- the little Croc-Buddy definitely needs more power to justify all of the hype about its arrival. Re the LSD, I'm hopeful that a Guard Transmission unit will be available if one isn't already. Another Q is aftermarket suspension-- does anyone have JRZs/Motons and proper matched swaybars for the car yet?

The GTR is going to be prohibitively expensive, I'm afraid. One of the engine options is a $37k crate motor, and the 997 front clip (a waste of $, in my opinion) adds like $10k. I don't know the pricing yet, but I could easily see someone dropping $120k on a conversion that does not have RUF heritage and will thus be very difficult to sell later at a decent price. For that kind of money, you could buy a new 997 GT3 and a set of track wheels and be very happy. (I'm not holding my breath for the new GT3 RS in the States).

Anyone have pix of a rollbar installation for the Croc-Buddy? How about the Sebring guy's car?

Also, the first Cayman S has been flipped in the D.C. area-- red car, 8k mi., in the paper yesterday for around $60 (vs. $72 or so reported purchase price). I suspect these will be like Boxsters-- Porsche newbies buy, drive, pose, get bored, sell. I am waiting to scoop one up...

Lee in D.C.
'04 GT3 RS clone (for about another week... )

bet

Me too. I am thinking in about 18 months. I am guessing $10-12k or better off the sticker.

perfectlap

now there's a blanket statment!

Porsche world has been waiting a LONG time for a mid engined coupe for less then $400K..... Thus the hype.
Porsche **finally** relented because they knew it would be low in cost to them and would appease the enthusiasts who there are enough of nowadays to make some money. 1000 units so far is $70 Million in the bank already.

Mid-engiine porsche coupes are PAG's worst nightmare because it threatens the image of the bulk of their rear engine Porsches in performance (the non-gt2,gt3,Turbos,etc). Fears that mean the Boxster and CaymanS get 3.4 or less. But most non-gt2,gt3,Turbo 911's are sold to people who never go near a track or autocross so their fears will prove to be unfounded. The 911 buyer is older with kids and needs a backseat thus the CaymanS will never be the first choice.
So put some power in the Boxsters and CaymanS arleady!!

p.s.
don't wait too long for a 2nd hand CaymanS. There is a long line of people looking to buy 2nd hand the residual value will be excellent for the 2nd owner and the talk is that this will become the preferred car of weekend track warriors and driving schools and autocross junkies and purists and....
Shave a few hundred pounds, add some power, mid-engine power,legendary porsche handling and you've got the Porsche equivalent of the Lotus Elise (but better and cheaper).

pstoppani

Well, until it weighs a heck of a lot closer to 2000lbs, the Cayman will never be the equivalent to the Elise. Also, I doubt there will ever be a $42K Cayman, especially with a lightened and more powerful version.

Still, it will be a worthy track car

perfectlap

with porkier and porkier Porsches coming down the pipe a CaymanS minus all the unecessary elements will be as close you can get to Elise from the Porsche brand without going full carbon Fiber and spending a fortune. err I think you know what I mean.
Who will be quicker: a stripped down non-gt2/3/turbo Carrera or the stripped down CaymanS with a few non-engine related upgrades? If it's the CaymanS then I seehow this could become a problem in the track reputation/marketing department for the bulk of the coupes that Porsche sells.

btw, if you could choose only one car for weekend fun ONLY would you ditch your CaymanS or your Elise?

mooty

pete, cayman wont get any cheaper but hey, i know what you can do to yours. you know the hood, doors fenders on cayman is same as 997cup car in CF ;-) i need someone to do that first so i can convince wife, LOL.

I politely disagree-- the little Croc-Buddy definitely needs more power to justify all of the hype about its arrival.
____________
DCLee, well, b/c you know how to drive. for many who purely using it on the street 295hp is more than enough on street.. how do i know... hahahahaha, you dont want to know how many speeding tix i have had in one year. if i told you, you would lose whatever you had for lunch... but in all seriousness, i tinker with suspension more than power. for me that's more fun. but hey, if i can get more power, i dont mind, as long as the suspension is set up to match 350-400 hp. right now, it's not.

Re the LSD, I'm hopeful that a Guard Transmission unit will be available if one isn't already.
___________
called them. not ready yet.


Another Q is aftermarket suspension-- does anyone have JRZs/Motons and proper matched swaybars for the car yet?
________________
i am on both of their list. i THINK moton club sport would be ready by july/august. they told me it will be ready in 6 weeks or so. but that really means august if you know what i mean.

TRG told me that old boxster adj sway bars MAY fit, but they need a test car to try out. i didn't want to volunteer mine.

GTR will be over 100k for sure, even without all the cosmetic stuff. yeah, i can't resist and called the devil to find out ;-)


Anyone have pix of a rollbar installation for the Croc-Buddy? How about the Sebring guy's car?
______________
i tried to contact him, no response yet.
i will have a cutom roll bar fabricated late march early april. if that turns out nice, i will post pix. but my fabricator and i spent hours and hours trying to figure it out. one you have to goto some sort of race shell seats, else there's no room for the front leg of the main hoop. i stuffed gt3 seat in there, i works for me as i am only 5'9". it's very hard to get a diagonal into the main hoop as it will barely clear (or maybe wont) the bulkhead b/n the seats. the rear kickers can goto a structural member under the engine area. there's a silver pcs of thing across the car b/n the rear shock towers (the oil filler area). take that silver pcs off, about 4-5" below the carpet you will see a cross member in which you can weld the rear kicker to. very tight tolerance. it'll be a bitch to install if you want to keep the interior. if stripped like a pure race car, easy.

Also, the first Cayman S has been flipped in the D.C. area-- red car, 8k mi., in the paper yesterday for around $60 (vs. $72 or so reported purchase price). I suspect these will be like Boxsters-- Porsche newbies buy, drive, pose, get bored, sell. I am waiting to scoop one up...

pstoppani

I would definitely ditch the Cayman S and keep the Elise.