[roblav]

Frankly, I prefer the 5-speed in the base Cayman. The Cayman S doesn't really need a 6 speed because of the wider torque band. But 6 speeds were the expected standard at the time - so voila!
The base Cayman is great if you don't mind shifting to get the power at the higher revs. To me, it's more fun making a slower car go faster than a faster car go slower. And the base Cayman is lighter too... and 30 MPG highway. I drove mine from Norfolk, VA to Albuquerque, NM and back - 2 days each way. It doesn't wear you out like an air-cooled PCar does. I've driven air-cooled 911s cross country a few times in my youth, and the buzzing of your body remains for about an hour.

Maintenance has been easier on this car than my old 911s... just oil changes, spark plugs, serpentine belt and tensioner, and brake pads. I had two issues with mine: interior roof liner and left door handle mechanism, both common and fairly easy fixes.

I don't believe they'll be collectibles (but I also thought that with 2.0 and 2.2 911T!)... you never know for sure. But I also believe depreciation is about as low as they will go. Recommend find one with 60K or less miles for about $23K. I bought mine with 32K on the clock almost 5 years ago for slightly more.