[quote]I've been in this business for more than 20 years, and I've seen the jealousy I've described and its adverse effects many times. The only people who make real money in my field are engineers who are company owners, and they all keep all a low profile, including those who are surely much weathier than me. They may have a Ferrari at home (and can surely afford one) but, if so, it never comes to the office.[/QUOTE]

If the nice car is a source of stress then it might detract from the enjoyment.
Your own words might reveal your ideas to establish less waves at work without compromising a driving hobby on personal time.

It also allows for a second car for worry free parking at at crowded lots (like supermarkets, mall , movies , sports events ,etc. ) .. or just to spare the mundane miles (or if driving on construction roads) .

Why not perserve the nice car for leisure drives and have peace of mind at the same time ?

 

The Boxster Spyder is an amazing car but the work involved in manually placing the top on along with the ambient road noise of a track based car might not appeal to a person who wants some comfort .

I can't help but dwell on the comfort of a Mercedes , the performance above all of the cars you listed , and top down appeal ...

The PDK Turbo Cab . It is the step above the AMG Benz , ferocious to no end , yet civilized enough -- it's the untimate luxury power car Porsche.

Brief review (hard to find one on the cab .. most reviews I found were on the coupe)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoeXQViONhk

A little race --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LAl3AN1rZE

 

After trying to put the top on, and much deliberation, I came to the same conclusion. The Spyder just isn't practical.

If I can convince my wife that the new "fun" car doesn't have to be a convertible, the options open up a lot.

The Cayman R seems to be basically be a hardtop Spyder, the Cayman S would be a bit more comfy and less costly than the Cayman R, and a 911 coupe would be about $10K cheaper than the cab, not to mention lighter, stiffer, faster, better handling, better looking, and having a more usable back seat.

We're hoping to try at least one of the hardtops today.

 

Brief review (hard to find one on the cab .. most reviews I found were on the coupe)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoeXQViONhk

A little race --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LAl3AN1rZE[/QUOTE]

great vid...

 

We drove a base Cayman with PDK today. Nice car, but more comfy than exciting, especially compared to my C63. Maybe the Cayman S or R, or Boxster S, would be more fun, but won't know until we try, and apparently the Cayman R is pretty rare. But so far, the 911 definitely feels more fun and special than the Cayman.

 

If the convertible is out of the equation you do have choices !!! Right smack in the middle is the 997S . The Cayman R is a great car but again it's more like a Gt3 in that its less insulated and more raw for street driving .

On the other hand if you go the route of the coupe the M3 coupe blows away the retractable vert and offers a niuce price gap.

BTW .. I happen to have all three cars in coupe . 997 Turbo . 997S , and M3 .

I would wrestle between the M3 and the 997S given the price difference .
It really woild come down to practical or visceral . The M3 is a great car at offering space and confort but the 997S is a very balanced Porsche 911 .

So if you had a choice which of thse three woild you want to drive ?

 

Before I purchased a Cayenne S. My two leading contenders were an M3 convert and 911 convert.

Have 2 kids, plus the other car is a 3 series vert so having two 4 seater cars did not seem realistic (but we also do have a Nissan maxima with 125k miles).

In any case I love having the Cayenne. It is fast and functional. Yes, it is no 911, but still it meets my needs for speed, and it is great for family road trips.