GRM Review: Porsche Cayman

Not the S model but a standard Cayman. It's not often we get a lightly-optioned Porsche in the fleet. Does this car make sense at $60,000?

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/new-cars/2012-porsche-cayman/

Ahh, a review I can hang my hat on. I've not read it yet, but can't wait to.
The Cayman is an incredibly good looking car. Much like the 2nd gen MR2 and Corrado, these cars will look modern and stunning 25 years from now.

A few years ago the mid-engine formula made a return visit with the Boxster

A few? That was over half my life ago..

LOL

I am so on-topic in these review threads...

Love the Cayman looking forward to reading this

Drove the 1st gen Cayman S about 5 years ago, really liked it. Very tossable, good power band, felt solid.

Don't like the price of new Porsches in general and you can make a strong argument that the Audi TT-RS is a much better car for less money than a Cayman S...

Noooo... the TT RS is a lot of fun, but I've never driven anything that was as telepathic as the Cayman R. Felt like putting on a custom-made set of clothes.

"If I wanted to spend that much for a crappy interior, I could buy a Corvette Grand Sport and have plenty of money left over for better seats. "

Ain't that the truth.

I'm surprised about the interior, although I usually think I could care less. (So long as the seat, shifter, pedals and wheels are good.)

Moral of the story: Get the one with the letter after the name. S, R or RS. The cup cars are also pretty sweet :)

Interior as bad as a Corvette's? Ouch.

But with all the competition out there I always thought the mid-grade Porsches were for the more-money-than-sense crowd. If you want performance, a Corvette or Elise/Exige makes more sense, or if you care about luxury a BMW or Merc makes more sense.

The Cayman has always given me the impression that it is the true spiritual successor to what the 911 was when it was introduced. More 911 then the 911, which of course hasn't been the 911 for quite a while.

Does it justify a $60,000 price tag? In a world where $55,000 (list price, but still) buys you a 200mph Mustang (OK OK, 195 or so) and the FR-S is $25,00...I'd say no.

60 grand? Wow. Dreams don't come cheap, even when they have cheap dashboards.

I agree totally with you, Alan. The first time I saw a Cayman I was in love. The first time I sat in one I was quickly looking for a new love.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Moral of the story: Get the one with the letter after the name. S, R or RS. The cup cars are also pretty sweet :)

No such thing as a Cayman RS or Cup... those are GT3 designations. The Cayman R is pretty awesome, though.

That said, if I were in the market for a Cayman, I'd wait a year for the new one. (Technically there will be no 2013 model)

Maroon92 wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Moral of the story: Get the one with the letter after the name. S, R or RS. The cup cars are also pretty sweet :)

No such thing as a Cayman RS or Cup... those are GT3 designations. The Cayman R is pretty awesome, though. That said, if I were in the market for a Cayman, I'd wait a year for the new one. (Technically there will be no 2013 model)

I thought the ITC cars were factory built cup cars for the series ( based on the S model ).

I do know there is an S and an R... and Porsche usually has an RS followed by an RSR when they need to rake in a ton of euros. I am waiting for the Panemera RSR so I know when that have finally jumped the shark. I should probably google these things first.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Maroon92 wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Moral of the story: Get the one with the letter after the name. S, R or RS. The cup cars are also pretty sweet :)

No such thing as a Cayman RS or Cup... those are GT3 designations. The Cayman R is pretty awesome, though. That said, if I were in the market for a Cayman, I'd wait a year for the new one. (Technically there will be no 2013 model)

I thought the ITC cars were factory built cup cars for the series ( based on the S model ). I do know there is an S and an R... and Porsche usually has an RS followed by an RSR when they need to rake in a ton of euros. I am waiting for the Panemera RSR so I know when that have finally jumped the shark. I should probably google these things first.

The ITC cars are NOT factory supported, and neither are the Cayman Interseries cars. There is a base cayman, a cayman s, and a cayman r. Nothing more.

There will never be a Panamera RSR. RSR is the ACO LMGTE spec car eligible for Le Mans and like events.

Maroon92 wrote: The ITC cars are NOT factory supported, and neither are the Cayman Interseries cars. There is a base cayman, a cayman s, and a cayman r. Nothing more. There will never be a Panamera RSR. RSR is the ACO LMGTE spec car eligible for Le Mans and like events.

I am learning stuff even w/o the googling.

What about the Italians... they have a Cayman Cup. Same deal? No factory support? Just Caymans racing FOR a cup...?

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Maroon92 wrote: The ITC cars are NOT factory supported, and neither are the Cayman Interseries cars. There is a base cayman, a cayman s, and a cayman r. Nothing more. There will never be a Panamera RSR. RSR is the ACO LMGTE spec car eligible for Le Mans and like events.

I am learning stuff even w/o the googling. What about the Italians... they have a Cayman Cup. Same deal? No factory support? Just Caymans racing FOR a cup...?

The Porsche factory currently only supports racing efforts of 911 based models. 911 GT3 R, RSR, Cup, and Hybrid. There has been no factory racing support for any other model since the Cayenne Transsyberia in 2007 and 2008.

As a friend at Porsche once told me, they race two kinds of cars: 911s and prototypes.

The words "Porsche" and "Value" have never been used in the same sentence as long as I can remember. You either want a Porsche or you don't. Options have always been stupid expensive. I've owned seven Porsches. Only one was new. I only lost money on one. Guess which?

I fell in love with the idea of the Cayman before they even started selling them. I liked the Boxster and always wanted a mid engined car, but didn't want another convertible.

About a year and a half ago, I started looking at used Caymans to see if I'd be happy with a base model once the price dropped to an affordable level. I drove several base cars and discovered that I really liked them and that I would be perfectly happy with one. I made offers on a couple of cars, which were declined because I am a cheap lowballer. I ended up buying an S, but that was mainly because I stumbled upon a great car at precisely the right moment. I couldn't be happier with the car, though I think that I would have enjoyed a base Cayman almost as much.

Cayman's are the only modern porsche that appeals to me. Hard to say why exactly.

I saw one on the way to work today and was reminded how much i like to look at them.

Speaking of Boxymans, what did you guys think of the Boxster generation-by-generation comparison in the current issue? If you don't have it in your greasy hands yet, the digital edition is already up:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.epubxp.com/title/13037#

Liked it. Very useful comparo info.