yemenmocha

Aesthetics aside please.... in terms of performance and value will this car be much of a competitor for the Cayman S?

BMW has always boasted its 50/50 weight distribution.

The car has 330hp, weighs 3100 lbs, and that engine has power nicely sprea throughout the RPM range (I have the same engine in my M3 and I love it.)

Base price is $49, 300 and nearly full equipped is $56k. No extra charges for desirable interior colors and virtually all exterior colors have the metallic $475 charge already included in my $56k number above. Bottom line, MSRP vs. MSRP is about a $10-14k gap.

Remember: comparing the new Coupe not the M Roadster. Unlike Porsche the Coupe is cheaper than the convertible.



-Aaron

ventoGT

Pick up any Car, Evo, Road and Track, Motor Trend, etc, etc, etc.....The Z4 cab gets bested by the Boxster S every time. I would imagine the same will hold true for the coupe as well, at least from a pure performance standpoint. I agree with you that it is hard to compare the cars due to the pricing...it will come down to what you are looking for--sharpness of handling, steering and road feel versus the price. It is going to come down to what it's worth to you--drive both and you will probably know which one you want--there isn't a wrong answer I would think!

pstoppani

Well, I'd say the comparos between the Z4 M Roadster and Boxster S have been pretty close; each car having it's strenghts. The comparos do all seem to say the Boxster S is the "better" sports car, but it seems they are pretty close. So, I'd expect the M Coupe to be very close to the Cayman S. Both are very cool; I thought about waiting for the M Coupe but in the end, after owning several M cars and several P cars, the P cars are indeed built better and designed better so the price, to me, is worth it.

One thing that I find interesting is how BMW makes a big issue of the 50/50 weight distribution as an asset. Well, it is better than a front heavy car, but it is inferrior to a rear weight biased car when it comes to performance/sports cars. So, I wouldn't call the 50/50 thing a necessarily good thing compared to a Cayman.

1AS

I haven't driven either, but it wouldn't surprise me if the BMW with more weight on the nose was more resistant to cross winds in highway driving. Cabin noise is also a livability concern, if you want to put on many miles, and there the front engine would be expected to have an advantage.
Neither of these are performance issues, but rather livability issues.
The performance is close enough to make seat-of-the-pants detection difficult.
The Porsche looks better to me. AS

Moogle

if they are THAT close, than porsche will win due to its name , and all the trademarks associated with it (ergonomics, driver connection, contorls response/etc)

bet

When you read the Z4M vs. Boxster S comparisons they are always very close. With a straight line speed/power advantage going to the BMW. But in the end the Boxster S always seems to win because of its midengine layout/handling and a very subjective "it just feels right" type of explanation. Another factor that seems to always tip the reviewer in favor of the Porsche is the steering feel and feed back that the Porsche has and the BMW lacks when compared to the Boxster. Unless the coupe is complete reworked to give different handling characteristics and/or better steering feedback and feel and/or really reduces the weight to make the performance difference even greater it would seem the midengine design of the Cayman will win in the end. However, as most of the comparisons of the ragtops say both will likely be great cars and neither one would be a wrong choice.

Cloud964

To me, the M coupe has more character, while the Cayman is a little lacking in intangibles.

Porsh-uh

If that's not "I'm a Bimmer homer" I don't know what is...

wushuhsu

BMW has stated that the target of the M-coupe is the 911, because the Cayman is too low-performance to be a competitor.

mooty

sorry, but bmw is dead wrong.
low performance in what sense?
personally i prefer cayman over ANY 911 other than GT3 and CGT.
and i have had countless numbers of bmws, include e30m3 e36m3 e36/8 (aka m coupe).

Cloud964

Cayman is lacking, that's my opinion. You don't have to agree if you don't want to. Just don't tell me who I am and who I am not. Cayman is for gayman.

wushuhsu

Don't remember. It was in this month's EVO magazine. They interviewed Jörg Hermann, the man who headed up the development of the new BMW Z4 M-coupe.

Perhaps he's right and perhaps he's not. But I'd test drive the new BMW Z4 M-coupe before making up my mind.

pstoppani

Did you really just say that?

Cloud964

Not if you also own a 911.

pstoppani

Seriously, I agree that Z4's (all of them) have a lot of styling character. But then Porsche's in general are more about "form follows function".

I like the Z4 M Coupe; I actually considered waiting for it instead of getting the Cayman, but as an engineer and track junkie, I find the engineering/design of a mid-engined Porsche more to my liking. But it will not be easy to stay ahead of a good driver in the M Coupe, that is for sure.