Great unbiased review, you are one of the few people who turned me around about the GTR. Everytime I drive a Boxster in anger I am reminded by their amazing turn in and also relative lack of power. I think a TPC turbo Cayman may be a track car bordering on insane!

 

It is difficult to compare the 911 with the Cayman because the 911 comes with bigger engine options and beefier suspension (I believe). Were you to option a Cayman and 911 with the same horsepower and suspension tweaks, I think you would find that the Cayman might be the boss. The Cayman is already showing it's strengths in the Continental Challenge (I believe that is the name of the series) where it is consistently faster than the 911s. Driver skill may factor in somewhat. Porsche knows that mid-engine is the best compromise, you didn't see the 917 with the engine in the rear, did you?

 

917? man thas decades ago(although its the best racecar ever made).
whos winning the ALMS races between ferrari and the GT3RSR? Who won last years 24hrs of nurburgring against those R8's? The GT3 RSR! 911 is boss.

 

True, the 911 won those, but you have to admit that this is in no small part due to the fact that Porsche develops the 911 to be the king of the hill within it's ranks. If Porsche were to develop the Cayman to the extent that they have developed the 911, things would probably be much different. My point with the 917 was that, when Porsche builds a dedicated race car, prototype if you like, the motor is in the middle. Heck, the first Porsche had the motor in the middle. The last time Porsche won Le Mans overall, the car (GT1) looked like a 911, but the motor was in the middle. The TAG-Mclaren F1 car was certainly not rear engined. My guess is if Porsche begins to lose it's edge in GT racing, you will see them develop a mid-motor design. Maybe they will call it a mid-engined 911, but they already have that car, and it is called a Cayman. Stubborn insistance on tradition, for some reason, keeps the motor in the rear.

 

when it comes to motorsports they def not developing the cayman. maybe they making it ugly on purpose to haha

 

Here is a clue:http://www.fastestlaps.com/track20.html

At VIR the Cay S, 997S and 997TT turned identical lap times in stock trim with pro drivers. Both the 997s have superior power and suspension. Given the same power, weight and suspension a Cay S will nearly always be faster due to superior driving dynamics.

A 3.6L 964 has less weight and more power than my 2.5L Boxster yet the Boxster with similar suspension and tires turns faster laps on all tracks.

 

oh wow thanks for the info. im jus not a fan of the cayman, but i LOVE boxsters especially the RS60 and the spyder.

 

VIR is more of a smaller cornering track as opposed to a long straights HP track?

 

Maybe you should tune in to the Continential Tire motorsports Racing and see what the Cayman can actually do ..Took 2nd last week .week before was in first place with just a few laps to go had not a BMW took him out in a dirty way would have won ..should have won ..
Also there is a new 2012
Stuttgart - Porsche has officially given the green light to a new lightweight Cayman model variant due to debut for the 2012 model year. The Cayman CS or "Club Sport" will be shown at the Los Angeles auto show later this year and go on sale in 2011 as a 2012 model. The CS will receive some of the same treatment given to the recent Boxster Spyder such as lighter weight components, fabric door pulls, and a uniquely styled set of lightweight wheels modeled after those on the GT2 RS. Recent press reports indicated that this new variant was shown to Sales Managers in US and Europe at recent internal Porsche meetings and given the positive response from their dealership network Porsche has chosen to move forward with production.

A number of technical items have been circulated internally among the team responsible for this variant and include the following:
333hp 3.4L engine
Sport PASM suspension - 20mm lower than stock ride height
A/C, stereo are optional
162-184lbs lighter than stock Cayman S
Aluminum doors, fabric door pulls
Lightweight hatch, optional lexan window (europe only)
19" unique lightweight wheels
Sport bucket seats
Revalved steering assist
Locking rear differential standard
Uprated brakes (optional)
Restylized front fascia
Cayman Club Sport side graphics
Rear diffuser
Ducktail-style larger rear spoiler (fixed)
Club Sport Insignia badging in interior
Optional "Track Pack", includes partial roll cage, harness and fittings plus fire extinguisher (europe only)
Cited performance numbers - 0-62 in 4.6s
Base Price: $66,330

 

porschepet, continental tires grand am racing right?
im looking at the results and you proved my point. not once did the cayman come in faster then the carrera. am i looking at the wrong racing series?

 

Whaaaaat?? Did you mean this VIR? 4.1 miles/ 155+mph? I think it tends to favor big hp such as the Vette. Driving dynamics also play a role here.
http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezfl...d89b0eeff1.pdf

 

VIR is a horsepower track, no question about that.....but it also is ran in 3 or 4 different configurations. The Cayman carries a lot of speed in places that you just can't in a 911. If we are talking production cars than Porsche has always kept the 911 ahead with detail improvements.

The Cayman for me is part genius and part infuriating. Why does the hardtop car cost a decent amount more than the fun in the sun Boxster? And why in the heck can you actually pay more for a Cayman than you can get a 911 for? I think for me it would either be Boxster or base 911.

Also the whole artificially limiting the Cayman's performance reminds me of a GM move. I get why they do it, but it is infuriating at the same time. Give us a limited production Cayman RS with a 385 hp 911 S engine please.

 

Amen, brother!! Heck, just give it the new GT2 RS TT motor and be done with it! (Zonda beware!)

 

+1. I hate marketing and sales... Just give the people what they want, and sales will take care of themselves.

I'll take your suggestion one step further... Why not put the GT3 engine inside the Cayman CS?

 

I swear they give us an inch and we will take a mile, they would have to charge GT3 money for it.....so I don't know if it would even make sense to do.