After months of anticipation, I finally drove a Cayman S today.
01-14-2006, 02:04 PM
#1
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After months of anticipation, I finally drove a Cayman S today.
It was even better than I was expecting, and I was expecting a lot. Beg, borrow or steal your way into a test drive. The steering is phenomenal and very communicative, even at low speeds, the powerplant is very flexible and has some of the rasp of the old aircooled cars, and the chassis is completely and totally unflappable. I loved it.
01-14-2006, 02:10 PM
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for a sec I thought you wrote "cayenne S"
was about a hair away from totally disregarding anything you had ever written... then I re-read it like 3 times and you're good to go now.
01-15-2006, 06:49 AM
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Mmmm Cayman...
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01-15-2006, 04:04 PM
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BARF...not a fan...still the poor man's Porsche in my mind..Carrera or nothing at all.
i think Porsche is spreading themselves too thin with all these cars...arent they coming out with their version of the quattro porte also..SO DUMB. They should stick to building racecars for the street only. The Carrera and Carrera GT and nothing else.
01-15-2006, 05:16 PM
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Poor man's porsche? That thing costs damn near $60k....
Porsche's reputation isn't built on building racecars for the street, its built on making affordable high performance cars
to be honest, in my opinion, the Carrera GT is a great car, but cars like that really aren't porsche's forte.
Cars like the Boxster and Cayman, however, that outperform pretty much everything in their class, are Porsche's forte, and also are what Porsche has made its money on
to be honest, in my opinion, the Carrera GT is a great car, but cars like that really aren't porsche's forte.
Cars like the Boxster and Cayman, however, that outperform pretty much everything in their class, are Porsche's forte, and also are what Porsche has made its money on
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01-15-2006, 07:19 PM
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$60k would buy many other fine automobiles in my book than those cars
my M3 is such a better car in my book and pulls more *** than those ever will. maybe because it feels like a mid life crisis car to me but, i think the cayman plays too much styling off of the Boxter and personally i hate the flattened frog look. the frog is ok but the smashed frog on the highway...no thanks. to those that consider one....i say save your money for the Aston or at least get a Lotus Elise.
01-15-2006, 10:28 PM
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Your M3 weighs a whopping 450lbs more than a Cayman S, and has a mere 30 more bhp...
...making for essentially the same power to weight ratio. Put that together with the Cayman's superior balance (several percent more weight over the rear tires than over the fronts), lower polar moment of inertia, greater contact patch to weight ratio, and lower center of gravity, and I'd put my money on the Cayman S any day.
As for your criticisms of the Cayman's styling, that's a matter of taste, of course, but the entire concept of the "Poor man's Porsche" was created and fostered by 911 enthusiasts too insecure to admit that their baby (which I too love, but about which I am far more realistic) is fundamentally flawed by it's backwards layout. A modern 911 is a fantastic car, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that the Cayman is more spirited, more involving and definitely a better handler. The 911 is a quasi-GT now, more for touring than for all-out sports car driving (the GT2 and GT3 aside), and so is the Aston you mention. As for the Elise, I'd rather drive one than a Cayman in many situations, but to be realistic, an Elise is a toy, whereas a Cayman could be driven comfortably every day and over long distances.
Also, Porsche isn't "spreading themselves too thin." In fact, they're now rolling in money, thanks to the Cayenne, and the Panamera, their large sedan, is going to do even more to ensure that they can remain financially viable and independent, allowing them to pursue more projects like the CGT and the new prototype race car (which looks gorgeous, btw, and is sure to be a success). And Turbo_flipper is quite right- Porsche has never been about building racecars for the street- that's more Ferrari's forte. Porsche builds spirited, involving and livable sports cars, and currently the Cayman S is the best one they have.
Cheers!
As for your criticisms of the Cayman's styling, that's a matter of taste, of course, but the entire concept of the "Poor man's Porsche" was created and fostered by 911 enthusiasts too insecure to admit that their baby (which I too love, but about which I am far more realistic) is fundamentally flawed by it's backwards layout. A modern 911 is a fantastic car, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that the Cayman is more spirited, more involving and definitely a better handler. The 911 is a quasi-GT now, more for touring than for all-out sports car driving (the GT2 and GT3 aside), and so is the Aston you mention. As for the Elise, I'd rather drive one than a Cayman in many situations, but to be realistic, an Elise is a toy, whereas a Cayman could be driven comfortably every day and over long distances.
Also, Porsche isn't "spreading themselves too thin." In fact, they're now rolling in money, thanks to the Cayenne, and the Panamera, their large sedan, is going to do even more to ensure that they can remain financially viable and independent, allowing them to pursue more projects like the CGT and the new prototype race car (which looks gorgeous, btw, and is sure to be a success). And Turbo_flipper is quite right- Porsche has never been about building racecars for the street- that's more Ferrari's forte. Porsche builds spirited, involving and livable sports cars, and currently the Cayman S is the best one they have.
Cheers!
01-15-2006, 10:33 PM
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Oh, also, some selected Nurburgring lap times...
Some selected Nurburgring Lap Times...
7:32 - Porsche Carrera GT
8:11 - Porsche Cayman
8:12 - Porsche 993 Turbo (430 HP version)
8:17 - Porsche 996 C2
8:32 - Porsche Boxster S
8:35 - BMW M3 Coupe
7:32 - Porsche Carrera GT
8:11 - Porsche Cayman
8:12 - Porsche 993 Turbo (430 HP version)
8:17 - Porsche 996 C2
8:32 - Porsche Boxster S
8:35 - BMW M3 Coupe