Is the Cayman dying? Options

[Ferg]

Subject timely for me, I will be taking factory delivery of my first new Porsche (2014 Cayman S) at the end of May. One of those opportunities I am very grateful for, some 914 related news is that I now get a lift to make room for the new car so no more crawling around the concrete on Axle stands!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[DRPHIL914]

Subject timely for me, I will be taking factory delivery of my first new Porsche (2014 Cayman S) at the end of May. One of those opportunities I am very grateful for, some 914 related news is that I now get a lift to make room for the new car so no more crawling around the concrete on Axle stands!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif) Awesome! What color? i heard they dropped and changed several colors, speed yellow being one of them - so what did you choose?

from porsche:
" its 3.4-liter, flat-six engine with DFI and VarioCam Plus delivers 325 hp. It accelerates from 0 – 60 mph in 4.7 s and boasts a top track speed of 175 mph. With optional PDK and the likewise optional Sport Chrono package, it can reach 60 mph in just 4.4 s."
not bad-- did you get the sport Chrono package?

[MDG]

I use the rear seats too, when needed. I use mine pretty much as my DD between March and December. My eleven year old daughter still fits in the back seat.

Having said that . . . in a couple of years once she's too big to fit I'll trade it in on a new Cayman.

[my928s4]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif) Awesome! What color? i heard they dropped and changed several colors, speed yellow being one of them - so what did you choose?

from porsche:
" its 3.4-liter, flat-six engine with DFI and VarioCam Plus delivers 325 hp. It accelerates from 0 – 60 mph in 4.7 s and boasts a top track speed of 175 mph. With optional PDK and the likewise optional Sport Chrono package, it can reach 60 mph in just 4.4 s."
not bad-- did you get the sport Chrono package?

Thanks I am pretty stoked and shocked it is happening myself.

I have enough bright colored cars so Agate Grey it is, no PDK for me so no Chrono pack either. I did get active suspension and LSD.

[DRPHIL914]

Love the Cayman, but as a new and or used car it's behind the 8ball for a few reasons.

New:
2 seater cuts about 2/3rds of buyers out

Who uses the Rear Seats in a 911?
Used:
IMS issues scaring many used shoppers (myself included)

If you get the 2nd Generation with Direct Injection, the IMS Problem was fixed.

Or get an earlier one with the IMS Fixed ( the Cost to do the fix has come down some), so if you can find one cheap enough llike the Boxsters ( a friend just picked up a Boxster S w/ 65k Miles for $10,000)

I use the rear seats, huge factor for anyone with kids. I see them used all the time in many many 911's in Boulder.

I agree, with LN fix they can be good, but the whole IMS thing is doing its part on driving down used prices fix or no fix, case in point your buddy's Boxster, great deal if it does not blow, or if he invests in the "fix". But to joe blow car buyer, it's hard to explain that. We are the minority that realizes it.

I guess you can't completely discount the IMS issue but i know mechanics that have worked on hundreds of these and NEVER seen an IMS failure-
I bought my 2000S with 60k on it a year ago for $12k, lots of options(was $65k new) and is absolutely mint!, i use it as a DD to work during the week, but it would be nice to have the rear seat just for that occasional time when i need 3 ( i have 3 kids still at home, ) so have considered making a change to have that convenience-
not too worried about the IMS issue - most failures took place fairly early-
if you have never driven a cayman or boxster, you should- i don't think you can go wrong for $10k-$15K for a lower milage optioned P-car.

[Ferg]

I've owned a Boxter, driven a Cayman. My relative's 05 Boxster S blew last year with only 11k miles, my boxster was on it's second motor at time of ownership, and I still worried... I've seen a few 911 and Boxsters here locally that blew. Heck I looked at a used Boxster a few months back, guy fired it up, and it sounded like marbles in a can! I tried to explain to him what that was, he shrugged it off said it goes away after a few seconds. Pity the poor soul who bought that one.

Do you plan on LN upgrade or gaurdian with yours?

[Tom_T]

Oddly enough, our little "failures" - as many knowledgeable pundants called our 914s back in the `70's & still today - had outsold both the Boxster & Cayman in all but the initial & final years of 914 production! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

And the six suffered a similar over priced fate, as well as all 914 by mid-73 MY - when the DM started escalating so high against the dollar & other currencies, that the 914/4 became overpriced outside of Germany!

[DRPHIL914]

I've owned a Boxter, driven a Cayman. My relative's 05 Boxster S blew last year with only 11k miles, my boxster was on it's second motor at time of ownership, and I still worried... I've seen a few 911 and Boxsters here locally that blew. Heck I looked at a used Boxster a few months back, guy fired it up, and it sounded like marbles in a can! I tried to explain to him what that was, he shrugged it off said it goes away after a few seconds. Pity the poor soul who bought that one.

Do you plan on LN upgrade or gaurdian with yours?

yes i probably will, . might do the guardian, but if i ever have to go in to do clutch or such will just do it while i am in there.

[Jake Raby]

Or the IMS Solution?
See page 87 of this months Panorama for an introduction to it:-)

The DFI 9a1 engine has lots of potential, Cayman X is a whopping 4.2L but not much from Porsche is left inside that engine.

We see lots if Caymans now, till last year that wasn't the case. They have finally started to break.

[Woody]

I've owned a Boxter, driven a Cayman. My relative's 05 Boxster S blew last year with only 11k miles, my boxster was on it's second motor at time of ownership, and I still worried... I've seen a few 911 and Boxsters here locally that blew. Heck I looked at a used Boxster a few months back, guy fired it up, and it sounded like marbles in a can! I tried to explain to him what that was, he shrugged it off said it goes away after a few seconds. Pity the poor soul who bought that one.

Do you plan on LN upgrade or gaurdian with yours?

If it was on startup and goes away it was most likely a chain tensioner that bled down. That's a common occurrence even on GT3s and Turbos. Not a big problem.

[rick 918-S]

Been half heartedly looking for a Cayman with an engine failure. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/assimilate.gif)

[Woody]

Been half heartedly looking for a Cayman with an engine failure. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/assimilate.gif)

I don't think a 928 engine will fit. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[Elliot Cannon]

I got to ride in John Petersons Cayman at the Red Rocks Classic and I know this for sure, it is one great car. It was also fun watching John drive it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[rick 918-S]

Been half heartedly looking for a Cayman with an engine failure. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/assimilate.gif)

I don't think a 928 engine will fit. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

928 is old school and belongs in a vintage car. Porsche makes some real progressive V8's these days. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/assimilate.gif)

[Woody]

Been half heartedly looking for a Cayman with an engine failure. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/assimilate.gif)

I don't think a 928 engine will fit. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

928 is old school and belongs in a vintage car. Porsche makes some real progressive V8's these days. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/assimilate.gif)

Yeah I'm just teasing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[VegasRacer]

Form what I experienced at The Code of the Curve event in December, Porsche is committed to the success of the Cayman.
Look for a fresh ad campaign and a Speed Chanel Channel special in April.

Panorama.
Track Panorama.
Video.
Article.

[TerrySmith]

I hope they don't go away.

Necessary for keeping the 911 in it's premier spot. They had the same issues with the 914-6 and 911 handling capabilities forty years ago, so only sold the 914-6 with their lowest horsepower engine.

Gotta protect the breadwinner!

Looks like a high performance Cayman is coming, although it won't be called a Cayman and it won't be entry level. . .

Porsche 960 Update

Hot story from Automobile Magazine:
From the March, 2013 issue / By Georg Kacher

The Porsche 960, known internally as "FeFi" (for "Ferrari fighter") is moving full speed ahead. We last reported that the car would employ a high-output flat six, but that engine, although frugal and light, was deemed insufficient for a vehicle that will likely cost as much as twelve-cylinder cars like the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and the Lamborghini Aventador. The solution: a boxer eight. Word has it that Volkswagen Group chief Ferdinand Piech approved this application. Piech used to drive a one-off Porsche 914 equipped with a boxer eight-cylinder, and, more recently, the chairman was said to be driving a Cayman fitted with a flat eight. Featuring four turbochargers, two intercoolers, four adjustable camshafts, a complex multistage intake manifold, and dual-stage exhaust, the 3.9-liter engine is expected to deliver 650 hp. It will be mounted low in the middle of the car, connecting to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The 960 relies on an aluminum-intensive architecture supported by steel, carbon fiber, magnesium, titanium, and other composite elements to keep weight to about 3000 pounds [about the same as a 320 HP 987 Cayman S]. Porsche is resisting high-tech, heavy add-ons such as the 918's electric motors. All-wheel drive made the cut and adds close to 200 pounds but earns its keep by getting the power to the ground -- 0 to 60 mph allegedly takes only 2.5 seconds. An even more raw, rear-wheel-drive GT edition may follow. No convertible, for now.

The design, forecast above by our illustrator, should hew closely to that of the 918, but the underlying architecture will be shared with everything from the next Boxster to the Aventador's successor. Unlike the 918, this won't be a limited-run model. Porsche thinks it can sell 3000 to 4000 of them annually over a six-year life cycle. Production in Zuffenhausen will likely commence in early 2017. For more information, and the latest news, visit www.automobilemag.com.

More at Topspeed.com

More at Autoguide.com

Truthaboutcars.com

[Woody]

I hope they don't go away.

Necessary for keeping the 911 in it's premier spot. They had the same issues with the 914-6 and 911 handling capabilities forty years ago, so only sold the 914-6 with their lowest horsepower engine.

Gotta protect the breadwinner!

Looks like a high performance Cayman is coming, although it won't be called a Cayman and it won't be entry level. . .

Porsche 960 Update

Hot story from Automobile Magazine:
From the March, 2013 issue / By Georg Kacher

The Porsche 960, known internally as "FeFi" (for "Ferrari fighter") is moving full speed ahead. We last reported that the car would employ a high-output flat six, but that engine, although frugal and light, was deemed insufficient for a vehicle that will likely cost as much as twelve-cylinder cars like the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and the Lamborghini Aventador. The solution: a boxer eight. Word has it that Volkswagen Group chief Ferdinand Piech approved this application. Piech used to drive a one-off Porsche 914 equipped with a boxer eight-cylinder, and, more recently, the chairman was said to be driving a Cayman fitted with a flat eight. Featuring four turbochargers, two intercoolers, four adjustable camshafts, a complex multistage intake manifold, and dual-stage exhaust, the 3.9-liter engine is expected to deliver 650 hp. It will be mounted low in the middle of the car, connecting to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The 960 relies on an aluminum-intensive architecture supported by steel, carbon fiber, magnesium, titanium, and other composite elements to keep weight to about 3000 pounds [about the same as a 320 HP 987 Cayman S]. Porsche is resisting high-tech, heavy add-ons such as the 918's electric motors. All-wheel drive made the cut and adds close to 200 pounds but earns its keep by getting the power to the ground -- 0 to 60 mph allegedly takes only 2.5 seconds. An even more raw, rear-wheel-drive GT edition may follow. No convertible, for now.

The design, forecast above by our illustrator, should hew closely to that of the 918, but the underlying architecture will be shared with everything from the next Boxster to the Aventador's successor. Unlike the 918, this won't be a limited-run model. Porsche thinks it can sell 3000 to 4000 of them annually over a six-year life cycle. Production in Zuffenhausen will likely commence in early 2017. For more information, and the latest news, visit www.automobilemag.com.

More at Topspeed.com

More at Autoguide.com

Truthaboutcars.com

960, mmmm. Mid engine 8. I was originally under the impression it would be a V8 borrowed from the RS Spyder but then again Porsche has been tight lipped aboot it.

[TerrySmith]

Subject timely for me, I will be taking factory delivery of my first new Porsche (2014 Cayman S) at the end of May. One of those opportunities I am very grateful for, some 914 related news is that I now get a lift to make room for the new car so no more crawling around the concrete on Axle stands!

Cool and congrats! In case you don't already know, a good online forum for all things Cayman and Boxster (987 and 981) is Planet-9

[Steve]

There was interesting article in Excellence a while back on trials and tribulations racing the Cayman. They said that Porsche pretty much put the front suspension in the rear, which caused problems in hard cornering compared to the 911. BGB did tons of mods to the rear suspension and the car was still barely competitive.
The article was in the Excellence February 2011 issue. The car was built by BGB.
It was setup as a Grand-Am race car. The article mentions that Magnum Racing took the first podium placing second in CTSCC competition. That was a couple of years ago, curious on how they are doing now?

It's bullshit that Porsche doesn't produce a GT-3 Cayman. Maybe Volkswagen can pull Porsche's head out of there ass. I bought a 911 years back, because I wanted the back seats for my kids. Now that they are older I sold the 911 and kept the 914. I would like to buy a used Cayman someday if the price was right and there was no worries about the IMS bearing.