RE: The £10k Porsche Cayman | Spotted

RE: The £10k Porsche Cayman | Spotted

Thursday 27th February 2020

The £10k Porsche Cayman | Spotted

15 years after the Cayman was launched, city car money buys what looks like a good 'un



It's been hard to avoid talk of flat-six Porsche Caymans these past few weeks, given the announcement and then launch of the 718 4.0 GTS. And a GT4 group test. So, er, here we are, talking some more about flat-six Caymans. Direct all PorschetonHeads mail to the usual address...

But there's good reason for the excitement. The Cayman - through both 987 and 981 generations - was the small coupe of choice for years; the combination of peachy powertrain, finely honed handling and pert good looks ensuring it remained formidable opposition for any prospective rival. Alternatives could beat it in certain areas - a 350Z was probably better looking than an early Cayman, a Monaro obviously had more power, a Z4 the hooligan charm - but as an all-round package it was pretty hard to find fault with. That was the case throughout the lifespan of the 987 and the 981 which followed - despite some concerns about electric steering, it was still the best small coupe out there. Then came the 718, which is probably a discussion for another time.


Point being we've had 15 years of the Cayman (usually) trouncing its opposition, which means a glut of cars available secondhand. Now, this has certainly been covered on PH before, from pretty much every angle, but we've reached a new milestone: a 987 Cayman with a '10' at the start of its price; more than that, a £10k Cayman that you might actually want.

High mileage cars have been around for ages, of course. But here we have a Cayman on less than 80,000 miles, in a sensible spec and with a manual gearbox for £10k. Alright, so it's a 2.7-litre standard car rather than an S, and it's £10,995 in truth, but the fact remains that this is a presentable Cayman for the price of a small Hyundai.

And what a joy that might be. A small, light, mid-engined Porsche coupe, with six cylinders and five manual gears to maximise the fun. Should you wish, the past decade and a half has yielded a wealth of tuning parts for the 987, with everything from track optimisation to full-on race car specification possible depending on imagination (and budget).


It isn't perfect, naturally. There's an oil leak on this particular car that's shown up on the MOT history as an advisory in a recent test, and failures for worn tyres don't exactly imply the most conscientious ownership. That's before considering the general cost of keeping a Porsche on the road - never a cheap endeavour. But then buying a cheap version of any car was never without its pitfalls, leave alone a cheap Cayman. And while there are myriad Boxsters on offer for less money, the other £10k Porsches aren't enormously desirable: the 996 Carrera has long departed this price range, leaving 944s and 924s alongside a few Cayennes available. No contest, really, is there?

'Interesting' is typically a euphemistic term for a used sports car purchase, in that every mishap will be 'interesting' for the internet to read about. And while there's plenty that could afflict a Cayman in the years to follow, there's a lot that should be tremendously enjoyable about the experience as well. Moreover, it would be surprising if the 987s depreciated a great deal further - though, as always, there are no guarantees about that. But don't forget there are plans for the Boxster and Cayman to be electric-only not long after the Macan does. Having one of the earliest six-cylinder cars, even just a 2.7, might look like a canny purchase come that time.


SPECIFICATION - PORSCHE CAYMAN (987)
Engine:
2,681cc, flat six
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 245@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 202@N/Arpm
MPG: 30
CO2: 222g/km
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 79,000
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £10,995

See the full ad here.




Author
Discussion

Iamnotkloot

Original Poster:

1,395 posts

146 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Five looooong gears.

Shame, nice car otherwise

Venisonpie

3,231 posts

81 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Fiiirrrrsssstttt, Seeeeccccccoooooonnnnnnd. That's all folks, well over 70mph.

Flanners

198 posts

129 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Spotted?....more Brave Pill.

Lotusgav

122 posts

158 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Bargain. Get it inspected buy it. I have a 987 Boxster and the long gears really aren’t a big deal.

Lovely thing to drive...

the_hood

769 posts

193 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Looks very sombre inside. Is that steering wheel meant to be shiny, like cheap plastic or is that just a trick of the light?

Filibuster

3,116 posts

214 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
the_hood said:
Looks very sombre inside. Is that steering wheel meant to be shiny, like cheap plastic or is that just a trick of the light?
Trick of light. I got the same wheel in my 997.1 (I even think it's a sports steering wheel) and it is a rather lovely one!
It is rather big and really thin. Not one of those super thick and small wheels that are rounded off at the bottom (and top!) of todays sports car.
It gives the car a, dare I say it, classic car feeling!!

bristolracer

5,527 posts

148 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Future classic Porsche for sure.



Cloudy147

2,705 posts

182 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
I had a Cayman 2.7 for three years back in 2008, was a brilliant car. Huge amounts of fun and I don't think anything went wrong with it. Loved it.

I wrote an article about it in Porsche Post and it was the cover car smile


jase_llan

148 posts

56 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
It'd be interesting to see how these fare against modern small hot hatches - 245bhp and 1.3-1.4 tonnes means there could not be a lot in it between one of these and say, a MK7/8 Fiesta ST or Polo GTI?

Obviously this is going to be more of an 'experience' to drive and own, but nonetheless it'd be an interesting comparison.

sc0tt

18,032 posts

200 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
jase_llan said:
It'd be interesting to see how these fare against modern small hot hatches - 245bhp and 1.3-1.4 tonnes means there could not be a lot in it between one of these and say, a MK7/8 Fiesta ST or Polo GTI?

Obviously this is going to be more of an 'experience' to drive and own, but nonetheless it'd be an interesting comparison.
It's an interesting point. Having gone from a Fiesta ST to a 3.2s boxster I much prefer the boxster but the fiesta was a very capable car. I think the lack of roof adds to the drama. We do have a polo GTi on order for the wife so will have a mixture of both. An ideal (whilst I'm not a millionaire) garage in my opinion.

Macron

9,807 posts

165 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
The £10k Cayman is an £11k Cayman in need of a k’s worth of oil leak fixing and tyres. Possibly more.

SidewaysSi

10,742 posts

233 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Bore scoring.

There. I said it.

BFleming

3,589 posts

142 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
sc0tt said:
jase_llan said:
It'd be interesting to see how these fare against modern small hot hatches - 245bhp and 1.3-1.4 tonnes means there could not be a lot in it between one of these and say, a MK7/8 Fiesta ST or Polo GTI?

Obviously this is going to be more of an 'experience' to drive and own, but nonetheless it'd be an interesting comparison.
It's an interesting point. Having gone from a Fiesta ST to a 3.2s boxster I much prefer the boxster but the fiesta was a very capable car. I think the lack of roof adds to the drama. We do have a polo GTi on order for the wife so will have a mixture of both. An ideal (whilst I'm not a millionaire) garage in my opinion.
Interesting indeed - I've done a couple of track days in my 986 2.7 and there's always a decent mix of cars there. I find the Boxster is much quicker in the corners than the hot hatches, better brakes and faster entry/exit speed thanks to the lower centre of gravity. The Boxster has the edge on the straights, and can brake much later.
Regarding the long gearing comment... at least it's not automatic, unlike most cheap Caymans, 996s, 997s, Boxsters, etc.

LennyM1984

630 posts

67 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
SidewaysSi said:
Bore scoring.

There. I said it.
The 2.7 isn't known to score...

J4CKO

41,286 posts

199 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
LennyM1984 said:
SidewaysSi said:
Bore scoring.

There. I said it.
The 2.7 isn't known to score...
I think with these era Porsches you really need to do your research before going into it, same with the IMS issues as its easy to assume they all do it but some dont and some are much worse than others.




Mark_Blanchard

745 posts

254 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
My Wife has a 987 Boxster 2.7 and it's not bad at all. Yes the gearing is a bit annoying but it's fun to drive and is reliable.

Filibuster

3,116 posts

214 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
jase_llan said:
It'd be interesting to see how these fare against modern small hot hatches - 245bhp and 1.3-1.4 tonnes means there could not be a lot in it between one of these and say, a MK7/8 Fiesta ST or Polo GTI?

Obviously this is going to be more of an 'experience' to drive and own, but nonetheless it'd be an interesting comparison.
Interesting to see indeed!

Cayman 2.7 manual: 245PS@6'500rpm; 273NM@4'600-6'000rpm; 1'375kg; 6.1s 0-62; 258 km/h

Fiesta ST 1.5 manual: 200PS@6'000rpm; 290NM@1'600-4'000rpm; 1'188kg; 6.5s 0-62; 232 km/h

Polo GTI 2.0 DSG: 200PS@ 4'400-6'000rpm; 320NM@1'500-4'350rpm; 1'355kg; 6.7s 0-62; 238 km/h

In the real world, I'd say the Polo will be the fastest on the road with average drivers in both.
I have a F56 Mini Cooper S (automatic!) and a manual 997.1 C2 and it always astonishes me how fast the Mini is.
Unless you really concentrate and are really on your toes, the Mini is faster in real day traffic.

Of course the Porsche (Cayman and/or 997) is the faster a) on the Autobahn b) on the track c) in the hands of a good driver on the right road.
In short always when silly speeds are involved.

The pickup of speed from 5-40 mph on these turbo'd small cars is incredible. Just look at the torque curve.
Also these electronic front differentials those FWD hot hatches have these days, are really incredible.
Coupled together to a modern auto or better DSG/PDK, you have so easily accessible performance.

joropug

2,547 posts

188 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
I did one of those track experience days in an Audi R8, the warm up laps were in a Cayman.

Not sure on engine size, but it was the most boring 'sports car' I have ever driven. I would absolutely buy an Audi TT or something over that, it would be no less fun, faster, cheaper to maintain and arguably looks better.

deebs

555 posts

59 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Strange that this is on a 06 plate when the 2.7 wasnt launched til 07.

I own a 2.7 Cayman, lovely thing, not fast but interesting to drive.

2.7 engine isn't known to score and IMS bearing was the later design (which isn't serviceable) that isn't a failure risk like the earlier ones. It's about as safe a Porsche you can put your money into from this era.

It's 3/4s the same car as the 997 911 which gives you some idea of the bills they can throw up. Mines has been ok to date, no major expenditure but I bought at top money from a specialist.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 27th February 2020
quotequote all
Its difficult to recommend the 2.7 when the 3.4 S exists because it's a car that can handle the power, however from a 'budget Porsche' point of view it's the one to go for to minimise risk.