some of my friends like the cayman but not the boxster.
what could be the reason?
to me they look very much like a same car.

Raja

 

Just a matter of preferance.... Why did you get a Cayenne and not a Touareg? Everyone is different. I had a Boxster before and it was a very fun car..... The Cayman S looks like it will be a VERY, VERY fun car.... I'm not big fan of rag top sports cars, I think it is just the racer in me. The Cayman S just appeals to me, and what I like..... I could care less what others think of it, I'm going to be buying it for me....Not them.

 

Chad,

I got the Cayenne S cuz i like the look and interior.
but the cayman S andboxster looks so similar.
I guess i was just trying to understand the other side.
I like most cars, i liek the cayman 2.
but don't think i will be able to pull it off for a while or a 911 for a while.

raja

 

IMO, many guys think sporty ragtops are for girls. That may be an old stigma that's carried over from aged marketing with girls and convertibles over the years, not sure.

Even without the marketing aspects, coupes always strike me as more "serious" performance machines than ragtops. I've no rational way to explain it.

I see a Jag XK8 or Aston DB, for example, and the coupe looks pretty damned nice and manly, while the ragtop looks like it'd be suited better to a girl.

Oh sh*t, maybe girls just look sexy in ragtops because you can get a better view!

fwiw, I enjoy driving ragtops and removable-roof cars more than anything in general, just not driving hard...too scary. Turn a car over once, and you'll know what I mean. I did, and it changed my perspective BIGTIME.

Funny thing is, in the old times, all the race cars were topless. But those guys were crazy, and if you've ever seen footage of one of their wrecks, it's not pretty.

 

Thanks Super D,
YOu are always to the rescue.
I like 2 seater convertible, but not 4 seater like m3 or saab 9-3 or Chrysler Sebring.
I find the new 987 sexy in many angles.

 

Yeah, the 987 is a nice car, I agree. The Cayman will be too, just different. It's like comparing a 911 cab to a coupe, same deal. The coupe has race track potential, the cab never will. One can be a weekend track toy, the other a weekend coast cruiser. The ideal thing to me would be to have both.

 

i think everyone will agree that a 2 seater is naturally sportier than a 4 seater...put a carrera s engine in a boxcar and the 911 cab s will be far bach, same for engine location....911 will never be as good as boxster given a similar engine, and porsche knows that...its all marketing anyways....a 2.7 cost as much as a 3.8 to produce....so if i end up buying a boxster im buyin a 987 base 5 speed and im putting a 3.8....

 

That's a good idea, that'd be a great car with the 3.8. Might have to put some fatter rubber under it, but that wouldn't hurt either.

 

I wouldn't buy a Boxster over 911 even if they had same engine.

On the original topic, Cayman has different front bumper w/ those Bug foglight and a C pillar that I think is ugly. The 987 looks much cleaner and mature. Given the performance of a 987S is near-987, the Cayman should have been offered with a 3.2, not 3.4.

 

Its funny everyone is complaining about the "Bug" foglights. I think they look good. This reminds me of people complaining about the Bug "headlights" on the 997.... You do not hear anyone complaining about those anymore.

 

That my be true to a certain extent on some convertibles, but the Boxster(roadster) is very capable in roll overs. Have you ever seen a coupe roll over and the top crushed like a can? The Boxster roll hoops ensures a high level of protection on roll overs. I've seen many high speed roll over posts and pictures of flipped Boxsters through the years. All the owners have raved how they were protected.

 

I had a good friend flip his Boxster and cut his head open badly. I flipped a coupe and did not. I know either of us could've died, and alternatively, either of us could've come away without a scratch.

Generally, an open top car is potentially very dangerous in a turnover. The roll bar must not only be impacting a solid, even surface, the driver must also be short enough to avoid his head hitting the ground after the surprising elongation that the body and neck exhibits under force. To demonstrate the need for the roll bar impacting a solid, even surface, watch some of the open wheel race cars turn over off-track into grass or dirt (congruent to what a street car does rolling off-roadway in many cases)...and watch the roll bar dig into the ground along with the helmeted head hitting the ground and imagine the spine compressing under load of the driver and vehicle until the roll bar stops going down into the ground. I've seen this firsthand, and I can guarantee you that any amount of pictures posted or online debate will not affect you a fraction of what that experience will. Granted doesn't always happen this way, but when it does, it's horrifying to see.

My friend who flipped his Boxster was a very experienced driver, sports car designer for an automaker with many, many miles and years of high performance driving under his belt. He flipped his Boxster off of the roadway into dirt and the bar sunk in, thus his head impacted the ground. Changed his life.

As I said, I enjoy driving ragtops and removable-roof cars more in general, but I also acknowledge that they are potentially more dangerous. My current coupe is getting a serious 4pt racing roll bar before going out on track. I realize the roof can crush, seen it, done it, learned.

As for tracking a Boxster, I'd say if you don't get at least a roll bar extension or cage, you're a gambler. I'm just not a gambler.

 

I think I know exactly why... Because its a coupe version... I really like the Boxster S, but I would probably never buy one, because convertibles aren't really my style... On the other hand, I LOVE the Cayman S, simply for the fact that it's basically a coupe version of the Boxster and would love to own one... I much perfer coupes over convertibles, mostly because of all around performance... Looks play a big part also though, a coupe looks more sublte and mean to me.

Porsche is very smart and did a great thing by introducing and producing the Cayman because they reached out to all the customers that aren't really into convertibles, such as my self... The customers who wouldn't buy the Boxster because it was a conv. are now looking at the Cayman. With the Boxster, they only came in convertible, so you had no choice... Hence the name: BOXER + ROADSTER = BOXSTER

Because of that one factor and lack of choice, you either want it or you dont... But because of the Cayman, Porsche will real in all those new customers that don't fancy convertibles and think like me... Porsche is a huge group of geniuses and wise guys!

Just my 2 cents.

 

I agree.

 

Two major advantages Coupe's have over Cabrio's:

1) Cabrio's are much heavier than their Coupe counterparts thus effecting the Power to Weight Ratio.

2) Cabrio's have much more body flex... not as much in a mid-engine, and far worst in a rear engine 911. Very noticeable if you are used to a Coupe.

Cheers -