The Front Scoop ?

Look at this pic of my front scoop and tell me if you don't think this could be improved upon with some kind of grill or something. It is so plain, it seems like there should be some aftermarket grill to dress it up a bit. Would do you think? I threw this in just for the heck of it!

I agree Russ. It looks a bit out of place. Personally I prefer the look of the 987 Boxster front bumper. I wonder if it's a direct replacement?

motionless, When I clean in there it just seems like it is missing something. Just a peice of non-functional plastic. Russ

That is where you are going to stow your plate after thelocal cops crack down..../fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/teeth_smile.gif

That space is designed to accept the optional crocodile teeth ...

ya know it looks like a fish mouth or something...dont you think. I look at mine and think...guppy. or maybe a tadpole. it looks like the mouth and the lights are the eyes...dont you think? dont get me wrong...i think the cayman is a sexy beast...but from the front..straight on its kinda...amphibian like... someone else here had their fog lamp slits painted black and that helped...i thought. but you are right Russ...we definitely need to come up with a solution to the fish mouth. there are sure to be several aftermarket front ends that will come out, but they will cost and you will have to have them painted to match. i think some sort of grill like you said might just be the fix.

I am hopeful that those of us with the 6-speed could use the faux scoop to mount our front plates, recessed into the back of the opening. Since I don't have my car yet, could you provide the measurements so I can tell how much of the standard plate needs to be 'trimmed'? /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/wink_smile.gif

FlyingRock, It's not as big as it looks! It averages about 3-1/2' x 20-1/2'. I am afraid that doesn't leave much for a license plate. Now that you guys mentioned it, it does look like a mouth! And the nose of the car looks kind of like a Mako Shark's nose. Russ Edited by - RussK on 03/05/2006 10:30:10 PM

Hi all: I posted in another thread a while back that the new 997 Turbo has a grill in the center section. It is a bit larger area than that on the Cayman, but it looks to me like the part could be cut to fit the Cayman's front scope, and would line up with the grill work in the front side air ducts.

The whole car looks like a Mako Shark (be it a very beautiful Mako Shark!). Especially in Silver... The gills are a little far back! But it looks more agressive than most Porsches in my view.

To bad they did not design it like the new GT3, as that takes the air and lets it out in front of the trunk lid, adding downforce.

Tiptronic has a grill for venting instead of plastic. It looks a lot better. I would take a picture, but I am in Michigan and my car is in Florida. Maybe someone with Tip can post a picture.

Guy's I never even thought about it until now and now that I've focused my attention to it, it does look a tad silly when you don't have a number plate, however on European cars like mine, with a full front numberplate, the scoop isn't so prominent and the front of the car looks really cool. Mind you, if I had a choice between those rear bumperettes that you have on your rear number plates in the states or the front scoop, I'd choose the scoop every time.

Unfortunately, mine isn't very prominent because of the significantly worse looking Virginia license plate hanging over it.

I think you guys are trying a little too hard to find things you don't like about the Caymen. Just face the fact that it isan incredible machineand enjoy it!

AtillaS, I sure don't mind the scoop the way it is, but I thought it would be neat to have some kind of an option for that space. The tailpipes are another issue, they were just plain ugly and polishing or chroming them seems only reasonable. You are 100% correct that it is a wonderful car as is! Russ

if we dont find things we dont like....then modding would be out of the question...come on now! some of us are going to constantly be trying to improve our caymans..whether looks or performance or both! ...thats the fun part! just wait a year or two and try to post that in the mods thread...you will be flamed to a crisp.../fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/wink_smile.gif

The front scoop is where the Dyson (r) vacuum inlet is to be mounted, sucking up all road debris that is enountered. It links to an exhaust port to spray all those in the wake of the croc ...

I agree modding is a lot of fun (you don't want to know how much $/time i spentmodding my old BMWs). Its just nice to have a car now that is so good from the start that it doesn't immediately need changes. There are always exceptions and things like theexhaust tip and clear side markers are a no brainer.

Maybe just something with a texture - not functional like a black cross hatch grill insert. But I would wonder if Porsche made it that way for aerodynamic reasons or for an upgradedd grill on some future Cayman.

close relative to the cayman? its front scoop looks oddly familiar

RussK - How about a blue neon horizontal light bar to fill that space? ==RedEye

Or how about a specially made digital/led number plate that fits perfectly and can be used to display messages too..... You know with the advent of LCD paper it won't be long before we can have LCD number plates that we can change 'James Bond' like just before going through a speed restriction zone, now that would be cool (for some!) /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/wink_smile.gif

Would it look better painted body colour ? I recall seeing the Tip. grill just few days ago - the picture should be around.

RedEye, I like the idea of some kind of illumination in that space, a nice blue glow would be really nice. Aloha, Russ

That blank "grill" is a goofy on the Cayman as it is on the 911. The reason that it looks nicer on the Tiptronic's nose is that the automatic's transmission cooler needs airflow. The X51 package on the 911S will get you one of these cool little front end radiators too. It would be a simple modification to "screen" the front end, but what's behind there if you don't have the extra factory radiator? I would think that the supercharger, or the 3.8 conversions might need to make use of that area for additional cooling. I suspect there is a way to use Porsche parts here.