How much for a better car?
Discussion
Can you get a well specced Cayman or Boxster new for £50k.
I had play on the configurator and whilst I took the piss a bit I think many of these options punters may want. £80k for a base Cayman

Description No. Colour Info Price
Cayman
£ 38,865.00
Exterior Colour
Lime Gold Metallic
R2
£ 1,595.00
Interior Colour
Agate Grey / Lime Gold two-tone leather interior package in two-tone combination
BZ
£ 2,424.00
Exterior
Silver model designation on doors
CAT
£ 141.00
Fuel cap in aluminium Look
XYB
£ 89.00
Automatically dimming interior and exterior mirrors with integrated rain sensor
P13
£ 332.00
Electric folding outside mirrors
748
£ 203.00
Exterior package painted
DBR
£ 851.00
Rear wiper
425
£ 234.00
Smoked taillights
XXR
£ 320.00
Bi-Xenon Headlights with PDLS+ with dynamic high beam
632
£ 1,368.00
Porsche Entry & Drive
625
£ 599.00
Reversing camera incl. ParkAssist front and rear
638
£ 1,044.00
Headlight cleaning system covers in contrasting exterior colour
Guards Red
CGU
£ 138.00
Transmission / Chassis
Sport Chrono Pack icw PCM
640
£ 1,376.00
Sports exhaust system (incl. sports tailpipe)
XLF
£ 1,530.00
Power steering Plus
658
£ 179.00
Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV)
220
£ 890.00
Sports suspension (20 mm lower)
X73
£ 689.00
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB)
450
£ 4,977.00
Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK)
250
£ 1,922.00
Wheels
20-inch 911 Turbo Design wheels
429
£ 2,832.00
Wheel Accessoires
Black (highgloss) painted wheels
XDG
£ 801.00
Interior
Guards Red seat belts
XSX
£ 179.00
Sports bucket seat belt passages painted
CMT
£ 308.00
Vehicle key painted
CPK
£ 170.00
Air vent slats painted
CDN
£ 563.00
PCM package painted
CUF
£ 911.00
Seat heating
342
£ 284.00
Light design package
630
£ 203.00
Speed limit display
631
£ 284.00
2-zone automatic air conditioning
573
£ 518.00
Cruise control
454
£ 267.00
HomeLink® (programmable garage door opener)
608
£ 194.00
Sports Bucket Seats
P03
£ 2,226.00
Interior Leather
Leather in two-tone interior package
970
£ 0.00
Alcantara interior
Storage compartment lid Alcantara with 'PORSCHE' logo
XLG
£ 155.00
Rooflining in Alcantara
594
£ 684.00
SportDesign steering wheel in Alcantara
XLK
£ 396.00
Interior Carbon
Carbon centre console trim
XHM
£ 341.00
Carbon interior package (with leather interior/with PDK)
EEJ
£ 1,008.00
Audio / Communications
Electronic logbook
641
£ 356.00
Digital radio
691
£ 324.00
TV tuner
676
£ 1,044.00
Six disc CD/DVD autochanger
693
£ 396.00
Online services
UN1
£ 122.00
Preparation for mobile phone
619
£ 446.00
Porsche Communication Management (PCM) incl navigation module with universal audio interface
P23
£ 2,141.00
Burmester® High-End Surround Sound System
682
£ 2,663.00
Others
Third Year Warranty
W02
£ 660.00
Third Year Porsche Assistance
A01
£ 169.00
Total Price*
£ 80,411.00
Whats the real cost of well specced car typical buyer would purchase? May be £65k?
Jag F type, GTR, C63, M3, M4, R8, Alfa 4C, 997 GTS would all be on my list ahead of the Cayman or Boxster although no doubt the new Cayman/Boxster probably the best car by a mile especially in GTS spec. Don't know what it is but I think the new Cayman/Boxster/991 have a desirability problem in cooking form. Perhaps this is why the GT4 has been conceived?
Great sports car though the Cayman/Boxster.
I had play on the configurator and whilst I took the piss a bit I think many of these options punters may want. £80k for a base Cayman


Description No. Colour Info Price
Cayman
£ 38,865.00
Exterior Colour
Lime Gold Metallic
R2
£ 1,595.00
Interior Colour
Agate Grey / Lime Gold two-tone leather interior package in two-tone combination
BZ
£ 2,424.00
Exterior
Silver model designation on doors
CAT
£ 141.00
Fuel cap in aluminium Look
XYB
£ 89.00
Automatically dimming interior and exterior mirrors with integrated rain sensor
P13
£ 332.00
Electric folding outside mirrors
748
£ 203.00
Exterior package painted
DBR
£ 851.00
Rear wiper
425
£ 234.00
Smoked taillights
XXR
£ 320.00
Bi-Xenon Headlights with PDLS+ with dynamic high beam
632
£ 1,368.00
Porsche Entry & Drive
625
£ 599.00
Reversing camera incl. ParkAssist front and rear
638
£ 1,044.00
Headlight cleaning system covers in contrasting exterior colour
Guards Red
CGU
£ 138.00
Transmission / Chassis
Sport Chrono Pack icw PCM
640
£ 1,376.00
Sports exhaust system (incl. sports tailpipe)
XLF
£ 1,530.00
Power steering Plus
658
£ 179.00
Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV)
220
£ 890.00
Sports suspension (20 mm lower)
X73
£ 689.00
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB)
450
£ 4,977.00
Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK)
250
£ 1,922.00
Wheels
20-inch 911 Turbo Design wheels
429
£ 2,832.00
Wheel Accessoires
Black (highgloss) painted wheels
XDG
£ 801.00
Interior
Guards Red seat belts
XSX
£ 179.00
Sports bucket seat belt passages painted
CMT
£ 308.00
Vehicle key painted
CPK
£ 170.00
Air vent slats painted
CDN
£ 563.00
PCM package painted
CUF
£ 911.00
Seat heating
342
£ 284.00
Light design package
630
£ 203.00
Speed limit display
631
£ 284.00
2-zone automatic air conditioning
573
£ 518.00
Cruise control
454
£ 267.00
HomeLink® (programmable garage door opener)
608
£ 194.00
Sports Bucket Seats
P03
£ 2,226.00
Interior Leather
Leather in two-tone interior package
970
£ 0.00
Alcantara interior
Storage compartment lid Alcantara with 'PORSCHE' logo
XLG
£ 155.00
Rooflining in Alcantara
594
£ 684.00
SportDesign steering wheel in Alcantara
XLK
£ 396.00
Interior Carbon
Carbon centre console trim
XHM
£ 341.00
Carbon interior package (with leather interior/with PDK)
EEJ
£ 1,008.00
Audio / Communications
Electronic logbook
641
£ 356.00
Digital radio
691
£ 324.00
TV tuner
676
£ 1,044.00
Six disc CD/DVD autochanger
693
£ 396.00
Online services
UN1
£ 122.00
Preparation for mobile phone
619
£ 446.00
Porsche Communication Management (PCM) incl navigation module with universal audio interface
P23
£ 2,141.00
Burmester® High-End Surround Sound System
682
£ 2,663.00
Others
Third Year Warranty
W02
£ 660.00
Third Year Porsche Assistance
A01
£ 169.00
Total Price*
£ 80,411.00
Whats the real cost of well specced car typical buyer would purchase? May be £65k?
Jag F type, GTR, C63, M3, M4, R8, Alfa 4C, 997 GTS would all be on my list ahead of the Cayman or Boxster although no doubt the new Cayman/Boxster probably the best car by a mile especially in GTS spec. Don't know what it is but I think the new Cayman/Boxster/991 have a desirability problem in cooking form. Perhaps this is why the GT4 has been conceived?
Great sports car though the Cayman/Boxster.
Ozzie Osmond said:
Taking £50k as a standard price for Boxster/Cayman, how much more do you think you would have to spend to get a "better" sportscar from another manufacturer? And what car would it be?
I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
You don't say if we can choose cars which are no longer in production, or define better.I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
My £50k would go on a Ferrari 360 (and it may do later next year), for what I value in a car it would be better than anything in Porsches current range.
SkinnyP said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
Taking £50k as a standard price for Boxster/Cayman, how much more do you think you would have to spend to get a "better" sportscar from another manufacturer? And what car would it be?
I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
You don't say if we can choose cars which are no longer in production, or define better.I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
My £50k would go on a Ferrari 360 (and it may do later next year), for what I value in a car it would be better than anything in Porsches current range.
The Cayman/Boxster is still fairly good value, primarily because a lot the major manufacturers simply cannot or will not compete with Porsche at the price point. The fact that an F-Type is more expensive than a Cayman is laughable, really.
ORD said:
SkinnyP said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
Taking £50k as a standard price for Boxster/Cayman, how much more do you think you would have to spend to get a "better" sportscar from another manufacturer? And what car would it be?
I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
You don't say if we can choose cars which are no longer in production, or define better.I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
My £50k would go on a Ferrari 360 (and it may do later next year), for what I value in a car it would be better than anything in Porsches current range.
The Cayman/Boxster is still fairly good value, primarily because a lot the major manufacturers simply cannot or will not compete with Porsche at the price point. The fact that an F-Type is more expensive than a Cayman is laughable, really.
I think F-type would certainly have to be in the field for consideration. But by the time you've got yourself a "nice" car they ain't cheap. But is it better? I suspect it's simply different.
Looks to me as though a £50k Boxster/Cayman is good value. Or even at £60k if you insist on the toys.
Looks to me as though a £50k Boxster/Cayman is good value. Or even at £60k if you insist on the toys.
IMI A said:
ORD said:
SkinnyP said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
Taking £50k as a standard price for Boxster/Cayman, how much more do you think you would have to spend to get a "better" sportscar from another manufacturer? And what car would it be?
I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
You don't say if we can choose cars which are no longer in production, or define better.I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
My £50k would go on a Ferrari 360 (and it may do later next year), for what I value in a car it would be better than anything in Porsches current range.
The Cayman/Boxster is still fairly good value, primarily because a lot the major manufacturers simply cannot or will not compete with Porsche at the price point. The fact that an F-Type is more expensive than a Cayman is laughable, really.
Fake exhaust pops and bangs. Not for me. Also huge and absurdly heavy, but all this is subjective. The point is that the boggo F-Type has no business being as expensive as it is.
SkinnyP said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
Taking £50k as a standard price for Boxster/Cayman, how much more do you think you would have to spend to get a "better" sportscar from another manufacturer? And what car would it be?
I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
You don't say if we can choose cars which are no longer in production, or define better.I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
My £50k would go on a Ferrari 360 (and it may do later next year), for what I value in a car it would be better than anything in Porsches current range.
ORD said:
IMI A said:
ORD said:
SkinnyP said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
Taking £50k as a standard price for Boxster/Cayman, how much more do you think you would have to spend to get a "better" sportscar from another manufacturer? And what car would it be?
I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
You don't say if we can choose cars which are no longer in production, or define better.I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
My £50k would go on a Ferrari 360 (and it may do later next year), for what I value in a car it would be better than anything in Porsches current range.
The Cayman/Boxster is still fairly good value, primarily because a lot the major manufacturers simply cannot or will not compete with Porsche at the price point. The fact that an F-Type is more expensive than a Cayman is laughable, really.
Fake exhaust pops and bangs. Not for me. Also huge and absurdly heavy, but all this is subjective. The point is that the boggo F-Type has no business being as expensive as it is.
Whatever, the F Type sounds and looks fantastic. As has been said, a nice spec Cayman is £80k. I really like the GTS and know how good they are, but i can also see why many would take the Jag.
ORD said:
The R is far more expensive. The boggo one is the closest on price.
Fake exhaust pops and bangs. Not for me. Also huge and absurdly heavy, but all this is subjective. The point is that the boggo F-Type has no business being as expensive as it is.
Fake exhaust pops and bangs just like the Boxster and Cayman........Fake exhaust pops and bangs. Not for me. Also huge and absurdly heavy, but all this is subjective. The point is that the boggo F-Type has no business being as expensive as it is.

ORD said:
av185 said:
Fake exhaust pops and bangs just like the Boxster and Cayman........
Not as bad, but fair point. 

My 987 doesn't have fakery, and it's so sad that cars are genuinely now getting worse.

mrdemon said:
No one specs £80k base model Caymans lol.
IMI added a lot of the items that have a little symbol next to them. If you look it up, it means 'We're only kidding. We don't even know what we would do if someone selected this tacky crap, but we can't promise we wouldn't take the money. We did try to put you off by making it 2000 times more expensive than we could justify' hondansx said:
As has been said, a nice spec Cayman is £80k.
Pop down to your local Porsche dealership and ask how many of those they've sold!Boxster/Cayman start at less than £40,000. Even the most basic F-type is nearly 30% more expensive. Which brings us back to the stunning value of 981 Porsches!

I've not been in the cayman or f type r but the jag comes across as a bit more honest imo on exhaust note. both hilarious on vids as their exhausts sound like bren guns on the overrun! i took the p on configurator but doubt most people would get change from £65k as they'd start with an S or a GTS if buying today. base price on gts probably more than £65k
Ozzie Osmond said:
Taking £50k as a standard price for Boxster/Cayman, how much more do you think you would have to spend to get a "better" sportscar from another manufacturer? And what car would it be?
I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
I think this is interesting... for me I also agree that the 981 is a great package. To get much better as a sports car you need to look at the GT 911 cars if your staying in the Porsche stable so GT3 - in order to get the kind of sportiness and experience or if you're going outside of the brand you need to spend a lot more i.e £80K plus for the base car. This is certainly my view. If/when I ever go back to the 911 it will have to be at least a 991 GT3 as I don't think anything else in the range will deliver what i want as immediately as my 981.I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
This is somewhat reflected in the COTY tests from EVO and Autocar - the 981 car is rated 3rd in EVO and 4th in Autocar. What beats it:
In EVO, its the Jaguar F-Type R (2) and the Ferrari 458 Speciale (1).
In Autocar, its Porsche 911 GT3 (3), Ariel Atom 3.5R (2) and the Ferrari 458 Speciale (1).
In both tests it beats out the McLaren 650S, another car that I had wanted before in 12C form.
Ariel Atom is a toy so could be excluded IMO - so from a price point you need to be spending serious bucks (£85K min - £250kMax) in order to get a 'better' sports/drivers car.
BTW if you read the EVO COTY test, the summary for the 981 car has some negatives for them but despite this they still score it 3rd over some other special metal.
None of the cars that are supposed competitors really are...which of these albeit nice cars in their own right would you really have over a 981B/ C - Audi TT, Nissan 370Z, BMW Z4, MB SLK.
The 981 destroys them all and thats right across the range from a price point too from the base @ £38K to the S to the GTS @ £55K, and that's before we even get the GT4 to top it all out.
Ozzie Osmond said:
Taking £50k as a standard price for Boxster/Cayman, how much more do you think you would have to spend to get a "better" sportscar from another manufacturer? And what car would it be?
I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
I'm biased too. Had you said what is the best daily driver sportscar at £60k (most 981 S are going to cost somewhere near that) - I would agree.I'm biased, because I think these cars are the sportscar bargain of 2012-2015!
But I'm not convinced that is the best "bargain" to be had for £60k.
If you are focused on driving rather than image or looks I think there is better value to be had.
I'd vote for a Caterham (probably a Supersport R) - a decidedly more involving "sportscar" than a 981 AND an M135i as a daily driver. You can have both for around £60k.
Whether that makes sense obviously depends on your lifestyle and other cars in your household, but I think it provides both a more intense driving experience AND a more versatile daily driver (which still is practically as quick as a 981 S - at least in a straight line)
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