FR-S vs Cayman

[turanuk]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

That works if you have $30k in cash or good enough credit to get a $30k personal loan. As most of us I assume will be financing the cars, it wouldn't be so easy. I would sure love to do that, though!

$30k sounds low to me - depending on how much you can pick up the blown Porsche for, $30k might be labor and parts for the 3.8 itself.

Now if you're going to do the work yourself you might be able to get closer to $30k...

[stockysnail]

If we are talking new Cayman S vs BRZ/FR-S, the Cayman is faster and handles just as good if not better but will cost more to buy and mantain, and more to buy goodies for. If were are talking new Cayman S prices, I'd go with a Lotus Evora S however because it's handling is just a little bit better than the Cayman, plus it doesn't look like anything. Porsche's styling is too similar throughout it's lifetime, which to some people is appealing. In summary, the best handling car I'd pick for $60k would be Evora S, for $25-30k I'd pick BRZ.

[colganc]

Originally Posted by stockysnail

If we are talking new Cayman S vs BRZ/FR-S, the Cayman is faster and handles just as good if not better but will cost more to buy and mantain, and more to buy goodies for. If were are talking new Cayman S prices, I'd go with a Lotus Evora S however because it's handling is just a little bit better than the Cayman, plus it doesn't look like anything. Porsche's styling is too similar throughout it's lifetime, which to soe people is appealing. In summary, the best handling car I'd pick for $60k would be Evora S, for $25-30k I'd pick BRZ.

You can't really get a new Cayman of any kind. They're switching the production lines to the new Boxster and Cayman. Really only leaves talking about used ones .

32k can get you a CPO 2007 Cayman with low miles. Makes the BRZ a hard choice. FRS represents a good value in this context.

[Gardus@Supersprint]

I think the new Cayman and Boxster look very good and they finally look different than the 911, with something of the Carrera GT thrown in.

The interior is miles ahead (check out the LCD screen in place of one of the main instruments) of the Lotus Evora a(nd obviosly the 86) but I agree that the lotus looks more exotic.

For the price of a new 86/BRZ in Italy, which is € 30.000, you can get a my08 Cayman or even a S, miles vary from 20 to 50k miles.
That is very good value indeed, especially if you go for an S it'll be way faster than the 86, better equipped, quality is not even comparable...
You usually get a 1 year warranty from the dealer.

Obviously services will cost more as well as upgrades (do you really need them? Power is enough, it sounds very nice, maybe just the wheels if you really want something different).

Depreciation will be better on the Porsche obviously.

Obviously it's a two seater...

[KeepGuessing]

'Base Cayman Vs BRZ......I'm going with the porsche, as most reputable porsche dealers in townl selling you a used porsche; will be more than happy to offer their own warranty extension if you see fit" depending on vehicle history etc etc.

As far as Cayman S price...You're still talking less money than the Evora, not only that the Cayman S is pretty much unanimously faster than the Evora, the ONLY benefit to the Evora would be the "exclusivity" factor, which is accompanied with the hit or miss interior quality in terms of reliability and the idea of a Lotus Camry....

for 62,000 my money would go to a e92 M3 + modifications, or a CTS-V....At that price point there's really nothing more i'd want, coupes don't become viable options till much higher prices or at much lower prices....60k-ish is power sedan Territory for me.

[Gardus@Supersprint]

How much is a GTR in the US?

[uspspro]

Originally Posted by KeepGuessing

which is accompanied with the hit or miss interior quality in terms of reliability and the idea of a Lotus Camry....

The 2GRFE is actually an awesome engine when coupled with a MT, and allowed to breathe.

Evora guys are getting +25 rwhp with intake/exhaust. The power band is excellent and it loves to rev.

I have a 2GR swapped into my MR2 Spyder. With a lightweight FW, intake and exhaust, it makes 271 rwhp. The power never drops all the way through redline. I wish the ECU gave me another 1000 rpm.

[Gardus@Supersprint]

What headers did you us on the Mr2?
The Evora engine works very well with a full exhaust, these were our results:


From 274,7 to 299,9 hp, and from 343,5 nm to 360, no ECU remap or intake.

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by colganc

I am getting a bit worried though too. The more I think about the transmission being up front, the more I worry about the weight balance killing the enjoyment.

The engine and transmission are mounted low and behind the front shock towers, making it a front-midship configuration like the 350Z and RX8. Hence why it has one of the lowest CoG's out there, and a 53F/47R weight distribution. A car doesn't need to have the engine behind the driver or have a rear transaxle to have perfect balance Or are you hoping the car will be tail-happy like an old 911?

Originally Posted by Gardus

How much is a GTR in the US?

Just a little under $100,000 USD for a new one.

[uspspro]

Originally Posted by Gardus

What headers did you us on the Mr2?
The Evora engine works very well with a full exhaust, these were our results:

From 274,7 to 299,9 hp, and from 343,5 nm to 360, no ECU remap or intake.

stock Toyota headers with cats. My goal was to pass CA emissions.

I re-worked them for fitment into the MRS and did some "cleanup" to improve flow.

[jkonquer]

I think lotus elise or exige takes the cake for best handling/driver car

[Turbowned]

^^ Two different beasts. I drove an Elise two weeks ago, and a Cayman base model today. While both were quite fun to drive, I would not take either one used over a BRZ Limited! A $30k 2005 Lotus that creaks and rattles as badly as my 1987 MR2 but with worse visibility and less legroom was not what I had in mind, nor was a $30k 2007 Porsche with an interior more plasticky than the Subaru. Both handled brilliantly, and once you wound them up, the engines sounded great, and had adequate accelatation/braking. Both had vague shifter linkages (my MR2's linkage feels better) and the plastic shift knob on the Porsche felt really lame compared to the Lotus's aluminum knob. Knowing that the 2.7L engine is a potential ticking time bomb is no comfort compared to the Lotus' Toyota/Yamaha-sourced 2ZZ engine (supposedly there's an aftermarket fix to the faulty intermediate shaft bearing). The Lotus had a lot of engine noise, like my MR2. The Porsche was quieter in the cabin, but had that nice raspy exhaust note. Both cars look gorgeous from the outside, yet living with the Porsche on a day-to-day basis would be much easier, yet not as easy as a BRZ. The Porsche had phenomenal turn-in characteristics, but felt a little uneasy/twitchy at times. I enjoyed the manual steering in the Lotus, and the power steering in the Porsche was good, too. The carpet in every used Porsche I've seen looks like crap for some reason; I can't figure it out! The Lotus I drove was owned by a smoker, and had just enough carpet on the sides of the car to absorb the smell

Unfortunately I still haven't driven a BRZ to compare, but everything about it thus far tells me I'm making the right choice to go with one over a used sports car. The only car I've got left to test is a Honda S2000, but I still think I'll want the BRZ over it.

[86fanatic]

For me, the Cayman is just too fast to be fun and it actually somewhat symbolizes a problem with modern performance oriented cars. They are just too fast. You put your foot to the floor in a Cayman and things get very illegal very quickly. It's very hard to enjoy that kind of power band in day to day driving.

Personally I can't justify a by-the-numbers-sports-car-on-paper. I don't live at the track. I just want something that is fun to drive everyday with a power band I actually get to use in the real world instead of bragging about online.

Talking about the real world - cars like the Cayman or only really exciting during the 1 or 2 seconds of highway on ramps, and if you feel like risking your license around some twisty roads by doing double to triple the speed limit.

[Dimman]

Porsche, why no Cayman GT3 RS? That thing would be AMAZING.