I had the opportunity of 2 hours seat time in a Cayman S today courtesy of PCM. It was a near std 6-spd manual. I was keen to see if it was the new "drivers Porsche" that the write ups have been claiming. Also very keen to make the comparison with a good handling early 911.
I drove my '72 E to the showroom so I would have an immediate comparison as I sat in the Cayman.
First impressions? you sit lower and feel a bit more "cramped' than our early 911's The centre console rubs against your left leg and you need to mess about a bit with seat position, steering wheel rake and tilt, seat height, to get comfortable. I felt the interior to be less airy than our cars with a potential blind spot over yr left shoulder, although the left mirror seems to cover that area reasonably well.
Other impressions: a bit plasticky in some areas although I am sure all new Porsches are the same these days.(gimme a bakelite gear shift knob any day). Aircon works VERY well, front visibility is also good but cant see the front edge of the car. Just a hint of the wheel arch bulges to give that 911 feel.
gearbox is excellent, light and shifts fast, pedals are really nice for heel/toe (thanks Walter Rohrl), steering - well I'm still getting used to it but doesnt give me the feel I like in the early 911. handling and grip appears to be more than adequate but i need a few hours in the twisty stuff to really get used to it. Alex, another run soon ??
But the overwhelming thing you really notice is the exhaust note. Its low and loud and lets you know whats happening out back. if you step on it and wind it up, then it really starts to sound interesting.
Seats (std leather ones) were surprisingly comfortable although look very "flat" when you first see them. side support is OK but probably the Sports seat option is the go for spirited motoring.
it 'seemed' to go as hard, if not harder than a good 2.4 or 2.7 early car, but I realised I wasnt really pushing it hard. Spinning it up to the red line (7200) started to make a lot more things happen. Its obviously a lot more refined and quieter than our cars so maybe the impression of speed and acceleration was a bit lost. I had the windows up an AC on so maybe I was a bit cocooned?
I am sure its quicker than our cars but I tend to like the more raw feel of the old, no powered-assist cars which are lighter and, I think, more agile than this car. I am sure Mr. Rohrl would amply demonstrate who was quicker and agile over the twisty bits, but that was an initial impression.
Would I buy one at around $155,000 ? the 2 seats only is a real drawback, even though I am mainly in my current 4 door daily driver alone. But I could easily drive it in traffic and around the city (I did today).
If Porsche offer the lease deal of the century at 1% interest, than maybe. but it still is a lot of cash when you think how many early cars you can get for that.
Come to think of it, you can probably get ONE good early car for that these days.........
Hey Clyde !
I drove my '72 E to the showroom so I would have an immediate comparison as I sat in the Cayman.
First impressions? you sit lower and feel a bit more "cramped' than our early 911's The centre console rubs against your left leg and you need to mess about a bit with seat position, steering wheel rake and tilt, seat height, to get comfortable. I felt the interior to be less airy than our cars with a potential blind spot over yr left shoulder, although the left mirror seems to cover that area reasonably well.
Other impressions: a bit plasticky in some areas although I am sure all new Porsches are the same these days.(gimme a bakelite gear shift knob any day). Aircon works VERY well, front visibility is also good but cant see the front edge of the car. Just a hint of the wheel arch bulges to give that 911 feel.
gearbox is excellent, light and shifts fast, pedals are really nice for heel/toe (thanks Walter Rohrl), steering - well I'm still getting used to it but doesnt give me the feel I like in the early 911. handling and grip appears to be more than adequate but i need a few hours in the twisty stuff to really get used to it. Alex, another run soon ??
But the overwhelming thing you really notice is the exhaust note. Its low and loud and lets you know whats happening out back. if you step on it and wind it up, then it really starts to sound interesting.
Seats (std leather ones) were surprisingly comfortable although look very "flat" when you first see them. side support is OK but probably the Sports seat option is the go for spirited motoring.
it 'seemed' to go as hard, if not harder than a good 2.4 or 2.7 early car, but I realised I wasnt really pushing it hard. Spinning it up to the red line (7200) started to make a lot more things happen. Its obviously a lot more refined and quieter than our cars so maybe the impression of speed and acceleration was a bit lost. I had the windows up an AC on so maybe I was a bit cocooned?
I am sure its quicker than our cars but I tend to like the more raw feel of the old, no powered-assist cars which are lighter and, I think, more agile than this car. I am sure Mr. Rohrl would amply demonstrate who was quicker and agile over the twisty bits, but that was an initial impression.
Would I buy one at around $155,000 ? the 2 seats only is a real drawback, even though I am mainly in my current 4 door daily driver alone. But I could easily drive it in traffic and around the city (I did today).
If Porsche offer the lease deal of the century at 1% interest, than maybe. but it still is a lot of cash when you think how many early cars you can get for that.
Come to think of it, you can probably get ONE good early car for that these days.........
Hey Clyde !
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