My Cayman dilemma - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Having owned the Cayman nearly two years, I am in a dilemma. I absolutely love the way it drives. As I gain more and more confidence on the country back roads, it still surprises me how capable it actually is at carry speed through bends. I am in no doubt that my talent will run out, much quicker than the car will deliver. When all the conditions come together, it just hooks up, feels special and a real thrill to drive. The only times I felt I needed more power is for overtaking, you do need to be in the right gear and requires some thought..It does not have the low down torque to make those split decisions. So here lies my problem. Whilst I love the whole package, I do yearn for the 981. The shape of it just looks so right, the interior seems to have moved ahead also. I do also feel that the new Cayman prices have also moved on, maybe into another league? I suspect a change up from my current model worth say £22-23k on a good day to a used 981 with reasonable spec would be around £12-£15k for the base model and probably + £10k again for an S. BTW, I am talking OPC with those prices. Just seems like such a big jump and is it worth it? Do I just renew the warranty in a few months time and keep going and wait for the gap to narrow, which I suspect it won't. Remember buying my Cayman for around £31k, when it was under a year old. I suspect with the 981, those days are over... G

I think the only answer is to take the 981 for a test drive. Then you can ascertain if there really is a big difference between 987 and 981. By all accounts the 981 is a cracking car.

With respect to your driving skills (mine aren't great) forward planning is the key to a good overtake and your decision to go for it or not is influenced to a degree by the bhp you have available to you but not that alone. However, as stated, the key is good planning. You can have a lot of fun and manage some satisfying overtakes in a 2CV with proper planning. Whether an upgrade is worth it or not is really up to you, both are great cars IMO. I have a Cayman GTS on order but my reasons for purchase are my own and are not influenced by some internet expert. Try a 981 I doubt you will be disappointed ..good luck whatever your decision ...

I can offer some input which might help you a little bit. You don't say if you are thinking of an upgrade from a 987 Cayman or a 3.4 Cayman S. Presumably you have the smaller engine car judging from your comments about overtaking. Be in no doubt that the 2.7 base 981 Cayman will need similar forward planning, correct gear and ruthless revs to overtake normal / higher speed traffic. And regardless you will probably not be able to keep up with the faster stuff if it is driven well. But most 2.7 owners don't really care as the handling and driving experience is awesome. And the car will carry big speeds round corners with great poise. But having said that, so does your 987 too right? Remember that in going from 987 to 981 Porsche were focused on 1) not losing performance but 2) gaining efficiency... less CO2s, more MPGs etc. In doing that they geared the car quite high. It means that with the 981 2.7 you really need to be "on it" to be fast otherwise you cruise in relative comfort and in a significantly improved cabin. But that it the attraction to most owners: you need to actively drive the car to be fast. So I don't think that car would solve the problem you present. The 3.4 is a different animal. It does have the excess power and low / mid range torque that you can be lazy with the gears and get past most normal traffic with little planning. And if you are trying to overtake something faster or go banzi then you can rev it out and the car is really fast. I've had faster cars and more powerful cars than my 3.4 981, but I love the duality of being able to cruise in it fairly comfortably, have excess torque to get past most things without trying and meanwhile having something sharp and genuinely fast if I want to really drive. As to if this is worth your car plus £25,000 or whatever it works out to be depends on how much spare cash you have. 981 Caymans like my car will depreciate and cost money. Probably much more than your 987 if that has only done normal milage. Can you afford to burn money for something you will enjoy a lot? Personally I'd say go for a 3.4 if you can spare the money. It is fantastic car.

Of course for £10k to £15K could could get a turbo conversion done on your current car. My 3.2 is putting out an estimated 376 bhp. You'd have to balance the fact that you'd never get mmost of your money back if you went that way against how much you'd lose in depreciation on a newer 981. It's not the worst problem in the world to have is it.

having the same thoughts as the OP... have run a 987.1s for 4 yrs now (06 plate) and the various courtesy cars (981s boxsters) are seriously tempting me to trade it in for the 981 cayman s (missus not into open top).. but the prices imho have indeed gone up a notch for the 981 which has really just led me to renew the OPC warranty on mine (coming up to 9th yr next) until the 981s prices fall down to more affordable low 30k levels which i think won't happen for another 2 yrs at least.. in terms of exterior, i think the 981 has changed for the better but not dramatically but the interior is another world, especially compared to my 987.1s and its PCM 2.1 ... the ride is indeed sublime even on the 20" rims sadly.. the head is winning out on the man maths here

I've just done exactly this - a week ago I picked up a new 981, having agonised (but not too much!) about whether to renew the warranty on my Gen II and buy new tyres, or jump in and get the lovely new model. I don't regret it, I'm still smiling a week on. Drive the new one, then have a cooling off period, then decide.

I just moved to 981 Cayman S after 4 years in a Boxster Spyder. It's a brilliant car, the ride comfort and interior are a big step forward. I really like the looks too. It's a real Jekyll and Hyde car, particularly with PDK - you can can trundle down the outside lane of the motorway at just over 2k revs in 7th gear in quiet comfort and 35mpg or hit the flappy paddles and enjoy a proper sports car.

Worth considering a 987S? More power for not much more money. Go for a different colour, wheels, interior, options etc and it could feel as much of a change as moving to a 981. Just a thought...

The new Cayman S is the best car I have driven and better than my previous 911. Plus it looks better. It's the best value car Porsche makes too.

The new Cayman S is the best car I have driven and better than my previous 911. Plus it looks better. It's the best value car Porsche makes too.

Just shy of 1 year in a 981 Cayman PDK and consider it an amazing car. 17,000 miles so far to confirm that decision!

What he said but for 8 months and 14,500 mls.

Well, I am in the same camp as the OP albeit with the 987 Cayman 3.4S. Having jumped from a Chimaera (massive amounts of torque in those cars, right from the get-go!!) to the Cayman, I noted, on day one, that in the 3.4S there is basically no low level torque but massive amounts around the 3500 - 4000 rpm mark. It basically starts all its hard work at around 4000 rpm. Using engine braking is relatively pointless (used quite effectively for my entire driving career, spanning 36 years!) compared to the Tiv and Jaguars I have owned. But, having said that, it just requires, as others have said, a slight change in driving style. Much like my old love, the Renault 5 GT Turbo, the Cayman S requires that you hover around the 3500 mark prior to a overtaking manoeuvre and just press the loud pedal when you are ready. These cars like to rev (not over-rev of course!). The lack of low end torque is the only down side to the 987.1 but I just can't get over the fact that the 981 or the gen 2 Cayman looks more like a 911 now, and that is why, after a few years, I shall be looking for a power upgrade rather than a gen 2 or 981 (or are they the same?!!!). In summary, I bloody love the 987.1 for it's looks, handling and sheer driving pleasure. All IMHO of course.

Thanks all for the replies. Will be going to Silverstone next week on a GTS day and see how we get on. I am thinking an upgrade up to a 2.7 Cayman probably won't give me more than I have right now, however the S does seem to offer the complete package. G

Have you got an invite from an OPC? Is it required?

Have you got an invite from an OPC? Is it required?

RBT0 said: Have you got an invite from an OPC? Is it required? Yes, invite from OPC.

Looks like my dilemma comes to an end. Fingers crossed - will be a proud owner of a brand new Cayman S by next Monday. Caught OPC at the right time - very excited! Thanks G