RE: New Porsche Cayman R Revealed

[Wills2]

whythem said:

£52K! I wonder if its faster round a track than a 6mth old 997S, which has the luxuries, better looks and kudos.

You'll be lucky to get a 6 month old 997 C2S for 52k....

[Beefmeister]

whythem said:

£52K! I wonder if its faster round a track than a 6mth old 997S, which has the luxuries, better looks and kudos.

• <- the point______________________________________________you ->

[Garlick]

whythem said:

£52K! I wonder if its faster round a track than a 6mth old 997S, which has the luxuries, better looks and kudos.

I like the 911 too, but I wouldn't buy one over a Cayman for 'kudos' alone. Look are in the eye of the beholder though.

[peeves]

Those seats!!!!

[havoc]

I'm also one of the people who'd pick a Cayman S over a stock 911 Carrera 2/4. If Becky had been making the decision last year not me, we'd have a Cayman-S in the garage instead of the NSX.


That said, I'm firmly in the "thoroughly underwhelmed" camp on this one - this is barely a 'Clubsport', and certainly isn't a "-R".

To answer Chris Harris' question - I'll wager the Porsche Execs aren't even aware of (and certainly don't care about) that part of their heritage. Much like every other manufacturer nowadays, heritage is something to be plundered in the name of marketing, not held up as a good example.

Thorburn said:

juansolo said:

Marf said:

Should have been there from the beginning. Sports car without an LSD

Elises don't have an LSD and they get on pretty well.

If only they knew! I think its optional, but in the press briefing they said something like "We'd prefer people didn't spec it, we've set up the car properly.".

Interesting...although I wonder if that's a little arrogant and misleading?!?

The NSX has a good diff and, while subtle in action, REALLY gives you good traction out of corners. I'd be surprised if a non-diff equipped Cayman could deliver the same.

[RobM77]

kambites said:

iain1970 said:

I've not smirked at such a load of rubbish in a long time, four pages of moaning from hardcore 'drivers' that push their cars to the limit each and every day that Porsche have launched, nay DARED launch a Cayman (always known never to be allowed to out perform a basic 911) that might be not was expected from all these people with readies waiting to be spent on their product.

I bet they're kicking themselves they've got it so wrong.

I don't think anyone is actually claiming that Porsche should have done anything different. They're a company, their job is to make money, not produce the best possible cars. This is a forum of motoring and/or driving enthusiasts though, not of accountants and business analysts.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 17th November 12:16

Some very true comments.

Firstly, let me clear up a load of bks which habitually echoes round Pistonheads - you do not need to be driving at the limit to appreciate good handling, controls and ride etc. This is the whole point of road cars - appreciation at road speeds. All of my comments above were formed from two 30 minute drives of Cayman Ss at road speeds on public roads.

Secondly, you're both of course completely right - Porsche aren't in the business to make the best driver's cars ever, they're in the business to make money. Personally, I see creating cars as an art form, and I think Porsche's attitude is a shame. Was the Millau Bridge, The Gherkin, The London Eye or Concorde built purely to make money?.. All probably had an uglier design that would have done the job. Norman Foster is not a legend because he can make buildings that are cheap and won't fall down, but he's still made money and is very well off. I believe that, like Mr Foster, car companies should have passion for what they do. Much like Ferrari started selling road cars to fund Enzo's true passion of racing, I believe a company like Porsche should aim to make a profit, but to build their cars with passion and enthusiasm for making good road cars. Look at the Elise for instance: the pedals didn't really need to be formed out of a single aluminium extrusion, but they look great so they chose to do it. I'm not an anti-capitalist, and believe in making money, but I believe in more than just money, I think that life (and cars, or whatever floats your boat) should be enjoyable and engineering objects as beautiful, simple and well formed as they can be. I'm not talking about having a profitable line of cars and making a range topper to draw in the punters (R500, Veyron etc), I'm talking about making cars that can be as good as possible whilst still making a profit. I'm sure it wouldn't impact too much on Mattias Mueller's holiday plans if Porsche could make the Cayman S better to drive so that 1% of their buying audience could appreciate it, or even just if a few boffins at Porsche are happy with it. Most people never notice the pedals on their Elise, because they don't have eyes in their feet, but Richard Rackham did, and that was enough for him.

[juansolo]

Beefmeister said:

whythem said:

£52K! I wonder if its faster round a track than a 6mth old 997S, which has the luxuries, better looks and kudos.

• <- the point______________________________________________you ->

Likewise I bet it the 997S doesn't go around a track better than a 6 month old Radical SR3 RS which is 'lighter weight and more hardcore'...

[zakelwe]

sleep envy said:

zakelwe said:

You don't really need air con in the UK unless you are a salesman worried about sweaty pits, not sure why people are so soft nowadays.

have you spent many summer days in a rear/mid engined car with little or no sound deadening / heatshield?

it's not pleasant

None at all.

I have worked in Kuwait though where temps do actually get more than the 35-40C max you will get in a car typically during a british summer. Don't be such big girls blouses. You'll be complaining next the noise hurts your ears

[LukeBird]

It's nice, but it's an idea from marketing, that; engineers didn't have their say in that project...

[Whitean3]

Well, I have to say I like it. I think a lot of Porsche enthusiasts have been waiting for a more focused Cayman for years now. Don't really agree that "R" is the right model designation; "CS" would be more appropriate. Colour is not the best, but this is always the way with recent Porsche unveilings. White with red wheels and it would look great. 52K is a lot of money; but so is 70K for a 911- I wouldn't buy either brand new, save for a lottery win. Another school of thought could be to buy an older Cayman, lose some weight, tart up the paintwork and add a supercharger, and build your own Clubsport. That would be a hell of a car.

I like the fact that there is another niche model to choose from in the Porsche range; in a few years' time, this Cayman R could be a collectors item. Anyone remember the 968 Turbo S? Anyway, my 996 is going in for a bit of an overhaul in a couple of weeks' time, and I'll be getting a bog standard Cayman 2.7 to tool around in while it is in the garage. I have to say, I'm really looking forward to comparing it. There was a black Cayman for sale in a garage near me recently- it had Carbon sports seats and cockpit trim, sports exhausts, decent alloys... it looked awesome and I was sorely tempted.

[Johnpidge]

Fast Gayman

[timewatch]

And?!?

TW>>>

[wildman0609]

juansolo said:

I suppose Ferrari giving them a kicking lately might get them to re-think.

so when did ferrari give porsche a kicking?

alms won by porsche
le mans series won by porsche
le mans 24hr won by porsche
british gt won by porsche
spa 24hr won by porsche

there may be more. the 997 gt3 is various forms is a great race car why would they change it for the cayman?

[RobM77]

zakelwe said:

sleep envy said:

zakelwe said:

You don't really need air con in the UK unless you are a salesman worried about sweaty pits, not sure why people are so soft nowadays.

have you spent many summer days in a rear/mid engined car with little or no sound deadening / heatshield?

it's not pleasant

None at all.

I have worked in Kuwait though where temps do actually get more than the 35-40C max you will get in a car typically during a british summer. Don't be such big girls blouses. You'll be complaining next the noise hurts your ears

Everyone's different, don't forget that. Some people (like me) like the heat and are ok without air con in England. However, some people can't stand it and for them air con is essential.

Edited by RobM77 on Wednesday 17th November 13:03

[Frimley111R]

M666 EVO said:

Very pretty car. Hope you get to choose a different colour though

Edited by M666 EVO on Wednesday 17th November 10:34

Yep, what the feck were they thinking?

[kambites]

I quite happily lived with a daily driver without a heater for years, but I wouldn't expect everyone else to want to do the same.

[kambites]

Frimley111R said:

Yep, what the feck were they thinking?

I suspect they were thinking that it looks identical to a normal Cayman, so if they'd just pictured it in silver, everyone would have ignored it. Besides, I quite like the colour, especially compared to silver.

[Beefmeister]

Looks better with black wheels, seen in the video released. They go really well with the other black highlights:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTvvHlZcLr0

Edited by Beefmeister on Wednesday 17th November 13:16

[soad]

Appreciate it's expensive (what new car isn't) but do like it.
Sure, not all out performance- but decent enough to consider.

[Stu R]

Beefmeister said:

Looks better with the black wheels from the 997 Turbo S, seen in the video released:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTvvHlZcLr0

Looks great IMO. I do with they'd do something truly special with the Cayman though, like another hundred bhp, lots of carbon, minimal weight etc. It really is begging to be a very special car. A pox on them for their 911 face saving

I agree with Chris Harris' sentiments re: the nomenclature, but I really like the car