CAYMAN!
 

The Cayman will evolve into Porsche's next great World car. With the mid engined design it will go to performance heights the 911 can't aspire to. I think it is awesomely lovely and I do bet that it will look drop dead gorgeous in person. My hunch is that Porsche is starting out understating the car because they need to let it overtake the 911 gently over time out of well-earned iconic respect. The performance shops and wealthy owners with fire in their bellies will start putting together mod packages that will start it on the path of being a spectacular world beater within it's mechanical parameters. Make no mistake, this one will be an all-time classic. I just can't warm up to the title, however, even though it is named after an alligator (Porsche's portent of things to come?). I think this car deserves the title Panamera, since it has the thoroughbred features that evoke the spirit of the Carrera Panamerica. But they didn't ask me. Glad you did. A monent of silence today for James Dean and his silver sarcophogus...

I'm really excited about this car - Am I the only one?

No...but we get wiser as we get older. I mean, some guys still get excited over Angelina Jolie...

I am not sure the prices will drop like the boxsters, i.e. half price in 5 years. The target audience seems like it would be much smaller. Everyone wants to drive a cute little convertible. You have to be kinda hard core to want a coupe. I wonder if the production numbers are not pretty low and this will keep the price up?

re: Angelina Jolie

- If I got a test drive, then I would get excited.

I been thinking about buying one just dont want to pay to be on a waiting list, dont want to pay inflated prices so ill wait, Kevin

yea the name does kind suck, but it could have been nova

Hell, you were also pretty excited about Pamela Anderson then...the trick is to distinguish between lasting quality and the latest fad. Gimme an early 911S over an alligator car...gimme Lauren Bacall over Angelina Joile...dig? It's a purity of line over flash...

"you were also pretty excited about Pamela Anderson then"
- no, not me. she's too fake.

Lauren Bacall - definitely. esp. if I can regress a few decades off ...

There are several important lines - and purity is imp. for all of them...


And: this is one problem I see with the Caveman car -- there are some details there that are just for flash and not functional.

And its too heavy and too spendy... but in a few years that may change.

well, the too spendy part will change, but the Porsche building trend seems to be always heavier, adding engine power to make up for the weight gains...Spendy? Check the OREGONIAN classifieds and note used Boxster prices....I predict the same will happen to the alligator car.

It looks good and it will be fast. What else can you ask for?

ask for light wt., superior handling, reliability, great brakes, and a decent price... and how about some soul?

My bet is that it will not drop in price as much as the Boxsters have -- part of that was the result of all the young high-tech workers buying them - and then the bursting of the tech bubble, dumping a lot of Boxsters on the used market.

Pix really don't do this car justice. I've seen it in person and it looks much better to the naked eye.

The Cayman isn't ugly but it isn't beautiful either. It suffers from the same problem as the other "new" Porsches. It looks too much like an ordinary car. Back in the (good) old days you were NEVER in doubt when spotting a Porsche on the road.

Today a "911" looks like a Boxster from certain angles and a Boxster looks much like a 911 or even from a distance like a Toyota MR2. Oh and someone please tell me why Porsches of today *must* have those huge plasticy rear lamps??

http://www.sportbilen.se/bilder/bilder/dinogtb.jpg
Ferrari Dino


http://fp.images.autos.msn.com/meris...y/c456336a.jpg
Porsche Cayman


I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees a resemblance. And no, I wouldn't kick either of 'em out of my garage! I think they're both beautiful cars.

Buy one and gut it. Problem solved.
They just don't build enough Porsches to ever get to the "decent" price point.

As long as we're talking resemblance, we should probably consider the 904...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128220062.jpg

I like it. Its a good looking car. It does not make me think of a 904 at all. I'd never even tried to make the comparison until you mentioned it.

Ummm... The Cayenne? The Panamera? I DON'T think so. Ferry Porsche was singlemindedly dedicated to fine racing machines. He may have done other things to make ends meet on occasion (tractors, etc.), but he would never countenance the kind of crap rolling out of Stuttgart today. If he was still alive and knew Porsche was building an SUV, his foot would be so far up somebody's (Wiener....) arse, they'd be picking their teeth out of his boot.

As for the Cayman, someone else said it right: It is not ugly, but it is not beautiful either:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128238036.jpg

Look at the rear fender line; it's bulbous and there is no clear flow from the roofline to the tail. The roof is truncated and gives the car a humpbacked look. What's with the cooling gill and step on the rocker? Could you get any busier and break up the smooth lines in a more disturbing way? How about the front running lights? Let's see, how could we place those in a more obtrusive and asymetrical way? Three separate divisions in front for cooling? Why not? It might add character...

The front is stubby and graceless. Not a successful aesthetic exercise in my book. I think there is a good looking car under there somewhere if you could just chisel off alot of it...

ianc

I did not see/think of this until now - thank you for the comparison.

Just for kicks - and looking mostly at the top roof lines, try these on for size.


http://www.avonhill.com/thumbnails/c...mann-Ghia.jpeg
http://www.milpasmotors.com/lc/bus/1...ges/517-01.JPG
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/sungold/SOLD004.jpg http://i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/8477/cayman-porsche-01.jpeg