First off..I am loving my base F-type (just went over the 11,000 mile mark this week). However, I have a problem with cars: I want too many of them:-)


I posted a month or so ago wondering what you guy's thought were on the upcoming Zo6. I have been thinking about cars in the F-type's price range and am actually very interested in the news about the upcoming Porsche Cayman GT4. This thing should be incredible, with the PDK from the 911 GT# and @450 hp. Obviously, our front engine cars are going to be different from the Cayman mid set-up, but I would love to hear your thoughts on a high performance Cayman.

 

I had a 2011 Cayman as well as a 2013 911 so I can tell you from personal experience that if you are looking for a "driver's car" the Porsches have the Jag beat hands down. It's just a better performance car. Less weight, better balanced. The Cayman weighs about 900 lbs less than the F-Type, 911 probably 700 lbs. Even if lap times are close, both Porsches are better drives around the track or backroads. No amount of technology can erase the extra weight in terms of feel. Visibility is better, you see exactly where you can place your tires in turns. You sit lower. If you can get over that "it's not a 911" a 450 HP Cayman would be better than a 911 C2/C2S/GTS. Just a great chassis/platform if you care about driving/feel and not absolute lap times or drag racing. High revving driving experience, not as much torque as the Jag. But this all might change when Porsche goes all turbo in their line-up. The F-Type wins in the intangibles like style, sound, theater. Depends on what you are looking for...

 

I owned a 2008 Cayman and a 2011 Boxster Spyder. They are both better handling cars than the Jag, mostly because of weight and a little because of the mid vs. front layout. That said the Jag is a better daily driver in my opinion. I have the R, so the HP and TQ difference is significant.
The GT4 looks compelling, did they officially announce it will have 450HP?!? That would be a suprising twist since they have clearly stated that they would never allow it to eclipse the 911 in any shape or form. At 450 HP it would dominate any 911 save the GT3 and RS variant and the Turbo variants. It would likely give a GT3 a good run for its money with similar tires.

 

I don't think anything is official about the GT4. It was just a rumored leaked on the Porsche configurator. I would be surprised if it gets 450. 450 hp in a 3000 pound car would be insane for their entry level Cayman platform. Would really mess up the Cayman/911 positioning.

 

I had a 2006 Cayman S that I put over 70,000 miles on. I agree with all three of the replies above.

 

70,000 miles is fantastic. How long did you have the car for? Were there any issues besides normal wear and tear? What did you follow it up with?

 

Awesome! I owned my 2008 Cayman for 2 years and had 30k on it and the Spyder for 3 and had 45k on it.
Great reliable cars. My Spyder saw about 6-8 track days a year and was driven year around, sun, rain, snow, you name it. Reliable, pleasant, and problem free. I did the maintenance on them myself for the most part. Brake flushes I left to mechanics because I just don't like doing that...too much effort and it does not cost much to get it done, at a race shop it cost me less than a dealer would charge for an oil change!

 

I've driven all the models of the Cayman with my favorite being the Cayman R. They all handle great however even the R was significantly underpowered in my opinion. Add another 100HP and you would have a true track beast on your hands. (Mid-engine + HP is very hard to beat!) Can't really compare to the F-Type. Both totally different.
The maneuverability and pure fun driving goes to the Cayman and the only reason I believe it has been limited in HP is to keep it from cannibalizing the 911.


Walt

 

It's not just you that believes that, Porsche's has already publicly admitted that the Boxster/Cayman is a superior platform and that they intentionally will not let it overtake the 911 in any way performance wise. They have the 918 Spyder as the top of the heap (mid-engine) and had the Carrara GT (mid-engine), and the rumored 960 ( 2017 Porsche 960: 25 Cars Worth Waiting For 2014?2017 ? Future Cars ? Car and Driver ) which will slot between the 911 Turbo S and the 918 Spyder.

 

Rumor has it that the next gen Porsche engines are all Turbo with the 911 S models getting around 500hp and a huge torque increase.

There would be room for a 450hp Cayman if the 911 is starting out with 500 or more horses, and it would make for a great car.

Still, the Cayman/Boxster didn't do much for me. I bought, preferred and still prefer the 911, albeit I absolutely prefer the Jag to the 911/Cayman/Boxster.

 

I have read those rumors and that the Cayman/Boxsters will be run off 4 cylinder turbos...that would suck...if the GT4 comes with a turbo-4, I don't care how much horsepower it produces it would be a no go for me.
Right now the best option is to get a base 981 (Cayman or Boxster) and send them in for an engine swap with a 911S 3.8 DFI engine. Costs about 15k with a few other upgrades like suspension and you have a car that costs less than a Cayman S and outperforms a 911 GTS.
I will be going that route for a dedicated track car if the GT4 either comes as a Turbo-4 or has under 400 HP.

 

The latest edition of Evo tests the Cayman GTS against the R coupe (plus an S1, M3, 650S, i8, Vanquish, Golf R, Megane 275 Trophy R, and 458 Speciale).

The 458 came top, with the R coupe in 2nd, and the GTS in 3rd.

Apparently the new M3 handles the way it looks - ugly and disjointed...

 

I owned a 2012 Boxster (base) for 3 years, and just turned it in last week as my R Coupe replaced it. I agree with just about everyone on this thread. The Boxster was a great car, was very reliable, really enjoyed the handling (in fact, I have to say I think I took it for granted after 3 years) as you could just throw it into a corner and it would just go. Looking back, the 265 horsepower was about right as you could wind it out and feel like you were getting the most out of it.


I looked at the Cayman GTS as a replacement, and then decided if I was going to do another Porsche, I would have to do the 911 since to me it was the true Porsche I had grown up with. It's all mental, but I found the Cayman inferior. I drove the Coupe R (almost by mistake) and I was just bowled over. It made a huge impression. When I went back to negotiate with the Porsche dealer on a base 911 fitted similarly to the Coupe R, I ended up at $110k for a base 911, and didn't have torque vectoring, 200 horsepower, or quite a few other options that were on the Jaguar. Also, when I drove the 911 after driving the Coupe R, it just felt. Slow. Very slow. I know it's not, but there was no shove in your back. I looked again at the Cayman GTS, but decided the value, look, kick in the pants, and rarity of the Jaguar made the decision pretty easy.


After driving the Jag for a week, I do have to say that the R is a beast. A complete beast. Almost too much of a beast. It's loud, obnoxious, and ill tempered, but boy does it have some attitude. I've gotten so many positive comments and looks that I wouldn't look back. Also, it just feels solid. Now, it doesn't handle like a Cayman or a Boxster at all, so if you want to fling the car around, this probably isn't the right choice. And if you wind out the R like a Boxster, you're in 'I'm going to jail' territory. But, if you want to feel like you are driving a sophisticated beast that has a unique identity, the Jag is an easy choice.


If the 911 had had 100 more horsepower, I still don't think I would have gone that direction...

 

I appreciate hearing your input on this. Mu base v6 'vert is paid off (and it feels great). Part of me is thinking that the best of both world would be keeping my Jaguar since I can enjoy top down driving and the fact that its paid and maybe go for a more reasonably priced coupe (under @ 70k since I have to stay within a financial limit) to compliment the Jag. Those choices would be the base Stingray or base Cayman. I do usable performance where you can get more out of a car on the streets...giving the edge to the Cayman, along with the fact that I have not had a mid-engine car before. If I went the route of the Cayman, I would get PDK and add a fabspeed or borla race exhaust (as I do like sound).

 

I had it for 5 or 6 years - daily driver, track, autocross, mountain driving, you name it. Only issue was with a trick suspension upgrade I did (Bilstein Damptronic). After that I had an Abarth for a couple years, now I have an S4.

 

A friend has a Cayman and it has been a great car for him. It's a 2007 with 130,000 km on it. I've driven it a few times and looked very hard at one for myself. I'm 6'2" and I couldn't make myself comfortable in a Cayman. It was just a bit too small. If you're a tall person, try to drive one for a longer time and see if you're ok with the size. I think I would have bought one a few years ago if it wasn't for the lack of leg room. Have fun!

 

New review comparing a 911 , F-type and DB9 coming up.