I keep reading about how the Cayman is the car of the future, and how great it is, but isint it just a boxster with a roof? I don't get whats so new about it, or what the hype is all about?

The boxster is a great car, but the cayman is being touted as great and I'm not saying its NOT great, but I'm not quite sure what makes it so different.

It's because it is the car of the future. Porsche is starting to kill themselves. They wanna kill the 911 and start producing another mid engined car in 2013.

The Cayman is a more driver focused tool than the Boxster - even more than the 911. And even if it is just a Boxster with a roof, it's ended up creating a reason not to buy a 911.

Nobody is really going on about how great it is. I think that both the Boxter and the Cayman are praised equally. The difference is a few more ponies, and a stiffer structure thanks to the roof. Other little changes are also there.

wait.... porsche wants to kill the 911?? thats new to me.

Porsche never said they wanna Kill the 911!But the Cayman is a important car for Porsche future! I don't see a Hype about it,it's just a great Sports car with the engine at the right place!

Nobody is really going on about how great it is. I think that both the Boxter and the Cayman are praised equally. The difference is a few more ponies, and a stiffer structure thanks to the roof. Other little changes are also there.

not any more, all of the Cayman engines are being introduced into the Boxster now... but the Boxster is being slightly increased in price...

Porsche never said they wanna Kill the 911!But the Cayman is a important car for Porsche future! I don't see a Hype about it,it's just a great Sports car with the engine at the right place!I heard they wanted to replace it by a mid-engined coupé in 2013, but it was long time ago on the other side of Le Mans, so it might have been an april fool's joke.

wait.... porsche wants to kill the 911?? thats new to me.

Porsche never said they wanna Kill the 911!But the Cayman is a important car for Porsche future! I don't see a Hype about it,it's just a great Sports car with the engine at the right place!

I love the 911 to death, don't get me wrong, it is one of the top three cars ever.

Yet Porsche recognizes that the platform is outdated though. The rear engine setup compromises handling and puts limits on the potential size of the engine. Every man, woman, and child that works at Porsche should be considered geniuses for working past this and creating the 911 into the uber-sportscar it is. I truly believe that Porsche has some of the best engineers on the planet. They created a SUV that could take most cars on a track and still be capable off road. We've seen what Porsche can do with only four cylinders and a proper chassis.

I think Porsche is eager to create a new line that is going to wipe the playing field. The Cayman could have done that, but Porsche was afraid to upset the 911's throne. Just wait and see what the next generation brings.

I love the 911 to death, don't get me wrong, it is one of the top three cars ever.

Yet Porsche recognizes that the platform is outdated though. The rear engine setup compromises handling and puts limits on the potential size of the engine. Every man, woman, and child that works at Porsche should be considered geniuses for working past this and creating the 911 into the uber-sportscar it is. I truly believe that Porsche has some of the best engineers on the planet. They created a SUV that could take most cars on a track and still be capable off road. We've seen what Porsche can do with only four cylinders and a proper chassis.

I think Porsche is eager to create a new line that is going to wipe the playing field. The Cayman could have done that, but Porsche was afraid to upset the 911's throne. Just wait and see what the next generation brings.

if there's to be anything from porsche that will come close to the 911 it'll be the upcoming panamera/928 with their twin turbo v8's.

i agree with you whole heartedly in 95% of everything you say. IMO porsche has the best engineers (and marketers) in the auto business. but as long as the 911 is still alive don't look for porsche to unseat as their flagship. sure they may make a CGT replacement, but as far as regular production cars nothing will top the 911. there's too much storied history for anything to replace it. the next cayman/boxter won't have a huge performance gain over it's predecessor. over it's life so far the 987's have received only minor cosmetic and performance improvements every few years. i'm pretty sure porsche will stick to this game plan, given that it's worked great and nothing is as good of cars in it's class. at most i suspect the next round of cayman/boxters' to receive the 3.6L flat sixes. while the next 911's(998?) will come standard with 3.8L and possibly optional 4.0L.

given the fact that porsche somehow improves the 911 with each new generation(even though no one thinks they can get much better), i think 911's still have another 6-10 years on top. that's only because porsche says that the current flat six can't be stretched passed 4.0L. if they could then i'd say they would keep makin 911's forever.

The thing is with the Cayman, it could have been a better car than the 911. Completely new chassis, mid engines, better distribution, Every review I've read praise it as one of the best drivers cars, period. However, they were never going to make the 911 middle ground were they ? However, they are going to replace the 911, I heard it was closer than 2013 though, more 2010/2011. They will eventually though, its an indeffinite proposition.

I think Cayman is a car that is very near to a 911.
Its 90% of a 911 and only half the price. Someone said this before if I'm not mistaken. If I want a Porsche.. the first would be a Cayman S.

It is not just a Roof-ed Boxster pal..

basically, the cayman is a boxter with a roof, but if you speak more into the car, its not...

well first of all, its stiffer, most or all coupes are stiffer than convertibles, so thats a boxter coupe, it looks actually somehow futuristic inside, it follows the 911, and its a smaller car, that looks futuristic, the body also has the lines that makes you feel like thats a new car 40 years later, its a porsche that is better than maybe the 911 or something, its a good car that looks futuristic...that dosent make sense, its just me whos the problem...

I think it is a dam good car. I have only seen three of those here in PR. They look better in my eyes than a 911. Is just my tought....

Yeah, they witheld from putting in a lot of engineering into the cayman simply because it would have been better than the 911. It would be sad to see the 911 go, but I think Porsche has found something out. Putting the 911's engine from the rear to middle is like changing a corvette's headlights from flip up to fixed. Oh wait, the new corvette has fixed headlights. I'm sure Porsche purists will gripe about changing the usualy rear engine layout, but it'll be a big step for mankind.

Hopefully Porsche plays a part in helping me pick out my next car. :)

They wanna kill the 911 and start producing another mid engined car in 2013.

Is that because they can only make two more new models if its the 997? 998, 999. I don't think they would call it the 1000.

The Cayman is a fantastic car because of its value for money. But if you drive one, everyone knows that you can't afford a 911.

Nah, I don't think they would kill it just because they're running out of numbers. I hink they've realized that their solution with rear-engine is a bit dated compared most of today's sportscars.