Test drove the 981 Cayman yesterday....

[91 X]

Lately I've been drooling over the Cayman GT4 but it's just not in my budget, so I decided to take a test drive in just the base 981 yesterday in Irvine

Took this little Betty out for a spin... 2016 base 981 Cayman with 11k miles CPO silver with the 20" Carrera wheels/sports susp/6speed manual/ 275hp NA V6


Got lucky and had a really cool salesman/stunt driver take me out for a run.....first thing he says is "to drive it like you stole it" so as I get used to the newer clutch and the shifter and start to do my best at driving it hard without going to jail I start loving this car....it's like what the NA1 NSX would feel like with 2016 tech and huge brakes and all the cool new gadgets with new car smell...it even has that V-tec sensation at about 5k rpm

Turns out my salesman is a former instructer with SCCA and asks me if I would like a demonstration of what this car can really do....hell yes!!

So we switch seats and he had me sold when he took a down hill sweeping hairpin on-ramp to the 5 frwy .. I could swear most cars would have spun long before he even got halfway through this thing... I was sofa king amazed while looking for the "oh shit" handles how this car just stuck to the road like a magnet....I WANT THIS CAR!!!

And this was just the base model, the S would have been even faster.(although the salesman told me he would take the base model over the S model and just put a tune on the base model and save $8000) in fact he told me he had just ordered himself a base model 718 Cayman ....said he's always been a 911 guy until a few months ago a friend talked him into driving his Cayman in the canyons in LA ....he said within 20 minutes he was done with 911's and hooked on the Cayman.....that's how I feel now.

Too bad I'd have to sale my NSX to get into one.....and dammit this car kinda actually has me contemplating it:tongue:

 

[docjohn]

I think it looks better than the 911 narrow body

 

[91 X]

I think it looks better than the 911 narrow body

I agree....it has more lines and it's got a very NSX like side intake rake....it's like the copied and pasted it from the NSX.

The 911 is just very subtle, but starts looking better as it gets into the turbo and GT models.


I'm very tempted by this 981 version(IMO the best version of the three Caymans)

I was shocked at how well this car just sticks to the road....very fun car.

If I had $50k burning a hole in my pocket(or just a much more forgiving wife:biggrin I would have drove that beauty home yesterday and grinned the whole way home.

Just wouldn't be financially very smart to trade the NSX for one.....but it's tempting

 

[Miner]

My neighbor is looking for one to replace / upgrade from his 07 TL-s. He’d love an NSX, but wants a newer car. He works down by porche os San Diego, I’ll send him your way when he pulls the trigger.

 

[jeffreygebhart]

I totally get it. A friend has one of the last year of the 6-cylinder Boxter S's and has tried to get me to sell my NSX and go out and buy a Cayman or a Boxter. I'm not going to do it, but I've wanted a Porsche forever, and I'd go for a Cayman over a 911. Maybe someday...

 

[2001f4s]

Just traded my 2015 911 GTS for a 2017 NSX. Prior to that I had two other 911's, and before that 2 Caymans. All in the span of about 5 years. I love the 911, but it has become a GT car. The Cayman while still comfortable, is much closer to a sports car. Great vehicles. I still have an old air cooled 911 which I will likely be buried in. :smile:

 

[6Iron123]

911s and Cayman's don't have room for golf clubs! Ill stick with my NSX!! LOL

 

[BAVARIA]

I have had the P-car bug as well but can't bring myself to part with my /94 NSX. I am friends with a 25+ year Acura master tech/NSX expert who is well known to quite a few members of the NSX community. After his first 25 year stint with Acura he moved over to Porsche for a few years before returning to Honda/Acura. Every time I broach the subject of getting a P-car he says the exactly the same thing -- "there are two words not to be used in the same sentence -- Porsche and reliability."

No offence to P-car owners but VAG doesn't exactly have a stellar reputation for producing reliable vehicles and when things go wrong they certainly don't own it, so to speak. Porsche IMS/RMS issues, VW/Audi oil burning fiasco, Audi 2.0 litre timing chain issues resulting in catastrophic engine failures, turbo issues, etc. I know of what I speak inasmuch as my 2015 Audi 3.0T which replaced my former daily driver (04 TL that I smartly kept as a spare car) has had more issues in 3.5 years/35K miles than the trusty old TL has had during the entire 15 years and 172K miles I've owned it. Try this on for size: all four rotors warped before 12K miles, upper timing chain tensioners at 27K miles, fuel door actuator failure at 20K miles, rear rotors now warped again at 35K miles, plus a few other minor items. Thankfully everything was taken care of under warranty (except the latest set of warped rotors -- my dealer who is great is eating the cost of addressing this). The brake and timing chain tensioner issues are not unique to my car -- these are widespread, well known documented Audi A6 issues. Vorsprung durch technik indeed.

So, as much as I love the way the P-cars drive/handle and respect their performance, no thanks. I'll stick with the old NSX.

Best,
Jeff

 

[Yinzer]

Too bad I'd have to sale my NSX to get into one.....and dammit this car kinda actually has me contemplating it:tongue:

I test drove a Cayman around 2010 and convinced myself to stick with the NSX plan, but it was iffy for a week or two. Love Caymans so I know the deal!

I think it looks better than the 911 narrow body

Two words. Dit toe. I liked the acquired-taste Cayman appearance instantly.

 

[91 X]

I have had the P-car bug as well but can't bring myself to part with my /94 NSX. I am friends with a 25+ year Acura master tech/NSX expert who is well known to quite a few members of the NSX community. After his first 25 year stint with Acura he moved over to Porsche for a few years before returning to Honda/Acura. Every time I broach the subject of getting a P-car he says the exactly the same thing -- "there are two words not to be used in the same sentence -- Porsche and reliability."

No offence to P-car owners but VAG doesn't exactly have a stellar reputation for producing reliable vehicles and when things go wrong they certainly don't own it, so to speak. Porsche IMS/RMS issues, VW/Audi oil burning fiasco, Audi 2.0 litre timing chain issues resulting in catastrophic engine failures, turbo issues, etc. I know of what I speak inasmuch as my 2015 Audi 3.0T which replaced my former daily driver (04 TL that I smartly kept as a spare car) has had more issues in 3.5 years/35K miles than the trusty old TL has had during the entire 15 years and 172K miles I've owned it. Try this on for size: all four rotors warped before 12K miles, upper timing chain tensioners at 27K miles, fuel door actuator failure at 20K miles, rear rotors now warped again at 35K miles, plus a few other minor items. Thankfully everything was taken care of under warranty (except the latest set of warped rotors -- my dealer who is great is eating the cost of addressing this). The brake and timing chain tensioner issues are not unique to my car -- these are widespread, well known documented Audi A6 issues. Vorsprung durch technik indeed.

So, as much as I love the way the P-cars drive/handle and respect their performance, no thanks. I'll stick with the old NSX.

Best,
Jeff

Well they certainly stand behind the newer Porsches.... this one was a CPO and came with a bumper to bumper unlimited miles warranty through March 2022 . Part of the reason I'd jump on this car in a minute if all things were equal. Not sure about Audi or VW, but Porsche has actually been building some very reliable cars lately and that kind of warranty shows they stand by it. If I was trading in something like a depreciating Vette I would have done it... it's just hard giving up a car that's appreciating for something that will depreciate, but damn it's tempting because the car is so good.

 

[BAVARIA]

91, I hope I didn't sound like I was trying to pee on your parade -- not at all my intention. Although our NSXs are dated by modern standards, there is just something about the NSX that prevents me from parting company with it. I know that despite the fact that a modern P-car would provide higher performance and more driving joy in certain respects, I'd miss the NSX.

Mercedes ran an advertising campaign some years ago -- "Faithful." Check it out. The tag line was "nothing will make a driver more faithful to a car than a car that is faithful to its driver." This is exactly how I feel about my NSX -- acquired 9 or 10 years ago with 18,800 miles on the clock and now has 53,000. Mechanical failures over that period of time -- zero. Maintenance costs -- reasonable. Yeah, sure I've had to replace the things that tend to go bad due to passage of time (brake master cylinder, clutch slave cylinder, refurbish CCU board, replace driveshaft boots) but this stuff is nothing more than maintenance on a 25 year old car. Aside from the usual fluids, filters, TB/WP and ancillaries when that major service is due, other than the replacements I have mentioned there has been nothing that has gone wrong. I was going to say this is extraordinary but it is not. It is simply Honda of the good old days.

I'm sure that Porsche quality has improved over the years (however google Nick Murray Porsche 911 for a couple of horror stories about the two new 911s Porsche ultimately bought back from him) but to me the true measure of quality is what the ownership experience is over 10 years/100,000 miles. This is one of the charms of the NSX. She's definitely a keeper!

Perhaps some of us guys who are not in a position to acquire another toy without selling our beloved NSXs should get together and enter into a fractional ownership arrangement!

Best,
Jeff

 

[CB72]

I was also dreaming about a Cayman GT4 until I went for a ride on a track day.
The road holding is of course fantastic but coming out of my LoveFab turbo NSX, I thought that the engine lacked in torque and doesn't spin that hard...
A recent test in the French Sport-Auto magazine showed that the new 718 S was less than 1 second slower around the Bugatti/Le Mans track than the GT4 equipped with semi-slicks.
Nostalgia apart, I would go for a turbo model.
And I forgot to mention the PDK gearbox is a must!

 

[91 X]

91, I hope I didn't sound like I was trying to pee on your parade -- not at all my intention. Although our NSXs are dated by modern standards, there is just something about the NSX that prevents me from parting company with it. I know that despite the fact that a modern P-car would provide higher performance and more driving joy in certain respects, I'd miss the NSX.

Mercedes ran an advertising campaign some years ago -- "Faithful." Check it out. The tag line was "nothing will make a driver more faithful to a car than a car that is faithful to its driver." This is exactly how I feel about my NSX -- acquired 9 or 10 years ago with 18,800 miles on the clock and now has 53,000. Mechanical failures over that period of time -- zero. Maintenance costs -- reasonable. Yeah, sure I've had to replace the things that tend to go bad due to passage of time (brake master cylinder, clutch slave cylinder, refurbish CCU board, replace driveshaft boots) but this stuff is nothing more than maintenance on a 25 year old car. Aside from the usual fluids, filters, TB/WP and ancillaries when that major service is due, other than the replacements I have mentioned there has been nothing that has gone wrong. I was going to say this is extraordinary but it is not. It is simply Honda of the good old days.

I'm sure that Porsche quality has improved over the years (however google Nick Murray Porsche 911 for a couple of horror stories about the two new 911s Porsche ultimately bought back from him) but to me the true measure of quality is what the ownership experience is over 10 years/100,000 miles. This is one of the charms of the NSX. She's definitely a keeper!

Perhaps some of us guys who are not in a position to acquire another toy without selling our beloved NSXs should get together and enter into a fractional ownership arrangement!

Best,
Jeff

Trust me, I know how good these cars are...I'm on my third one in 16 years and none of them have ever failed me.... I don't mind someone trying to talk sense into me though. I know it would be a stupid move in the long run to sale the NSX for a Porsche, but it's actually very tempting after test driving the 981

I'm just gonna try and figure out a way to have both:biggrin:

 

[2slow2speed]

Trust me, I know how good these cars are...I'm on my third one in 16 years and none of them have ever failed me.... I don't mind someone trying to talk sense into me though. I know it would be a stupid move in the long run to sale the NSX for a Porsche, but it's actually very tempting after test driving the 981

I'm just gonna try and figure out a way to have both:biggrin:

FWIW, the 9A1 engine on the 987.2/981 are relatively bulletproof. It all depends on what you will be using the car for. Street vs track.

I sold my NSX back in 2006 and have not looked back, life is too short to just own a single vehicle IMHO.

At this point in time, the NSX NA1/NA2 are classic vehicles and should be owned keeping that in mind.

 

[solidol]

91, are you crazy to sell NSX for this? If anything, lease that thing or buy as a second car. You will miss NSX.

 

[91 X]

​

91, are you crazy yo sell NSX for this? If anything, lease that thing or buy as a second car. You will miss NSX.

Yeah, I know..... I think I'm just getting bored.

Gonna probably be buried in my NSX so I'm trying to figure out another way to get a 981


Really like that 981

 

[BBVNSX]

91, are you crazy to sell NSX for this? If anything, lease that thing or buy as a second car. You will miss NSX.

+1 :wink:

Many times you drive a sport car and you feel there is one, some or many aspects special on it... but after some time that's it...

You drive the NSX... and it feels special in many aspects... but the more important is that is the NSX that makes you feel special :biggrin:

 

[2001f4s]

Yeah, I know..... I think I'm just getting bored.

Gonna probably be buried in my NSX so I'm trying to figure out another way to get a 981


Really like that 981

Porsche CPO is a great option. I've owned 5 modern P-Cars and all have been CPO'd. Can't beat it.

 

[anesthesia]

I had the itch for awhile for a Porsche to add to the garage, picked up this 911 last week, loving it

 

[jeffreygebhart]

I had the itch for awhile for a Porsche to add to the garage, picked up this 911 last week, loving it
View attachment 159717

It never fails to amaze me how you guys are able to acquire such stables of cars. Were I to remove the minor(!) obstacles of cost and places to store them, there's absolutely NO WAY that my wife would ever go for me owning a whole bunch of sports cars! What's your secret?

To the OP, keep the NSX. I, too, have the Porsche bug (I recently went to a regional Porsche PCA meet just to meet the guys and look at the cars. They were cool and were interested in my NSX) but won't sell the NSX for one. I'll have to find the money elsewhere.

 

[docjohn]

most of these guys are gigolos....

 

[jorligan]

Jeff and John, you've both met Liz-just gotta find the Unicorn

 

[docjohn]

haha how do you work around that one horn

 

[jorligan]

It's very small

 

[skafia]

[MENTION=21671]anesthesia[/MENTION] Congrats on your GT3, beautiful color! It seems more and more NSX owners have been getting P cars lately. I've had the itch for a while too and for me it was between a Cayman or a 911, I decided to go with the the 911 but I still would love to add a Cayman to the stable as I suspect the new 718 GT4s are going to push some of the existing Cayman GT4 prices down. Also, I would not sell an NSX for the Cayman (even GT4), it's a fun and modern car but at the end of the day, it's not an NSX... now a GT3 is another conversation .