What are the main differences between the two? and how do they compare?

 

The difference is Women drive Boxsters, Men drive Caymans.



Only kidding guys don't kill me

 

To state the obvious, Boxster is a convertible.

 

Aside from that obvious point, Caymans were faster and had more power. That is until the Boxter Spyder which is essentiasly a Cayman S in convertible form. The regular Porsche website has alot of the basic information.

 

Cayman is for serious driving and tracking. Boxster can do both just about as good plus a lot of fun in open air with the top down. There is a trade off for everything. Just ask the E92 and E93 (including M3) guys and each will tell you why they chose what they chose. I was one of them (had an E93 and had more fun than most).

 

aside from the boxster being a convertable it comes down to a personal preferance ..The 2 cars are Equal in most of the other catagories .

do you want a convertable or not? what exterior design tickels your fancy more ? for some reason the Cayman has a higher price tag .

 

It pretty much boils down to one thing, do you like convertibles? If so, your boxster can perform just as well as a Cayman, yes you might have to make a view upgrades but nothing that will kill you. BTW that's why a Cayman is priced slightly higher, it has those upgrades that the boxter would need to keep up.
I love my convertible cause its not a dedicated track car (yet) so I drive it everwhere on the streets as well.
Point is- IT'S UP TO YOU

 

In the current model year there is only a 10 hp difference between the two, so you are right, it would not take much to catch up at all. I could not find the weights of the cars which would also have an impact. Convertibles are usualy heavier. Does anyone know what the exact difference is that results in the -10hp?

 

The weight would be a factor except there is only 2# difference (2976 C-2978 B), so maybe the weight of the driver..... the Hp I believe is just dme tuning unless someone else can shed a different light on this

ref http://autos.yahoo.com/2010_porsche_boxster_s-specs/
http://autos.yahoo.com/2010_porsche_cayman_s-specs/

 

Headroom

 

Wow, I don't feel the Boxter love here at all. Just for the record, I pass alot of Caymans on the track in my little 280 HP Boxster S. The cars are basically the same except the Boxster is a roadster.

 

I love my Boxster and I too pass most of the Caymans (havent run across one yet that I can't) having said that, I will probably be a target for Caymens at the next DE Haha

 

haha, funny thread. Same chassis, essentially same motor, different top. Both are great cars.

FYI: I pass a lot of Caymans, 997C2s, GT3s, Turbos, at the track in my lowly 12 yr old stock 2.5 Boxster with 170 RWHP. It's not really a car issue at all, it's a loose nut behind the steering wheel issue

Would I be a lot faster in a new, well sorted BoxS/CayS? Yes I would.

 

Yup, that just about sums it up....

Woulda been nice if the Cayman came with a moonroof tho...

 

I'm with you, I've been told more that a few times by my peers about the looseness of my nut? I pretty much have the same hit list although I apparently have a slightly faster car with 248 RWHP so you might have a little looser nut then me, or better tires , what are you running for tires? I have just graduated to Mich pilot sport cups and I'm thinking when these wear out (which shouldn't be too long) I will look into Hoosier or somethin along that line. BTW, I only have 1 GT3 on my list but it was driven by a "Girl" so I don't know if that counts.