I bought the Boxter for my wife and guess who's driving it the most.

 

gaby, you want to join a couple caymans for a drive on the 9th?

 

Where is the ride? I am in Tucson.

 

Sounds like fun Have a great time guys

 

[quote=PorscheC4;2081725]the cayman/boxster is the best handling car i have ever driven.]

I have heard the cayman is the best handling porsche ever put into production (incl the carrera gt).

I dont know if this is something porsche said to increase sales? Anyone second that?

 

I second That JOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have one and it rocks ..

 

I was i the same position (c5,m3,boxster). Porsche is by far my favorite automaker. Comparison IMO:

M3/ everybody already has one/ handles really good/ great interior/ looks good but blends in

Boxster/I only drove a 2.7 early model (in my $ range) handled great but had no ballz/ stock it looks dated (early model, again in my $ range)

C5 hardtop/ stock looks ok, Slightly modded looks badazz/ 350hp,375tq stock/ cheap interior/ has some rattles/ minor bolt-ons make good pwr

I went w/ the c5 but if I could have afforded a later model Boxter S, it could have gone either way.

 

Ekam,
I'd tell you all about the 3.8L swap, but it would bore those who've already been through this with me. The thread started by FVD is here somewhere.

Josh,
Thanks for the props.

Notsomini,
The 3.8 is bigger than the 3.6? Need I say more?

Dave

 

I agree, which actually really breaks my heart because I've been a 911 fan/dreamer since I was a teen ager. By the time I could afford one, they had gone soft. My 07 Cayman S stickered in at $74K with options. As you know, the base 911 Carrera cost $68K in 07. So I could have gotten a 997 with $6K in options for what I paid. But I didn't. The Cayman S derailed my 20+ years of 911 fanaticism and pulled me to the dark side of mid engine placement.

I love it.....! I've put about 17,000 miles on my Cayman S in just over a year and I'm still discovering the car. Every time I drive it I'm impressed. It will take me years to master this car to the point where I can explore it's full capabilities.

 

I guess I have probably repeated this story a few times, but like many of you I could not wait until I was able to afford my first 911. When the time came I swear I test drove the 997 7-8 times and looked at a 996TT as well. I really liked it but never fell in love with it. The first time I had an opportunity to take a spirited drive in a Cayman S it was in my garage 2 hours later.

The car is sublime and made me look like a hero on spirited drives. I ran with some very expensive machinery and the Cayman, all of 60K would get pulled on the straights but would run down anything in the curves.

The best part is you can drive it reasonably hard and still keep your license. That is just not possible with the likes of a GT3, ZO6, TT etc...

 

Seems you already have made up your mind/opinion based on your replies. But, I'll play along If you look at the lap times above, the fastest lap times are the fastest cars.

That does nothing to say that the Boxster is or is not fun or special, and it is perfectly reasonable (at least for me) to compare the Boxster to the majority of the other cars listed because they are mid-engine, and I am hooked on the mid-engine layout. IMO, the Boxster (or Cayman) would be the perfect car to me if Porsche gave it more oomph. Other cars I would seriously consider ARE the Gallardo and F 360/430s (used, of course). And, also an Elise/Exige. What PorscheC4, notquitefob, and others say really rings true with me.

I have driven a 360 (not extensively), so I will provide some comparison. First, the handling: the Ferrari is W-I-D-E, and you immediately notice how that impacts handling. It is sprung/valved stiffer than a Boxster. The feedback and feel is absolutely magical up to 5/10. Higher up, you realize it is a bigger and heavier car, and there is more weight that you are throwing around with more rear weight bias. Granted my Boxster is not stock, but higher up, I prefer the handling of my Boxster as more linear, more mechanical, and lighter. (A Cayman's torsional rigidity is also immediately noticeable to me, but alas, no drop-top.)

Of course handling is not the only way to compare the two. The Ferrari is just plain f***ing, f***ing, f***ing gorgeous. You are pretty much guaranteed a crowd of spectators. The exhaust sound is just plain WOW. Let's not kid ourselves. It has way more power. I would still love to have one as a 2nd car if I had the money and garage space, but I am not so much into luxury, so a Challenge Stradale ($$$$$$) would be more my style. Which brings me to an analogy about why so many people love their Boxsters and Caymans:

A possible analogy is a car like a Ferrari or Lambo is first and foremost a luxury exotic. It is like wearing a tux. Driving is an event. It is a more formal event where you obey your manners and are rewarded with an exquisite experience. You're aware you have it on, and the world reacts differently as a result. But, you do not go play on the slides in a tuxedo.

The Boxster is like a pair of your favorite jeans and well-worn shoes. You hardly know it's there. It just feels comfortable and perfectly natural. You can screw around in it and have about the most fun in it every day, all day, and everywhere you go. For example, I never have a second thought taking my Boxster to Home Depot and enjoying every mile along the way--even if it's dirty. The more you drive it, the more opportunities for "perma-grin".

In the end, it really depends on what YOU want in a car. Where I live, there are more opportunities for great handling than there is for great speed. Getting back to your original post, many people do NOT think Boxsters are expensive for what you get. In fact, for what you get, a Boxster/Cayman is about the most fun/$ you can get. Outperforming depends on how you define it. Magazine stats do not cut it.

 

Great post! whats shows even more on the list xxforgedxx posted, is that the 360 modena, with 100 more hp, and much more tq, only lapped the ring 2 seconds faster than the cayman did, and the cayman was faster than theF 355. THAT right there is proof enough of how good it is. same with the boxster.
I agree the ferrari/lambo are more flashy and are like tuxedos, but the cayman/boxsters, i would say they are more of a really nice pair of jeans (diesels, true religion, etc), or really nice shoes (prada, cole haan, etc).

i will also say this...the cayman/boxster is so good, that if Porsche decided to put the 997 GT3 engine in it, for 95-100K, there would be no need for a GT3, f430, gallardo, etc, because the cayman S would make a mockery of them with that kind of power and its extremely low weight.

 

Concur.

I spent a lot of time looking at a lot of cars before I bought my Cayman. My dream was to own an E46 M3 (6 speed), and I drove plenty of them in my search for one. One day my brother recommended I check out the Cayman. I refused for quite sometime, until out of "boredom" I pulled into a Porsche dealer to see what all the hype was about. It was about 9p on a Friday night. I took a base Cayman for a test-drive. By 8p on Saturday, I was driving off the lot in my own Cayman.

Enough said.

 

First, I'd like to comment that if I bought a Cayman S, it would be Cobalt Blue. That is my 2nd favorite Porsche color of all time (next to Arena Red, of course). That is so HOT of a combination. I'm going to have to surf for some of your pictures.

I think there would still be a market for Gallardos, F430s, and even 997s. The reason is that not everyone is a car nut like here on 6Speed. I think there are a lot more "drivers" here interested in driving dynamics. Most other folks are more "cruisers" and interested in luxury/prestige, and there's nothing wrong with that either.

 

Thank you! i had always had silver cars before, and once i saw the cobalt blue, i was hooked. you dont see it a lot which i like.
i agree there would still be the market for them, but prob not as much, LOL. the f430s and gallardos are awesome cars nonetheless.