Autocar: NSX vs. Cayman GT4 vs. F355. And the winner is...

[The Kid]

The GT4 is an amazing car. Much faster than an NSX in all regards. While I love the NSX and everything about it, its still a old car on a old platform. That being said, I'd still never sell mine and it never disappoints me. Its amazing it has stayed so competitive all these years against newer, faster, more exotic cars. The 355 is an amazing car too but feels fragile IMO. The Cayman is really something else, I can see myself having one on day. Possibly my first new car purchase ever.

 

[N Spec]

I highly doubt anyone can measure this without driving all 3 cars for a long term.

This is true, but I considered buying each of the 3 cars at one point or another so I test drove them extensively and tried to imagine living with them. I still have my NSX for some reason...

 

[The Kid]

This is true, but I considered buying each of the 3 cars at one point or another so I test drove them extensively and tried to imagine living with them. I still have my NSX for some reason...

Should have bought the 355, would have doubled your money or close to it within 5 years or so.

 

[N Spec]

Should have bought the 355, would have doubled your money or close to it within 5 years or so.

That is my only regret for the car. If I could have kept my NSX and the 355, then I would have definitely did that. And I'm sure it would have been fun to have a "Ferrari" but I just didn't like it the way I like my NSX.

 

[blue_myriddn]

Should have bought the 355, would have doubled your money or close to it within 5 years or so.

If I had a larger garage, I would have done exactly that. Oh well...

 

[The Kid]

If I had a larger garage, I would have done exactly that. Oh well...

Ah, the age old dilemma. I just moved into a house with a 3 car garage, the moment I saw the garage I was sold! Obviously the rest of the house is pretty nice too, lol.

Cars as investments are tricky, and that is coming from someone who has built a career out of doing so.

308/328/348 and 355 pricing have doubled up recently for the right examples. My thought is Diablo's are next.

 

[blue_myriddn]

For raw return, ya it is a bit tricky. I would be happy with simply owning a fun car, getting to experience it and coming out on the other end (once maintenance is factored in) with fairly little expense. In other words, the fantasy of owning a car for free.

The list of cars I have considered for that:

328 (ship has sailed)
Testarossa/512TR (ship has sailed)
355 (ship is at port depending on what you get)
First Gen Viper
Murciélago
240Z

 

[The Kid]

For raw return, ya it is a bit tricky. I would be happy with simply owning a fun car, getting to experience it and coming out on the other end (once maintenance is factored in) with fairly little expense. In other words, the fantasy of owning a car for free.

The list of cars I have considered for that:

328 (ship has sailed)
Testarossa/512TR (ship has sailed)
355 (ship is at port depending on what you get)
First Gen Viper
Murciélago
240Z

Interesting list, I think the 355 is the winner on ROI. First gen Vipers seem to be too available and I think the driving experience is a difficult one to swallow. Murci's not for at least 10-15 years and the 240Z is already on the move. The right Z432's are doing $100k-$250K.

Ive got high hopes for my Cobra, should be interesting one day when It goes to BJ or some other collector car auction down the road.

 

[Bear]

The thing is though is that to me, the 458 is very much sexier than the old NSX, along with having serious supercar performance. The F355 is not better looking to than the NSX IMO, nor is any Cayman.

Got a couple questions about the 458. How low do you think a used 458 will go for a used one with 20k miles? What is the long term maintenance cost per year on avg?

 

[Yinzer]

The new kid on the block, the Cayman, is clearly a much more capable car, is being brushed off using some stupid subjective attributes.

We just have to agree to disagree if everything is just "subjective". The NSX is a great car but not to the point that it can quantum leap 25 years to beat the current counterparts.

Good overall comments in your response, Steve. If we were all professional racers whose salary depended upon the street car being discussed, these type of articles & threads would go completely differently! The 2nd full paragraph on the 2nd page of the article touches upon the one thing about the Cayman that may hold it back from being the slam dunk winner in these types of discussions. Deserved or not, looks matter more than is often given full credit. Otherwise why are so many first wives 9's and second wives 7's. If the gen-1 NSX had a forgettable shape, then articles like this one 25 years after the car's intro would likely never exist.

 

[N Spec]

Got a couple questions about the 458. How low do you think a used 458 will go for a used one with 20k miles? What is the long term maintenance cost per year on avg?

I haven't looked in the market for a used 458 as I can't afford one since they still for over $200K+ used easily. From what I read it costs about $1,100-$1,200 per month on average maintenance or about $2-$3 per mile to drive. That's not astronomically bad but certainly expensive compared to first gen NSX ownership. I suppose over twice the horsepower and 5 times the cost has something to do with it too.

 

[fastaussie]

I have not driven the GT4 but I have done so a 2014 Cayman S with PDK in Sears Point. I consider my 3.2 hardtop NSX one of the quickest stock NSX around but it is no match to the Cayman S in the power and handling departments. Maybe I have not driven the NSX hard enough but judging from the experience with the Cayman S, I highly doubt the NSX would be topping the GT4 on my car list. Subjectively, the Cayman S feels more stable and the chassis stiffer. The acceleration is much quicker than my NSX. I see the Cayman as a better NSX. The GT4 would be a hands down. NSX is a great car but automotive progress waits for nobody.
Steve

100% spot on...

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I haven't looked in the market for a used 458 as I can't afford one since they still for over $200K+ used easily. From what I read it costs about $1,100-$1,200 per month on average maintenance or about $2-$3 per mile to drive. That's not astronomically bad but certainly expensive compared to first gen NSX ownership. I suppose over twice the horsepower and 5 times the cost has something to do with it too.

over a grand a month on average maintenance? where are you getting those figures?

 

[Mirroredshades]

The Cayman GT4 is a real media darling right now with Car and Driver, Road and Track and Motor Trend all completely in love with it. It's obviously a subjective win but it's still pretty high praise for the NSX to be compared at all.

:cheers:

 

[N Spec]

over a grand a month on average maintenance? where are you getting those figures?

Owners from FerrariChat. I can't find the post at the moment. I think he drove it quite a bit. The 2-3 dollar per mile sounds more realistic as not everyone drives their cars even 500-1K miles a month.

 

[M Baker]

Should have bought the 355, would have doubled your money or close to it within 5 years or so.

Not when you factor the maintenance costs: total cost of ownership.