OK...Who here has bought a Cayman?

[svonkampen]

OK...Who here has bought a Cayman?

I'm seeing more and more of them here in So Cal......

I love the look more and more......(the rear is awesome looking....what a heinie..I wanna be friends with it)

So cmon......some of you richies must have one!

Let's hear it!! Spill the beans........by now you guys have had your cars for a month or 2.


SvK

[Leland Pate]

I may come back from Germany with one.... wait a minute... ...no I won't.

[svonkampen]

Leland Pate...

Do you like them?

SvK

[Kurt B]

I like em. Porsche can't go by polls anymore than a politician can. Everyone b1tched about the cayenne, and porsche goes on to make the caymen, and now everyone thinks that sucks too, or is ugly from certain angles etc.

Some guy posted this in 1999 in a newsgroup, and I saved it because it's so true

"
Time to De-Lurk

Nothing on Earth will ever get as much respect from Porsche 911
owners as a 911 in any configuration 964, 996 etc...

Porsche could build a car that smokes a 911 make it their flagship
and have it spank every car known to man and the 911 owners would
piffle it off as not being a "True" Porsche.
Ferdinand Porsche could arise from the dead proclaim a new non-911
model THE Ultimate Porsche and he'd be boo-ed back into the grave
by the 911 owners.

That said the Boxster S will be a great little car, fast, fun to drive
but to a "True" Porsche owner it will never be a 911 no matter how good
it is.


--
Steve Bernard
Red '99 Miata - Sport Package
B-Stock Autocrosser

[das908kind]

Not mine, but the local dealer let me take this one out for a test-drive back in Feb, so I could do a write-up for our local PCA mag.



Yes, awsome car and very un-assuming. It really doesn't make a big fuss, nor does it have to.



We paired it up with sweet 964 Speedster (still one of my favorite all-time Porsches) and ran around town for 3-4 hours.



It's definitely a refined and sophisticated car, with all the bells and whistles. When you sit in it, it's very tight and confining, which takes some getting used to. It's a lot like being in a fighter jet.



If you have the bucks and are looking for a car, I say buy one and hang onto it for life. There's some great examples of single-owner Porsches out there, at it's a true testament of dedication, I think.

[Plecostomus]

It has to grow on me more , I guess. I do hate the cheap-looking exhaust jewelry. It looks like a cheap, hollow piece of aluminium. Why couldn't they make this solid with chromish plating??

[porschenut]

Originally posted by Plecostomus
Why couldn't they make this solid with chromish plating??

They did - it's a $320 option.

[Leland Pate]

I will most likely own a Cayman within the next five years. But, I will purchase one when they are all over eBay with $17K "Buy it Now" tags.

I think they are ok. But the Cayman did not get me excited when I sat it one. Granted I haven't driven one yet. But, so far I have not been pulled away from my 993.

[DonDavis]

Hi, my name is Don and I like the Cayman.

[Venetian]

A friend has one with tiptronic. I"ve driven it and been a passenger in it a lot. I find it rather boring ie like driving my wifes Acura. I"m sure a lot of this is due to the tiptronic. Power is certainly not overwhelming(again tiptronic??). Sound is there but somewhat anemic in my opinion.

I"m sure it would run circles around my 87 Carrera but I"d rather drive the Carrera.

I know"soul" is an overused word but this just doen"t have it. My friend has owned several 911"s and would agree.

[304065]

U boyz have to realize that the writing is on the wall. Ernie Jakubowski raced #001 at the Lime Rock Club Race and turned a 1:01 with it, which isn't too bad for a car with no development history. Everything about the mid-engine configuration will eventually make it the dominant car in the D class, you watch.

[Doug&Julie]

My brother has one. ( www.lumpocole.com/doug/greggscaymans ) I've only had short drives in it (and the dealer demo car), but I'm convinced its...well, brilliant. He bought it instead of a 911. He's not the least bit sorry. Nor should he be!

[dentist90]

Welcome, Don, to Cayman Anonymous. I'll start the testimonials... It's been 380days without driving a Cayman. No wait, I haven't ever driven a Cayman! I sure would like to. I suspect it will be a lot easier to throw into a corner with the better weight balance. I live with great respect (fear?) for what my 911 will do to me if I'm still heavy on the brakes going into a corner, or if there's a bit of sand still on the road from winter. I do tend to see speed limits as more of a 'suggestion' than an order. And I do like controlled oversteer, which can be a challenge to achieve in the tail-heavy 911

[450knotOffice]

I have to agree with dentist90 on this. There is a video floating around on this forum that shows what a tightened up Cayman will do and it's simply brilliant. The car looks so balanced, hooked up and easy to control. I doubt that there is an early 911 anywhere on the planet that can do the things that a tightened up Cayman can do. The rear-engine dynamics just wouldn't allow it.

Not that I don't absolutely love my own 911, but I do want to add a Cayman to the stable one of these days (hopefully within a year or so).

[Jack Olsen]

I've driven one at Willow Springs twice -- most recently four days ago. It's a great car.

I don't think the mid-engine placement makes that big of a difference, though. More important is that it's a well-powered car that weighs less than a Carrera, has a better chassis than a Boxster, and has a very effective suspension on it.

It was comfortable around the paddock, and stable as a rock through turn 8 at 120 mph.

For a track-and-street driven car, it's a tough one to beat.

[kqw]

Yea, a great handling car....However is it worth the money? 71K+ for essentially a Boxter Coupe.

Don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with a Boxter/Coupe but for that price I wouldn't even consider it.

[911-32]

Originally posted by Jack Olsen
I've driven one at Willow Springs twice -- most recently four days ago. It's a great car.

I don't think the mid-engine placement makes that big of a difference, though. More important is that it's a well-powered car that weighs less than a Carrera, has a better chassis than a Boxster, and has a very effective suspension on it.

It was comfortable around the paddock, and stable as a rock through turn 8 at 120 mph.

For a track-and-street driven car, it's a tough one to beat.

IIRC, the weights quoted by UK CAR magazine are: Cayman 1415kg, Carrera S 1420kg and Carrera 1395kg - presumably all dry manufacturer quoted weights. Makes them all much the same weight and the Cayman in particular kinda lardy.

No doubt its a great car nonetheless.

[DB_NC_95C2]

I have to agree with KQW. I thought about a Cayman for a few months, was #1 on the Foreign Cars in Greensboro waiting list with a deposit. Then I came to my senses. I have no business buying a $70k car, because too years ago I sold a 2002 C4S because as much as I loved it I couldn't justify the cost of owning it. I looked carefully for a special one-owner classic air-cooled 911, found this 83 SC with 58K miles on it, near-perfect inside and out, and I couldn't be happier, as is my monthly-payment. Continuing to upgrade this and that, making it better and better. Hollowing out the cat and putting on a Dansk 1-in-1-out since inspection regs changed here, now the car has a completely new personality. It WANTS to run HARD. I love it. Cayman is a great car, if I had the bucks later when they come off leases, I'd consider getting one, but I know those bucks will be better spent being thrown at a 401k. Picked up a fun Cooper to fill the 'affordable,modern amenities, fun to drive commuter', I think I have the best of bold worlds (older classic, new 'classic'). I would still give my left nut for a 98 C2S, but that doesn't happen unless I win the lottery.

[s2per]

I've had 2 very real, very memorable experiences with a Cayman. The first was at a Sebring PCA DE that I ran in February. A local dealer brought one out. My daughter and I grabbed our lids, and took it out for some very fast laps. Man! I have NEVER driven anything that gives the kind of confidence level as that car right out of the box. I passed one of our instructors in his track tired Boxster S and enjoyed a sweet 3rd gear controlled drift around the Carousel. My daughter is reconsidering her college major; she wants one bad.

And a month or so later, I rode with Hurley Haywood on a flat-out demo ride as part of the Amelia Island Concours Road Tour. Temporary course on the runway at Bayport Naval Station. Now that's a ride every Porsche owner should have. We were on the high side of 5th when he started threshold braking with an amazing heel-toe dance to 2nd and through a chicane, and....well, he is the MAN.

So, yeah, it's a great car. But I'm looking forward to my first 997 GT3 ride, too......