Does anyone here know about Cayman Rs?

A friend of mine is selling a slightly modded for track use Cayman R with a PDK. He's also got first dibs on my Elise.

As it's an R, it should have the later engine that's also in my 997.2, so it shouldn't be as explody as the earlier ones. Other than that I don't know much about that generation Cayman and I figured I'd ask on my favourite car forum before wandering over to some of the Parsch forums I haven't been on for years.

This would require me to sell at least one other car (probably the MX5) so it's a pretty big commitment, but it's also a Cayman R that's well priced for what it is and has some miles (and track events) on it so I wouldn't have to worry too much about using it as Prof Porsche intended. And getting rid of another car or two probably isn't such a bad idea for me anyway.

No useful info to share, but I'm impressed by your eagerness for unusual cars, considering. If I had your mechanical history, I'd be looking for a Camry R not a Cayman R. 

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

Are you sure you didn't misspell "bicycle"?

I've always lusted after the Peridot Green ones. IIRC they're not much different from any other 987.2 Cayman, there was some stuff they did to lighten them up but all the important stuff is basically the same. 

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

I've always lusted after the Peridot Green ones. IIRC they're not much different from any other 987.2 Cayman, there was some stuff they did to lighten them up but all the important stuff is basically the same. 

So you're saying if it was a 911 it would be worth a bazillion dollars but because it isn't it's not that big of a deal.

Is this a trade scenario?

I wish we had a more active trade "marketplace" here on GRM forum... even stories of trades would be cool. 

adam525i said:

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

I've always lusted after the Peridot Green ones. IIRC they're not much different from any other 987.2 Cayman, there was some stuff they did to lighten them up but all the important stuff is basically the same. 

So you're saying if it was a 911 it would be worth a bazillion dollars but because it isn't it's not that big of a deal.

Actually, I think the Cayman R is probably worth more than an equivalent 911. Especially in the Peridot Green. 

IIRC They don't have the same motor as a 911. It has the 987.2 S motor with about 10 more HP. There are also a few mods that drop about 100 lbs.  

adam525i said:

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

I've always lusted after the Peridot Green ones. IIRC they're not much different from any other 987.2 Cayman, there was some stuff they did to lighten them up but all the important stuff is basically the same. 

So you're saying if it was a 911 it would be worth a bazillion dollars but because it isn't it's not that big of a deal.

They're still rather expensive compared to a regular Cayman, same as everything Porsche that has some sort of 'R' badging.

I have a base 987.2 with the 2.9L engine which is peppy, but not exactly fast and have added a few Cayman R goodies like the springs (coupled with Koni shocks) and the OEM Cayman R exhaust which is has larger diameter piping compared to other Cayman models.

Fundamentally R is not significantly different than an S but they made a number of changes here and there such as aluminium doors for example and it's all those that add up to make it more special. If it has bucket seats that will also make it extra special. 

BoxheadTim said:

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

Are you sure you didn't misspell "bicycle"?

Not bicycle. Maybe skateboard.

newold_m (Forum Supporter) said:

I have a base 987.2 with the 2.9L engine which is peppy, but not exactly fast and have added a few Cayman R goodies like the springs (coupled with Koni shocks) and the OEM Cayman R exhaust which is has larger diameter piping compared to other Cayman models.

Fundamentally R is not significantly different than an S but they made a number of changes here and there such as aluminium doors for example and it's all those that add up to make it more special. If it has bucket seats that will also make it extra special. 

dang. I'd hate to have a Cayman R with a bench seat. 
 

/s

What do you want to know? As others said it's basically a normal cayman s with some gt4-esque weight savings and a little wing. They do have the 9a1 DI engine, the same one the S has, with a different tune. They're the rarest of any of the caymans which is why they seem to be holding their value despite not actually being that "special" in the grand scheme of things

I'd go for it.  They're solid cars and are really holding their value.  If you can get it for a good price, there's really no down side.

So you're going to have both a 997.2 and Cayman R? 

secretariata (Forum Supporter) said:

BoxheadTim said:

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

Are you sure you didn't misspell "bicycle"?

Not bicycle. Maybe skateboard.

Too many potential failure points. Maybe a unicycle?

amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) said:

So you're going to have both a 997.2 and Cayman R? 

Yes, potentially one as a three season daily and the other one as a track car.

Beside the lighter weight parts and different engine tune, they have stiffer springs, struts, and a slightly larger rear sway bar. They are the last of the "analog" Caymans because of the hydraulic power steering and more basic stability control. 

The 987s are cheaper to fix if you crash it, the 981s on up are aluminum so cost more to repair.

RacerBoy75 said:

The 987s are cheaper to fix if you crash it, the 981s on up are aluminum so cost more to repair.

To some extent. The R specifically has some unique lightweight parts like aluminum doors, that I imagine finding a replacement for isn't easy/cheap. The 981 does have a partially aluminum unibody which is more difficult/expensive to repair but costs on that seem to be coming down especially as other manufacturers start to adopt similar chassis constructions.

I'm not trying to start a debate here, but I've owned/driven multiple modern porsches with both HPS and EPS and I don't really have a preference. Both have their pros and cons, on balance I'd take EPS just for the reduced maintenance/failure risk, but it wouldn't be a deciding factor. I have limited experience with normal 9x7 era cars but the non-GT4 981 stability control still isn't great, for whatever that's worth.

BoxheadTim said:

amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) said:

So you're going to have both a 997.2 and Cayman R? 

Yes, potentially one as a three season daily and the other one as a track car.

As someone with a 987 I'd love to have a Elise track car.  Grass is always greener I guess, lol.

In reply to nderwater :

I think after his last outing with the Elise he's a bit leery of damaging the clamshell.

In reply to clutchsmoke :

Kinda. The other issue is that it's one of those cars that I pretty much have to DIY as there's not a lot of support around that reasonably close to us. I know where I can drop off a Porsche for work, but only very few shops will touch an Elise around here. 

Needed a picture.