I haven't driven the Cayman R but if it handles like the spyder the Cayman R feels more sportier. I was thinking the base 991 vs the cayman R. I wonder which is faster and has a better driving experience?

 

I own a Cayman R, C4S cab, and GT3. If I had to pick just one to own, it would be the GT3 because I track a lot and I could DD it. The Cayman just doesn't have enough power. Yes, it handles great and is nimble and is a great car, but for me the track is where it's at and nothing beats the GT3. For a DD, I'd still pick my '09 C4S over the '12 Cayman R because of the power, fit and finish, and comfort it provides.

Why the heck did I buy the Cayman R again? What was I thinking? Because it is one of the best cars Porsche has made. Like others have said, it is a great looking car, that is EASY to drive at the limit and makes you feel like a hero both on the street and track. It is very rewarding...until you master it and get bored. The Cayman R is my wife's track car, but I end up driving it to work a lot because of the PDK; i find it more relaxing. The Cayman R also gets more looks and comments from people who don't know Porsche. It stands out. For those who know Porsche, well...it's just a Cayman; it's no 911. Bottom line - there is a purpose and function for every car; you just have to know what is right for you. If I had to own just one P car ever, it would be a 911. I am generalizing, but no body has ever bought a 911 and wished they got a Cayman. Also, 911 owners enjoy their cars and rarely have anything bad to say about Caymans; in fact, they praise them. On the other hand, many Cayman owners are very negative about the 911 and constantly put down the car and platform (see Planet-9) calling their cars "GT3 beaters", etc... From my experience (having owned 2 Caymans as well), it is the Cayman drivers on the track who are the least likely to point you by especially if you have a 911...this is my observation at several tracks around the country. There is somehow a feeling of my car is better than yours and I'll show you. It's kind of like an inferiority complex...when it shouldn't be that way. The Cayman is very fast and has a certain place in the Porsche lineup and indeed is a special car. There is a reason it is a driver's car and the best handling car. Unfortunately, the total package goes to the 911. Just my point of view. I am fortunate to have both cars and love every minute of it.

 

The "base" 991 and Cayman R will be very close on lap times with the edge maybe going to the 991 due to the increased hp and newer technology including the electronic doo-dads like PDCC, PTV, etc. Trust me, they are both "fast" enough for all of us.

As for driving experience, having driven both 991S and Cayman R (both PDK), it is subjective. 991 S is definitely faster, but Cayman handles better. Cayman is less likely to jitter into and out of turns and it just feels like a smaller, tighter, sports car. The 991 is more luxurious. Although it is faster, I don't think it is as "sporty." I'd love to have one though

 

I concur with this comparison. I've driven my CR (manual) back to back with the 991S (PDK), and I think the CR is more of a raw pure sports car, whereas the 991 is more luxurious. Both have a similar planted feel, so you need to go fast to really get the fun factor. With a 997, the fun factor is there at every speed.

 

I only test drove a Cayman S and own a 997. In short, the Cayman was fun, the 911 was fun and scary.

From an engineering standpoint. The 911 utilizes its available grip (friction) better than the Cayman. To make the Cayman faster it would have to be all wheel drive.

 

AWD??? Huh???

The only reason why a 911 is faster is because of the larger displacement engines and RR nature of the car and this only applies to acceleration from a standstill or on corner exit where a RR can put the power down better.

Give a Cayman a similar sized engine and similar complex rear suspension to a 911, on a track it would post similar laptimes or slightly faster laptimes than a 911 simply because it can carry higher corner entry, mid corner speed than a RR car.

Guess the MR platform is so bad that Porsche decided to make their top of the line Carrera GT a MR car and the basic underpinning of the 918 Spyder are based on a MR platform with an electric assist on the front motors.

If a RR platform was so good, how come in the top echelons of motorsports the vehicles are mid engine?? (F1, LMP1, LMP2, Daytona Prototypes, etc, etc) Geez, are we still living in a world that most people consider the world to be flat?

 

Harsh man... F1, LMP1, ect all have significant aerodynamics. Those guys are in a different league than us. For us, the majority of our grip comes from the weight of the car times the coefficient of friction. Since the Cayman and 911 (non 4 or turbo) are both RWD, a 911 utilizes more of its available grip during acceleration.

If you gave the Cayman the extra horses the gap narrows, but the 911 should still be faster due to the fact mentioned above. This also assumes everyone is driving on the limit, which is farfetched for us. Im not saying the 911 is better. Im just saying its faster in our specific comparison.

 

Not being harsh, you mentioned AWD on a Cayman which is a total non starter.

Only during conditions where the rear grip is the limiting factor in regards to performance wIll the RR have an advantage over a MR.

On a drag race a 911 will have a substantial advantage there is no way around it.

I don't buy my cars to do drag races or do stoplight to stoplight acceleration runs.

At the track (road course) the higher corner entry/mid corner speed of a Cayman can equalize the benefits of the 911 on corner exit acceleration, go to any track day and see this happening all the time.

It is all about compromises, the 911 has some benefits/drawbacks same goes with the 987's.

In the end folks choose to drive whatever makes them happy.

 

I think the article in the November 2011 Excellence best summed it up. They compared the ultimate Cayman (the Cayman R) against the ultimate Carrera (the GTS). The conclusion was that the performance over several different road surfaces was nearly identical, but the Cayman was more satisfying to drive.

Can't go wrong with either one - get one or get both!

 

I agree that the performance is comparable, though for me it's about a tie as far as which is more fun to drive. And I did get both a CR and 911!

 

Completely agree. I want both. Past discussions regarding these two cars made me instinctively defensive about the 911's engineering merit.

Random thought, in a road coarse competition environment. If the 911 is in front, it can easily neutralize a Cayman's turn-in speed advantage. If the Cayman is in front, it cant do much to adversely effect the 911's acceleration advantage. If its a long race, the Cayman has a slight advantage in fuel efficiency... Minor differences, but I bet some racing engineering thought about this.

 

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This was posted on planet-9 a while back.

Randy Pobst racing an ITC Cayman race car at Sebring, plenty of other cars in the video to compare against, only cars that blow by Randy are the ones that have substantial more HP and it's not even funny the speed at which they disappear in the horizon.

You will notice where the Cayman makes up time relative to the 911 based race cars.

Jump to around 6:30 mark for the outlap, race starts around the 10:25 mark.

48 hrs Sebring Enduro Group
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20250526

 

Both cars are great but all things being equal on a track a mid-engine car would beat a rear-engine car, period. But that's not the question being asked, it's Cayman R vs. 911. This is a pretty vague, sport car wise the Cayman R, touring car a 991.

KYRockS, I always thought the ultimate goal in handling was a balanced car. So, when you have that it's boring? Balance allows for a higher limit (speed!) isn't that what you want. Take the money difference and increase the HPs. Talking absolutes that 911 owners never say.. is just wrong. I've heard plenty of 911 owners talk negatively about the Cayman. I talk negative about my 1st gem Cayman.

Porsche has a flag ship and that is the 911, great car. Put all that same attention and engineering into a Cayman and make an GT3 version and you'd have no argument which is a better track car.

Practicality, pick the very small children's back seat or more storage.

This should not be about which layout is better, it should be about differences for better or worse. It's not a contest.

 

Both are a blast to drive. For me, I prefer the 911 as I find the Boxster / Caymen seating very uncomfortable for my body. No doubt that if I was smaller it would be better but I'm not.

As for the actual driving of the two, I still prefer the 911 but of course a mid engine car can be fun too.

 

Now that's a practical reason why to get a 911. I always wonder how taller & larger guys fit into a 987s. It fits me but I'm not 6ft or 200lbs and I still have the seat almost all the way back.