Porsche Cayman gts

[Mucus72]

Had the pleasure of accompanying a friend who owns a cayman to the Silverstone Porsche Experience centre this morning. Now Porsche know how to treat their customers. Blimey. Great facilities, full English brekkie in their restaurant. 12 of us, 12 cars, 12 instructors. Mixture of Cayman, Cayman S and Cayman GTS. They have a wicked little B road style circuit, a skid 'kick plate' area and a regular skid pan. And I had a fab time. The GTS is an amazing car, just a few percentage points more honed for track use in every area when compared to the S. My god, it was awesome. Not going to sell my 7 and save up more pennies, but if I could get away with just one car and a two sweater at that then the GTS would be it.

[Mike C.]

Few thoughts:

 

1. There's rumoured to be a Cayman GT4 coming soon - could be sensational.

 

2. For a lot less money, it could be possible to buy an early 987 Cayman or Cayman S and 'optimise' it for road and track use - new seats, harness, brakes, suspension, tyres, bit of weight saving - all for well under £20k

 

3. I drove a really nice Porsche 993 last week - coupe, manual, varioram, C4 - 😬 🥰 and just loved it - hugely accessible and enjoyable handling and performance, in such a nice package - and, perhaps, a prudent financial prospect

[ruff seven]

I think the Cayman is a very underated car, I always liked boxsters for there out of the box all round performance/chassis, I think it is in some ways better than the 911, I guess if they do fit something like a 3.8 vr engine it will be sublime as the chassis is so underpowered, Mike a customer of mine sold his 993 C4S v/r with 15k for £50k

[Red SLR]

I will be at the PEC in October - doing the 991 PDK course first then the GT Evolution.

[Mike C.]

Quoting ruff seven: 

Mike a customer of mine sold his 993 C4S v/r with 15k for £50k

 

Wow, wish I'd known - the stealers would have that up at £75k+ in the current climate. Although, personally, I prefer the narrow bodied 993s.

 

Agree about the Boxster/Caymans, arguably being closer to the traditional Porsche ethos. The 991 variants are unquestionably excellent - but now elevated to GT status. Which is why buyers of the new 991s with PDK and all the clever driver aids also want a traditional air-cooled model - so they can savour the classic 911 virtues when the mood suits.

 

[ruff seven]

Mike I may have a 993 silver with black 30k miles 2 owner, nice car, I will let you know

regards paul d

[Mike C.]

Thanks Paul

 

(note to self: must resist, must resist, must resist.....)

[the_village_idiot]

Quoting Mike C.: 

Few thoughts:

 

2. For a lot less money, it could be possible to buy an early 987 Cayman or Cayman S and 'optimise' it for road and track use - new seats, harness, brakes, suspension, tyres, bit of weight saving - all for well under £20k

 

The Gen 1 Cayman isn't that quick. 250 BHP ish. The Gen 1 S is better, near 300 from memory- and a more racer feeling engine. But the "S" engines are very prone to bore scoring and near failure. A £7-£9k engine bill on a £20k car is hard to stomach. I wouldn't use the S on track and the 245 BHP one seems a bit tame by today's standards.

 

Also values start at £14-15k and modding a car for track will easily take you up to £20k. It's also a highly accomplished road car- but it's not a track car IMO and there are better base cars out there IMO.

 

The Gen 2s are much more robust engine wise. And both have about 20BHP more than the Gen 1s. Therefore, the Gen 2 S is the one to have IMO. But they are still £30k.

 

I took a Cayman R for a thorough and fast test drive and it was the best car I have ever driven. I loved it. Absolutely sublime in every area. Pity they are still £40k. They have a cult following. Standard Gen 2 S is 99% the same car.

 

 

However- both the Gen 1 and Gen 2 Caymans are based heavily on the 90s Boxster chassis. The 981 on the other hand is streets ahead. The electric steering is it's downfall but in every other area- it's a peach.

 

 

I'm feeling the need to scratch the Porsche itch- for me it will be a Gen 1 non S for a bit of B road fun and comfy commuting- then a Gen 2 S when they are £20k. Then maybe a 981 when they are £25-30k.

[New Cat]

I have a humble 2008 Gen 1 Cayman 2.7 manual which I downgraded to 17" wheels and is strictly for road use only. Its awesome, for me the perfect daily driver, so much feel through the steering, throttle adjustability (on the 17s, not the previous 19s) and fantastic road performance. In the 2.7 it's not a lazy wall of torque but there is plenty of power if you use the revs. Its also touchwood proving very reliable and cheap to run (found an excellent local ex-OPC specialist).

 

Having been loaned a new 981 2.7 (Boxster admitedly) and expecting the new car to be a game changer and significantly different / improved I was surprised to find only very minor evolutionary tweaks and a little less steering feel.

 

On a track stick to the Caterham but as a daily driver come rain or shine the original 2.7 Cayman is hard to beat.

[wag]

The elecric steering is a great shame. Of course we hear about it being more efficient (the reduction in CO2 is marginal) but they do not mention it is cheaper to produce.

[Wrightpayne]

A 911 has always been my dream car but think a Cayman may be a more realistic proposition (but not just yet!)

 

SWMBO would like another convertible but just cannot see myself in a Boxster.

 

Also, I think we'd need the garage doors converting from twin singles and centre pillar to a double width door.

 

Ian

[ccconn]

Ive been lucky enough to own a Cayman S sport, Cayman R and 911 997 gen 2 S and have just recently chopped in the 911 for a new Boxster S with pretty much all the toys of the GTS

I can honestly say its probably the best car Ive ever had, pretty much as dammit as fast as the 911, beautifully neutral handing and brilliantly well made

Cayman GT4 if all the rumours are correct will be brilliant as well

I have a mate who works ftp Jonathan Palmer and he says the cayman/Boxter is the best car they make

Chris

 

[Mucus72]

Interestingly (if you are tall) I ruled out Cayman mark 1 and 2 because friends had then and they were too small for me to comfortably fit into - I'm 6ft 6 but with longer leg to torso ratio. The 981 S with either normal seats or the fixed back seats mean that I can really comfortably fit. The GTS is a tighter fit with its standard seats, I felt like I sat higher and couldn't quite go back (seat base slider) far enough. I guess you could spec a GTS with different seats but I daren't check as I would get twitchy and try and buy one.

[Mark w]

Interesting thread .

I am in the process of considering a GTS as my next car .

 

I've had a GT3 for the past five years and am considering the Boxster this time . Like others have said the 987 generation cars were a bit tight for us tall ones but the increased size of the new one plus it's looks go towards making a much more attractive package .

 

The only doubt I have is if it's going to feel just a bit too ordinary after the GT3 ? I do want something a bit more useable ( comfortable for the wife ) but still want that special feeling when driving it . It would definately have to have the X73 suspension pack .

 

 

[lucky chap]

Having been lucky enough to own a fair selection of mid range sports cars over the past 5 or so years I eventually saved up for a 987 3.4l Cayman S about two years ago, a car I had very high hopes of but with some doubts having owned a 986 2.5l Boxster a few years prior which was a big disappointment (having been a Porsche fan since I was a child). Although a very nice car to drive, as a serious sports car the power to weight felt all wrong and the handling was heavy and rather boat-like!

As for reliability, it was fine example bought from a dealer which subsequently suffered 3 separate faults within the 2.5 months I owned it, not great!

 

As for the Cayman S, it is so far detached from the original Boxster it's amazing. I was able to pick one up with every extra available (almost), adjustable sports suspension, sports mode for heightened throttle response and pneumatic seats which turn the comfy leather arm chairs into tight bucket seats at the touch of a button! Round town it's a beautifully refined and quiet road car with exceptional reliability, but hit a winding country lane with all the gizmos engaged and it's truly astonishing both what pace it has and the levels of grip available, with zero role.

 

All in all a totally different car to the Caterham of course, but yet still one of the closest performing cars to a 7 available today - with a tad extra refinement ;)

 

[the_village_idiot]

Quoting ccconn: 

Ive been lucky enough to own a Cayman S sport, Cayman R and 911 997 gen 2 S and have just recently chopped in the 911 for a new Boxster S with pretty much all the toys of the GTS

I can honestly say its probably the best car Ive ever had, pretty much as dammit as fast as the 911, beautifully neutral handing and brilliantly well made

Cayman GT4 if all the rumours are correct will be brilliant as well

I have a mate who works ftp Jonathan Palmer and he says the cayman/Boxter is the best car they make

Chris

 

How does the Cayman R compare to the latest Boxter?

 

I suspect the latest boxster beats the R in most areas. But the cult following of the R will keep values high. I prefer the look of the R myself.

[the_village_idiot]

Quoting Mark W: 

Interesting thread .

I am in the process of considering a GTS as my next car .

 

I've had a GT3 for the past five years and am considering the Boxster this time . Like others have said the 987 generation cars were a bit tight for us tall ones but the increased size of the new one plus it's looks go towards making a much more attractive package .

 

The only doubt I have is if it's going to feel just a bit too ordinary after the GT3 ? I do want something a bit more useable ( comfortable for the wife ) but still want that special feeling when driving it . It would definately have to have the X73 suspension pack .

 

 

I would imagine the cayman woukd indeed be more useable and the chassis would come alive at about 40 mph slower than the gt3.