gmsracing

I was ready to order a Cayman S this weekend until I drove one. I was honestly disapointed in the power level of the motor. I got a good testdrive and while I didn't "beat on it" I did get to flex the motor & chassis a bit on a nice stretch of road. I also didn't like some of the control layouts and the cheap plastic bin covers throughout the car. I really love the exterior. I think it looks better than the 911! The engine note is nice too.

My wife was on board for the purchase and I even sold my SC Friday in preperation for it! I just wasn't "wowed" by the car.

Am I crazy? Did I miss something?

mooty

well, cay s is a bit down on power by today's standards and i know many ppl are not wow'd by it. howver, i also know many who are. and many of them are/were GT3 owners who track a lot.

no need to 2nd guess yourself. if you like it, you do. if not, find another that suits better.

Vancouver83LTD

you could always talk to Ruf.

38D

Or Farnbacher Loles

designman

What are you thinking now instead of the Cayman S?

mooty

oh, you ppl are such bad influence

Nordschleife

the supercharged Cayman from Ruf makes the GT3 redundent

wushuhsu

For the price of a Ruf or other aftermarket addon, you can buy an Audi R8, a 400+ HP mid-engine sports car designed to take out the 911. It also has a aluminum frame, lighter and stiffer than steel, to go along with the mid-engine placement. And we all know how important a stiff chasis and mid-engine placement is to driveability. There are other very fast sports coupes coming on to the market as well in the next year like from Alfa Romeo. If Porsche can't or won't build a car that makes you happy, you do have the final choice as a consumer.

Nordschleife

the R8 is a brand new car thsat will depreciate as fast as you drive it off the lot - a Ruf conversion holds its value. As the Supercharged Cayman I drove the other day was faster than a GT3 or 997 Turbo, I think the R8 will be left eating its dust

10 GT3

I too was disappointed by the power in the Cayman S. It wasn't that it was insufficient, it was just with approximately the same gearing as in my Carrera; the extra time it took to run through each gear was just so noticeable. I think it is a little tall in the gearing for the torque band available. It also doesn't have that little kick in the back you get at 2500-3000 rpms that the 3.6l has.

I would not advise jumping into a Ruf conversion. The engine conversion alone is $33-37K. The 3.8l with the Kompressor is a $60K upgrade for just the engine. If you start adding suspension, brakes, wheels and tires then you could spend more on the conversion than the sticker price of the car you are starting out with. You will find the price of a full Ruf conversion Cayman S to a 3.8l X51 engine (no Kompressor) will quickly justify the price of a new 997 GT3. Remember that excusivity will have its price.

Used Ruf's do not sale for what a new Ruf will, so you should expect depreciation. You may want to take a look at a new Carrera. It will noticeably have more power and dealers are taking as much as 6K off an 06'. You could also look at a used 05' Carrera S, that would be in the mid $70's as another alternative.

I started thinking about the R8 myself. They have released the specs on it and it will have the 4.2l V8 from the RS4 with 420 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque. The weight for production cars is now being estimated at 3500 lbs or about 300 lbs more that Audi initially estimated during design. This means that performance should be similar to the non-X50 996 Turbo. Base price will be in the $80's.

discoganya

Huh? Aluminium stiffer than Steel? Aluminium has a Young's modulus of 70 GPa, Steel has 160. There is no alloy of Aluminium that can be made stiffer than steel. Now Carbon Fiber is a different beast ... (240 GPa).

smlporsche

I drove a new CS a couple of months ago after just having driven my '03 Boxster S to the dealer (for comparison).
I was very underwhelmed also. Now mind you I did not wind it to redline but compared to my BS it was definitely slower.
Then I got a ride in one at VIR and it was like a different animal! The car was significantly faster. The only reason for the differences that I can think of is that the car was very "tight" internally when new and after its 2000 mile break in really opened up.
If you can get a ride with somebody at a track it may open your eyes up...

pstoppani

You are not crazy and you did not miss anything, other than maybe that it is more of a "corners" car and not a "power" car. Although, it is definitely not slow, it does not have the pull of a more torquey car, like your STi. I'm sure that I drove an STi to the dealer and hopped into a Cayman S, I would also be disappointed. I know I miss the torque whenever I switch from my '97 Turbo to the Cayman S.

the 3.8L motor would be much nicer Which can of course be done

gmsracing

I'm actually thinking of just keeping the 951 and the STi. I'm going to upgrade the mapping on the ECU in the STi. With just a remap I can get 320hp/345tq.

I can't think of another car that floats my boat right now that is in my price range.

gmsracing

I did drive to the dealer in the STi. But I had my wife, my baby, and all of his stuff! And it still felt quicker.