Cayman R and why I am getting one

[khooni]

I have just ordered one of the last Late January build CRs.

I kept it pretty basic with AC, PSE, SS, bi-xenons and freebie CDR-30 with bluetooth and it's aqua blue so I didn't have to spend £1000 on painted black wheels (like i did on the spyder.....)


I had one for the weekend and in my mind it is epic, loud inside with lovely engine noise and a beautiful sweet chassis that doesn't frighten me out on the roads. I can't wait until it comes March 1, 2012 in time for a 12 reg.

I would like to thank the BMW 1M, Evora S and folks who would rather have a gt3 for making this such a rare car (only 100+ in the UK and rarer than the spyder despite the weather cap). It will be my 2nd 987 chassis car so you can see how enamoured I am with the last of the line 987s. Naturally, it also helped that i got a bit of a discount.

I find it weird that having a car that is friendly at the limit and easy to get the best out of being viewed as a bad thing. I also have a z4m coupe, now that is a challenging car to drive well and fast. Does it compare other than the epic straight line speed and great engine noise? no chance.

Does a Gt3 compare? I think the GT3 is more intense and raw but it also frightens me. I am scared whenever I take my bro-in-laws 997 mk1 GT3RS out, i struggle to get close to what the car has to offer and to even think of getting the tail out on the public road is madness to me. So as a half priced mini-Gt3, I can exploit as much of the chassis as I want and indulge in the friendly driftable nature and it's feelsome, telepathic steering. For the money, it's right up there, much like the spyder. Except, the spyder, IMO, is a standalone model much like the audi TT is a golf.

So there, please go out and negotiate hard on the remaining OPC cars because when they're gone, I believe the next raw cayman will not be with us for a long long while.......

Edited by khooni on Thursday 22 December 11:48

[6C4GTS]

khooni said:

I just ordered one of the last Late January build CR.

I kept it pretty basic with AC, PSE, SS, bi-xenons and freebie CDR-30 with bluetooth and it's aqua blue so I didn't have to spend £1000 on painted black wheels (like i did on the spyder.....)


I had one for the weekend and in my mind it is epic, loud inside with lovely engine noise and a beautiful sweet chassis that doesn't frighten me out on the roads. I can't wait until it comes March 1, 2012 in time for a 12 reg.

I would like to thank the BMW 1M, Evora S and folks who would rather have a gt3 for making this such a rare car (only 100+ in the UK and rarer than the spyder despite the weather cap). It will be my 2nd 987 chassis car so you can see how enamoured I am with the last of the line 987s. Naturally, it also helped that i got a bit of a discount.

I find it weird that having a car that is friendly at the limit and easy to get the best out of being viewed as a bad thing. I also have a z4m, now that is a challenging car to drive well and fast. Does it compare other than the epic straight line speed and great engine noise? no chance.

Does a Gt3 compare? I think the GT3 is more intense and raw but it also frightens me. I am scared whenever I take my bro-in-laws 997 mk1 GT3RS out, i struggle to get close to what the car has to offer and to even think of getting the tail out on the public road is madness to me. So as a half priced mini-Gt3, I can exploit as much of the chassis as I want and indulge in the friendly driftable nature and it's feelsome, telepathic steering. For the money, it's right up there, much like the spyder. Except, the spyder, IMO, is a standalone model much like the audi TT is a golf.

So there, please go out and negotiate hard on the remaining OPC cars because when they're gone, I believe the next raw cayman will not be with us for a long long while.......

If you promise to look after it I'll give you 25K for it in 2015!
Isn't succession planning great.

[rob200]

Bah depreciation If we all stick together and fix the prices high when we resell, maybe we can control the market!

I've had mine for nearly a month now and we've truly bonded - never has a car looked, felt and sounded so right to me whether it's the 30mph slog to the supermarket or a spirited drive on back roads.

The problem I have at the moment is that every time I go out I end up coming back the scenic route, so it's costing me time and money in extra petrol, but it's worth it for the fun it gives - and the smaller tank means to my twisted mind I'm not spending as much to fill up

The biggest plus to me is that it feels 'alive' even at low speeds - too many of the cars I looked at before choosing the Cayman were far too civilised at legal speeds and quickly became boring.

Some may say it's not as special as a Spyder or not different enough over a Cayman S - I guess it depends on what you're used to. I came to Porsche wanting a car with a proper roof and looking at a regular 2.9 with a good spec, but as soon as I saw the R I knew it was the one for me!

Can't wait to see the pics when it arrives - Aqua blue would've been my choice if buying new - congratulations

[khooni]

Thanks. couldn't agree more mate...

If more people could get past the "kiddie" porsche label and see the car for what it is, it'd sold better. At least Autocar got it right.

I suspect at EVO, the car came fourth after the 1M because they tested a PDK model rather than a manual. Most of the remaining OPC cars are PDK........

Because I have a spyder, I know the basic difference is the roof. Yet you hear so much more of the engine and the exhaust than you do on a spyder. Mind, I have the PSE on the spyder as well.

well, the spyder is special but the CR is a more complete car because of the hard top and more usable most of the time. That's why I bought 1 of each.....

[MDT48]

You're certainly going to be spoiled for choice khooni

I think Aqua Blue looks superb, plus the silver accents with the silver Spyder wheels work really well. There are also very few Aqua Rs around - most of the cars I've seen are either white or black.

As you know, I picked up mine back in March, and it just gets better every time I drive it. At no point have I regretted swapping my 997 for the Cayman R.

I think we need to schedule a track day and photo shoot in the spring! I can't make Goodwood in May, but I'm sure we can sort out another day to get together.

[Hawmaws]

I tried a cayman R at the Silverstone theme park recently and thought it was great fun. Surprisingly noisy (in a very good way)and very responsive, though I didn't get on with the PDK box at all.

I agree with your comments on the useability of the thing.. I went back to a Boxster from a 997s mainly because I knew that at my skill level, exciting moments were probably going to be a bit too exciting. It just felt a bit dull at normal speeds... and way too quiet, even with PSE and a sunroof.

Good luck with it.

[khooni]

MDT48 said:

You're certainly going to be spoiled for choice khooni

I think Aqua Blue looks superb, plus the silver accents with the silver Spyder wheels work really well. There are also very few Aqua Rs around - most of the cars I've seen are either white or black.

As you know, I picked up mine back in March, and it just gets better every time I drive it. At no point have I regretted swapping my 997 for the Cayman R.

I think we need to schedule a track day and photo shoot in the spring! I can't make Goodwood in May, but I'm sure we can sort out another day to get together.

Thanks.

the OPC edinburgh car did it for me. You have to click through to the OPC website to find the blue one

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3494903.htm

If you must know, red was my 2nd choice.......

[tomvcarter]

Should have gone for the GT3...

[Robbo66]

tomvcarter said:

Should have gone for the GT3...

Why ?. So he could drive one of the ugliest cars on the road today ?. I've had GT3's and whilst all well and good, IMO they remain pretty pointless unless you track.
The Cayman r is 'small'.....the GT3 is a 'barge', it's huge.
I had far more fun in the Cayman R than any GT3 when I test drove one a while ago.
Horses for courses, but hats off to the OP for choosing what I condider to be a far more useable, lighter and aesthetically pleasing option.

[mrh1275]

great spec, are you keeping the spyder ?

[Phooey]

Well done mate - look forward to seeing some pics and more comments. Surprised it's *louder* than the Spyder!

[khooni]

tomvcarter said:

Should have gone for the GT3...

you obviously have not bothered with my description of the GT3RS..
I could kill myself with it on the public road and I don't track enough annually to justify getting the most out of the car. You prolly have a higher level of skill than me but for the money, getting a near 5yr old car versus a brand new "virgin" was a no-brainer.

[khooni]

mrh1275 said:

great spec, are you keeping the spyder ?

yes. can't bear to sell it ever.

I have 2 spyders you know........perhaps I love it even more than the CR hmmm.

[6C4GTS]

Interestingly when I went to the OPC to look at Spyders the sales manager reckoned that I should wait on the Cayman R - so surprised its been a sales flop.

wax it for me and careful not to kerb my future wheels

[khooni]

Phooey said:

Well done mate - look forward to seeing some pics and more comments. Surprised it's *louder* than the Spyder!

I know... I'll need to take you for a ride in it if we ever have a spyder/cayman R meet. It is noisy inside the car even without the PSE, with the PSE, again it comes close enough to the GT3 for me.

we all know, it isn't a GT3. It's not built to be a homologated race car, it's just built to be a very pleasurable car to drive. Very much so. You tell me, you're the one that switched from a Gt3 to a GTS to a spyder

[khooni]

6C4GTS said:

Interestingly when I went to the OPC to look at Spyders the sales manager reckoned that I should wait on the Cayman R - so surprised its been a sales flop.

wax it for me and careful not to kerb my future wheels

ha ha.. credit the fact that most people can't see that the sum of all the small improvements over the CS combine to deliver a much bigger hit. A porsche is never about the individual numbers anyway, it's about the sum of parts and the rawness engineered into the CR separates it from the CS by quite a bit. I thought about getting a gen 2 CS for a lot less money but knew that the rarity and the upgrades were significant after having the spyder and saw the difference in feel for myself.

I'll be honest. I bought the spyder even without a test drive after I had a go at the boxster s as a demo, I wanted it for "looks". The fact that it outperformed the boxster s in every part was a big bonus. It only had 10 more HP but felt like an even sharper version of what was a very sweet car.

separately, the BMW 1M, with it's usabilty, 20% cheaper price and body builder bulges killed it for the CR. the BMW 1M is limited at 450, the CR is not limited but will have less than 150 when all said and done. and guess how many of those will be manuals...............

[khooni]

oh and 1 more thing... the comparison is often made between the CR and the GT3

would you ever compare the BMW 1M with the GT3? and if you did, what do you think the outcome would be?

Not to detract from what is supposedly BMW's best effort in a while, the CR is a light weight full on mid engined sportscar, the BMW bruiser clearly is not.

[6C4GTS]

Re BMW that's why Craigs comparison CSL to Cayman R was interesting................

[khooni]

it was a very good read and I agree with most of what was said.

Craig, wait til you try one with the PSE

[khooni]

Phooey said:

I am greedy barstward though.. and will probably have another GT3 (RS?) in a heartbeat

I rather have 2 cars.... a spyder and a CR....for the same money. ideally, money no object, I would agree with you. a GT3 and a spyder.... purely because Porsche doesn't make a convertible GT3 to go with the CR....