Quote:
KenH said:
"Is it possible just once to have a thread without some disgruntled 997 or Boxster owner trying to justify his purchase and spouting the same old rubbish about the Cayman when it's totally unrelated to the topic the original poster started?"
I have to chuckle about the conservatism of the 997 owners (perhaps unsurprising with a 40 year old architecture that nobody else has stuck with) - and at times the Boxster owners too - they all seem afraid that the Cayman could somehow be "better" (whatever that might mean) than the cars they own.
As I see it (and of course I could be wrong) the Cayman is the beginning of the future. I really do think that the next 911 will be mid-engined and that the rear-engined 911, as much as we love it, (and I have a 997 myself) is due to become history in the next 3/4/5 years. I suspect that the 997 will linger on for a year or two after its successor is launched (just like the 356 did) but by 2009 or so the "engine hanging out behind the rear axle" concept will be gone, for ever. Amen.
And, as development cycles evolve the next Boxster will indeed become a Cayman convertible instead of caman being a Boxster Coupe.
We have seen the future - and it is configured just like a Cayman.
I also anticipate that the mid-engined 998 when launched in 2008 will have a difficult time at first with the same kind of "traditional" debate as we are seeing today with the Cayman.
But, whereas the 911 is an unparalleled triumph of development over conservative design, ultimately the new will replace the old.
Enjoy!
Dear Ken,
I predict that most of what you have said is wrong.
A 911 owner will never be afraid of a Cayman as we don't want to buy it in the first place. Even if there is a possibility that the Cayman may eventually be faster than a 911, then be it. Nothing to worry about. Look at the F430, it is faster and handle better than 612 and 575, yet there are still people buying the other two.
The Cayman is based on a Boxster from DAY ONE, not vice versa. You cannot change history. The next Boxster will just be a evolution or revolution from the current Boxster, nothing to do with the Cayman.
A 911 has always been rear engined for the last 40 years and it is one of its selling point. It was supposed to be replaced by the 928 but it didn't happen. I don't see how the Cayman can have any chance.
Less than a year from now, people will start to realise how much more money they are paying for is just a Boxster coupe with a little bit more horsepower and cosmetic changes. I predict that the Cayman's sale will be the least out of the entire Porsche lineup, worse than 911, Boxster or Cayenne.
!!)
