Horizontally Opposed Man

Panorama's June issue reports the base price for the Cayman s will be $58,900!

MikeN

Not as bad as it could have been, but still a little overpriced IMO. With the engine bumped up a bit, but a solid top it should have been a close wash with the Boxser S. I would have liked to have seen a $53 - $55 price tag. In fact most were looking for the 3.2L engine from the Boxster S with a lower than Boxster S price. Maybe the non-S version will be more like this.

nyca

what's going to be standard for that price? are options going to be packaged like the 997S?

MikeN

Since it's really a Boxster with a roof, the order guide will most likely look like the Boxsters. The Cayman S will probably compare with the Boxster S on standard equipement.

Jim Michaels

Cayman S options list is in a PDF attachment at www.autocarrera.com/attachments/hin_en_2006.pdf. The list also includes the options of all other Porsche models, along with option codes and prices in Euros. Apparently the prices are for Finland, however (where the Cayman will be built), but they will give a rough idea of the relative costs of various options. You can go to one of several monetary exchange rate sites to get a rough estimate of costs in USDs.

ScottS

But the likely outcome of the pricing niche according to my dealer is .....DECLINING USED 911 Prices!

New CaymanS or used 996 ( think RMS) / used 993.

Not good for that segment. So if you are thinking of selling, do so before Jan 2006

Fast40th

Always take what a dealer says with a grain of salt...

ScottS

We'll see. I am worried about downward drivers to used 911 prices. Have you seen them lately. Good news is aside from RMS there are a lotof cars out there for not so much money.

BTW how's the value on the 40th? I love that car.

MikeN

It will be interesting to see what actually happens. My first thought is that Boxster and not 911 prices will take a dive. 911 buyers will always be 911 buyers and are usually in a totally different demographic than Boxster/Cayman buyers. I look for new Boxster sales to take the biggest hit because people have been waiting for a lower priced coupe from Porsche for a long time. These are the people that can't quite (or don't want to) afford a 911 and didn't want a drop top, but did want a Porsche........so they "settled" on a Boxster. I know of many people like this. I don't know of anyone that wanted a lower priced Porsche coupe and actually spent a bunch more money on a 911, except for a used version. I will look for more than a few recent Boxster owners to drop their car and get into a Cayman.

Performance of the Cayman may be close to a 911, but Porsche has taken careful steps to make sure it didn't eclipse it in most areas.

Porsche cars (and pretty much all sports cars) have a big depreciation rate. The recent RMS issues, high maintenance and repair costs all factor in when it comes to used Porsche prices.

rec365

Me Thinks not ! The people who demand the ultimate in handling will buy the Box/Cay because they cant afford the Carrera GT. Hmm..., wonder why Porsche decided to make the greatest car in the world mid-engine. Cost savings I guess.
Do you honestly think, HP and drivers being equal that the 911 could hang with the Box/Cay? If so you need to compare lap times between the cay and 911 at Nurburgring ( Cay 4 secs faster ).
Would seem, after initial tooling expense, there would be little if any difference in production cost. Only in profit margins. Come on, how much can those little back seats cost anyway?
Dont get me wrong. I have alot of respect and love for all models of Porsche. But if I get the uncontrollable urge for the 911 experiance I will just throw a couple of bags of sand in the back luggage compartment.
Its like my old pappy said, some people have more dollars than sense

Jim Michaels

Is the 911 as we know it finally on its last legs? It took Porsche a long time to switch to water-cooling so they could get more valves per cyl and more hp. Now the rear engine seems to be the major constraint on handling. They'll probably build the 911 as long as people keep buying it, so I guess the question is how long people will keep buying the 911 after the Cayman hits the streets and track. My last two Porsches have been aircooled 911s, but I think I see the faint handwriting on the wall.

Sean

Some people will always want the GT convenience of 2+2 seating. Lots of people actually use those little rear seats in the back of the 911.

I don't deny that the mid-engine configuration is the ideal. But I suspect Porsche will continue to constrain Cayman performance for a while. Gotta protect the cash cow 911.

Imagine what a Cayman would do if equipped with a GT3 engine. Ruf will have a lot of fun with this car.

Boxsterund914

Mike N, in a post above, seems to tout the same viewpoint that I see from many different sources. This is the view that the Different Porsche products are graded from "good" to "better" to "best" based on the price of the cars. This viewpoint has been expressed in this forum, in publications that are Porsche "brand specific" and by various individuals that I have spoken with.

NOTICE: For those that are not aware, the Boxster is a mid-engine car. The 911 is a rear engine car. This is a difference that has nothing to do with price. This is not due to the design. One costs no more or less to buid than the other if they were equally optioned. Get it? It is marketing, pure and simple. Please wake up.

NOTICE: The Cayman is a mid-engine design. The 911 is a rear engine design. This is a difference that has nothing to do with price. This is not due to the design. One costs no more or less to buid than the other if they were equally optioned. Get it? It is marketing, pure and simple. Please wake up.

There are many poseurs who purchase Porsches and there are also many enthusiasts who purchase Porsches. I am certain that many poseurs "settled" on Boxsters. I would classify myself as an enthusiast, you may classify me however you wish, I care not. I have never been interested in owning a rear engine car and dealing with the associated "quirky" handling. When a mid-engine product became available from Porsche again I was VERY Interested. When the "S" version came out I bought it. The determining factor here was not price and which Porsche to buy with the dollars I had available. I did not want a SUV or an antiquated rear engine design. If that was all that had been available I would not have been shopping at the Porsche store. I wanted a well balanced sports car. If the Cayman does, in fact, arrive at a price that seems fair.........I'll be trading in some federal reserve notes.

MikeN

Hmmm,.....I didn't mean my comments as a discredit to Boxster and/or future Cayman buyers, sorry if they came across like that. What I did want to express was the fact that many people that don't want a 911 due to cost, engineering, design, style, etc., only had one alternative in a Porsche.....and that was the Boxster (or older models). If you wanted a mid-engined coupe
you were pretty much SOL.....unless you had CGT money......whole different story there.

The fact does remain however that Porsche (at this point) still views the Cayman and Boxster as juniors to the 911......whether we see it like that way or not. I for one don't think the 911 will be going away anytime soon, and there will always be buyers for it........again many people like 4 seats and a little more GT aspects in a Porsche and the 911 fills that bill perfectly......rear engine and all.

If Porsche really wanted to make the Cayman a 911 beater they would have given it more power, but as we see they carefully spent much time placing it under the 911 in most respects. The 911 (especially in S form) is still top dog in Porsches head, and I don't see it changing anytime in the near future.

rec365

Porsche knows the Cayman is the superior car, thats why they handicapped it on power. They could easily have dropped the 355 hp engine in it. But that would have lost the ill informed high margin group that would pay more for the emblem than the better car. I think most people who drive the porsche for what it is would prefer the 2 seater. I mean if your going to haul the kids to wally world take the SUV. I like the potential of this car so much I decided to to go with the PCCB package. This with a few other options pushes the car to a little under 80 Gs, thats in 911 range. This time porsche screwed up! They built the better handling mid-engine car with plenty of power for the curves ( what a porsche is really all about). In my humble opinion its also got the 911 beat on looks. Kinda looks like a leopard crouched on a limb fixing to pounce on something. Maybe the 911 ?