How much faster than a Cayman?

[wilkos]

I've driven quite a variety of caymans over the years, and its a great drive. But the standard interior is very low rent compared to the 911, and for me a car is a place to sit as well as something to drive.
I just speced an S up on the configurator to the same spec as my 911 and its 71K. The list on my 911 was 100k, so a decent saving, but I've got 2 kids and need the seats, and whenever I see a cayman it doesn't have the road pressence or rarity of a 911. I've also found the 911 to be a much better motorway car than a cayman, and of the 10,000miles I do a year in my car, I doubt more than a couple of hundred are testing the limits of the car. The rest is comfy cruising.

If I had a cayman it would have to be a weekend car, and then I'd need another vehicle for weekdays, and the 2 would cost me more to run than the 911, unless the weekday one was a total snotter. I'd rather drive a 911 every day!

Now not all thse things are important to everyone, so if you want a great driving car buy a boggo cayman S as its a great car and a bargain.
For me car ownership is a combination of factors and even without the kids I'd pick a 911. But then without the kids I'd be able to afford a turbo.

A bit of a ramble, but all I conclude is buy what you want for your needs, likes, financial situation. There is no right or wrong answer.

[PorscheGT4]

wilkos said:

. But the standard interior is very low rent compared to the 911, .

er they are just about the same !!! what a odd comment.

the thing which puts me off the 911 bar the wrong engine placement & lardy arse looks is the fact they are the same so to me the 911 interior seems low rent for the £80k layout when you can get the same for £40k !


2nd
"and whenever I see a cayman it doesn't have the road pressence or rarity of a 911"

911 out sells the Cayman in the UK !!!

sounds like you are buying the 911 for status to me, just sayin ;-) I often come across 911 owners who would not even look at the Cayman due to the lower price.

or would choose and older 996 911 over a newer Cayman for 40k ! just to get the 911 status thing

Edited by PorscheGT4 on Friday 23 January 10:15

[shoestring7]

wilkos said:

I've driven quite a variety of caymans over the years, and its a great drive. But the standard interior is very low rent compared to the 911, and for me a car is a place to sit as well as something to drive..

Get a grip. Only a Porsche geek could tell the difference between a £40k Boxster/Cayman and a £140k 911 turbo S from the driver's seat; two additional instruments and different shaped vents.

I know which one of those looks like better value.

SS7
PS "10,000 motorway cruising miles a year" - sure you've bought the right car?
PPS You probably have *sigh*

Edited by shoestring7 on Friday 23 January 10:20

[SkinnyPete]

wilkos said:

I've driven quite a variety of caymans over the years, and its a great drive. But the standard interior is very low rent compared to the 911, and for me a car is a place to sit as well as something to drive.
I just speced an S up on the configurator to the same spec as my 911 and its 71K. The list on my 911 was 100k, so a decent saving, but I've got 2 kids and need the seats, and whenever I see a cayman it doesn't have the road pressence or rarity of a 911. I've also found the 911 to be a much better motorway car than a cayman, and of the 10,000miles I do a year in my car, I doubt more than a couple of hundred are testing the limits of the car. The rest is comfy cruising.

If I had a cayman it would have to be a weekend car, and then I'd need another vehicle for weekdays, and the 2 would cost me more to run than the 911, unless the weekday one was a total snotter. I'd rather drive a 911 every day!

Now not all thse things are important to everyone, so if you want a great driving car buy a boggo cayman S as its a great car and a bargain.
For me car ownership is a combination of factors and even without the kids I'd pick a 911. But then without the kids I'd be able to afford a turbo.

A bit of a ramble, but all I conclude is buy what you want for your needs, likes, financial situation. There is no right or wrong answer.

Thank you for taking the time to write that out, err however like the poster above you have completely missed my point.

Is a 911 faster than a cayman, would I notice the difference, and would 4 wheel drive resolve my observations?

Also I think you are way off the mark regarding the interior.

[wilkos]

PorscheGT4 said:

er they are just about the same !!!

the thing which puts me off the 911 bar the wrong engine placement & lardy arse looks is the fact they are the same so to me the 911 interior seems low rent for the £80k layout when you can get the same for £40k !


2nd
"and whenever I see a cayman it doesn't have the road pressence or rarity of a 911"

911 out sells the Cayman in the UK !!!

sounds like you are buying the 911 for status to me, just sayin ;-) I often come across 911 owners who would not even look at the Cayman due to the lower price.

Edited by PorscheGT4 on Friday 23 January 09:40

Interiors are very different in standard form. No leather door tops, or dash top, leather on seats is very plasticy in basic form in cayman. Plastic on dash sides and centre console is cheaper looking. No PCM, no dual zone climate to mention just a few things.

If the 911 outsells the cayman in the UK, then it's not around where I live (midlands). I see a handfull of cayman/boxters on my way to work every day, but rarely see another 911.

I would hapily look at a cayman, but speced to where I like it, its over 70K, and i'd need a roof box to put the kids in, and at 70K i don't want one badly enough to pay that for it.

As a kid, I grew up woth posters of 911 turbos on my wall, and as an adult had a dream to own one. I'm lucky enough to now be on my second. I dream to one day have a turbo. (991)
I have never dreamed of owning a cayman. It's a great car, and I've always enjoyed driving the ones I've got my hands on, but I don't lust to own one.

Whenever I see another 911, even though I have one, I have a need to go and have a look around it, and drool over it. It doen't mean the 911 is better, but there are lots of reasons people will chose it over a cayman.

[PorscheGT4]

wilkos said:

Interiors are very different in standard form. No leather door tops, or dash top, leather on seats is very plasticy in basic form in cayman. Plastic on dash sides and centre console is cheaper looking. No PCM, no dual zone climate to mention just a few things.

leather is NOT standard on the 911 nor the Cayman it's a option on both even the GT3, only the turbo S got leather in 997.2.

you see 100k 911's looking stter inside than £50k Caymans if the Cayman owner has speced leather and the 911 owner has not !!!

on the 991 the leather option is £4k.

but on the 997.2 cars say a GTS 911 vs a Cayman is was a £2,5k option on both .

[wilkos]

SkinnyPete said:

Thank you for taking the time to write that out, err however like the poster above you have completely missed my point.

Is a 911 faster than a cayman, would I notice the difference, and would 4 wheel drive resolve my observations?

Also I think you are way off the mark regarding the interior.

The 911 will not be any faster than the cayman as both are limited by driver ability as they are so close in real terms. If you just want speed, there are faster cars for less money.

[wilkos]

PorscheGT4 said:

leather is NOT standard on the 911 nor the Cayman it's a option on both even the GT3, only the turbo S got leather in 997.2.

you see 100k 911's looking stter inside than £50k Caymans if the Cayman owner has speced leather and the 911 owner has not !!!

on the 991 the leather option is £4k.

but on the 997.2 cars say a GTS 911 vs a Cayman is was a £2,5k option on both .

Leather top of dash and doors is standard on a 911, it isn't on a cayman
Go to the configurater leather seats/leather interior is around 2K on a cayman. its the base interior on a 911.

Edited by wilkos on Friday 23 January 11:56

[Baz99]

But you are comparing different cars. The 911 is a 2+2 roomy and practical and in 4wd faster in your average drivers hands in average UK conditions than virtually anything else, certainly in 97.2 form onwards. We all know that the Cayman is a great drive if you want just two seats for weekend fun, but you can get a Lotus for that.

[wilkos]

shoestring7 said:

Get a grip. Only a Porsche geek could tell the difference between a £40k Boxster/Cayman and a £140k 911 turbo S from the driver's seat; two additional instruments and different shaped vents.

I know which one of those looks like better value.

SS7
PS "10,000 motorway cruising miles a year" - sure you've bought the right car?
PPS You probably have *sigh*

Edited by shoestring7 on Friday 23 January 10:20

I can sit in just about any car and pick holes in the interior that the designers missed. The plastic trimmed piece over the transmission tunnel in my 911 anoys me enough that it will get retrimmed with leather when I find time. ONly car I have sat in and not been able to critiscise the interior was a Phantom.

On another note, anyone who claims to truly drive their sports car for more than 2% of the time, is either A)lying, or B) only drives it on track
You cannot scratch the surface of these cars performance on the road for more than a few minutes without massively breaking the speed limit and taking massive risk with your life/liscence

Mine gets used on track occasionally, but most of my track days are done in my track car, which is slower, but more fun as it risks significantly less of my money if I bin it, allowing me to take much greater liberties. The cage and 5 point harnesses help too.

[PorscheGT4]

wilkos said:

Leather top of dash and doors is standard on a 911, it isn't on a cayman
Go to the configurater leather seats/leather interior is around 2K on a cayman. its the base interior on a 911.

Edited by wilkos on Friday 23 January 11:56

ok maybe on the 991, but it still £4k to add full leather. !

but on the 997.2 cars leather was the same cost option. so spend the £2k for leather on the Cayman and what are you left with which is low rent vs a 911 ?
the latter still costing a base price of £83k for the S vs £40k for a base 981. you would not know what car you were in, they are just about the same.

[shoestring7]

wilkos said:

shoestring7 said:

Get a grip. Only a Porsche geek could tell the difference between a £40k Boxster/Cayman and a £140k 911 turbo S from the driver's seat; two additional instruments and different shaped vents.

I know which one of those looks like better value.

SS7
PS "10,000 motorway cruising miles a year" - sure shouldn't have bought a Phantom?
PPS You probably have *sigh*

Edited by shoestring7 on Friday 23 January 10:20

I can sit in just about any car and pick holes in the interior that the designers missed. The plastic trimmed piece over the transmission tunnel in my 911 anoys me enough that it will get retrimmed with leather when I find time. ONly car I have sat in and not been able to critiscise the interior was a Phantom.

On another note, anyone who claims to truly drive their sports car for more than 2% of the time, is either A)lying, or B) only drives it on track
You cannot scratch the surface of these cars performance on the road for more than a few minutes without massively breaking the speed limit and taking massive risk with your life/liscence

Mine gets used on track occasionally, but most of my track days are done in my track car, which is slower, but more fun as it risks significantly less of my money if I bin it, allowing me to take much greater liberties. The cage and 5 point harnesses help too.

[NJH]

As a long term 944 owner I should want a Cayman over the 911 but if I buy another Porsche it will be a 911 for the principal reason that I find the Cayman a bit to claustrophobic, a feeling I have never got sat in any 911 version. For many this won't matter but its enough for me.

[cheddar]

Car magazine 'Sportscar of the year', 8 journo's vote Cayman into 2nd place, ahead of McLaren 650S and just behind 458 Speciale.

Note; Alfa 4C's miserable 18 points.

Edited by cheddar on Friday 23 January 22:52

[J-P]

Baz99 said:

But you are comparing different cars. The 911 is a 2+2 roomy and practical and in 4wd faster in your average drivers hands in average UK conditions than virtually anything else, certainly in 97.2 form onwards. We all know that the Cayman is a great drive if you want just two seats for weekend fun, but you can get a Lotus for that.

I've had a 911 and a Cayman. They're both great cars, but if you don't need rear seats, the Cayman is actually the more practical car. Loads of room in its two boots and plenty of cubby holes in the cabin. Can do a full monthly shop in the Cayman but not in the 911. I love Lotuses (Lotii?) but they're not a patch on the Cayman for pretty much anything apart from the handling, which is utterly sublime.

[Ady128]

PorscheGT4 said:

leather is NOT standard on the 911 nor the Cayman it's a option on both even the GT3, only the turbo S got leather in 997.2.

you see 100k 911's looking stter inside than £50k Caymans if the Cayman owner has speced leather and the 911 owner has not !!!

on the 991 the leather option is £4k.

but on the 997.2 cars say a GTS 911 vs a Cayman is was a £2,5k option on both .

Well it was standard on my 991 Cab.

[DeuxCentCinq]

I once did one of those experience days on a track where you can drive loads of different cars. I started in an MX-5, then progressed to a Cayman, then a tuned RX-8, then a 996 Turbo, then an open wheeler, I think a Formula Renault?

I've also driven a few Lotuses (S1 Elise Sport 160, S2 Elise Tourer, Esprit V8, Elan), and owned an S1 Elise for 4.5 years. I would say in my experience, the Cayman would be the one I would say was the best sports car. The 911 felt bigger, heavier and softer, more of a "GT" than a sports car I would say. The Cayman felt far more eager in terms of steering, throttle response and suspension dynamics, and the interior was leaps and bounds better than the 996 - as you would expect, I guess, given the relative age of the two. The 911 was far quicker in a straight line though, if you like that sort of thing, and as a "real world" car, I guess it depends where and how you drive it. If you want to get long distances quickly, then it's probably a better bet. If, however, you want something to take for a Sunday morning blast, I'd pick a Cayman. I found Elises just too sparse to be decent road cars - I sold mine for a number of reasons, but mainly that it was impossible to enjoy in Britain as the roof was a joke.

However, I'd also look a Boxster S as I like convertibles....ooops.