The cynic might remark that the Porsche Cayman R is exactly what the Cayman could, and should, have been from the very beginning if Porsche hadn’t neutered it so as to protect the 911. The optimist might simply look on with joy and celebrate the arrival of a Cayman that has been allowed to flourish. Whichever side you’re inclined to lean toward the result is the same: the Cayman R is a fantastic machine that sharpens and hones all of the Cayman’s edges to provide a driving experience to rival any other car in the Porsche stable. Including the 911. Of course, there exist iterations of the 911 that can easily handle a Cayman R (though the new Cayman GT4 looks to close that gap considerably), but those 911s cost significantly more money. At a starting price of around $67K the Cayman R represented a very nice value for Porsche enthusiasts and even the most die-hard 911 fan could no longer turn his nose up in disdain. I always have liked the Cayman even if it lacked those 911 quirks that made Porsche’s leading light so revered. It was a relatively light and compact car blessed with impeccable balance and enough power to quickly get you into trouble. It definitely could have been better, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t good. With the R, the model had finally begun to approach its zenith and show its true form. The example here is a Carrera White 2012 Porsche Cayman R, located in Indiana, with 18,300 miles on it. While the R was available with a 6-speed manual this one has had the PDK 7-speed automatic transmission selected. It’s not my ideal choice, but depending on your intended use that transmission can make sense. It’s faster, if arguably less fun and less engaging.
Category: Porsche
Typically a car like this one we would reserve for a Tuner Tuesday post. The parameters of this auction don’t really allow for that so this will serve as a bonus Tuner Tuesday (on Friday)! The DP935 takes all of the styling excesses of which we are familiar on the Porsche 930 and turns them up a notch. That is especially the case with an example like this one with the full front end treatment, rather than retaining the standard, and already somewhat wild, 930 Slantnose design. DP Motorsports had partnered with Kremer racing for a number of years providing lightweight bodywork for Kremer’s race cars, which all sort of came to a head with their collaboration on Kremer’s 935 K3. The DP935 is a road-going iteration of that car, though without the cachet that comes with the Kremer name being associated with it. Painted in iconic Gulf Blue and Orange this DP935 brings us about as close as we can get to having a road-going racer modeled off of Porsche’s legendary 935. While these began life as a Porsche 930, and retain the basic shape of those cars, the final product easily distances itself from the 930 in nearly every department, from power to design aesthetic. For those with fond memories of Porsche racing from the ’70s and ’80s a DP935 brings with it the opportunity to own a fantastic piece of that history and one of the ultimate attention-grabbing cars.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Porsche DP935 on eBay
2 CommentsI guess I couldn’t stay away from high-priced Turbos for too long, though at least this time we are staying within the realm of the water-cooled 911, rather than venturing back into the rarefied air of the air-cooled models. Here we have a Speed Yellow 2004 Porsche 911 GT2, located in Oklahoma, with 8,150 miles on it. While the price here certainly dwarfs that of a standard 996TT, buyers are at least getting a healthy does of extra performance, both in the guise of increased power – an additional 62 hp for this 2004 GT2 over the standard Turbo – and also reduced weight with the GT2 coming in around 200 pounds lighter. When first introduced for the 993, the GT2 rekindled the rear-drive turbocharged mayhem that 911 owners had come to expect from these machines. While the standard turbo took a more civilized turn by introducing all-wheel drive, the GT2 went in the other direction increasing power, reducing weight, and delivering all of its power to the rear wheels only. They were initially produced in order to satisfy homologation requirements, but with the GT3 RS now fulfilling that purpose for the 996, the GT2 was left to simply exist as a mix of terror and excitement. They are a rare sight to behold on the roads, but when unleashed in the wild, heads definitely will turn.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Porsche 911 GT2 on eBay
2 CommentsWe’ll continue our brief green theme for the week with this Aventurine Green Metallic 1995 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, located in Florida, with 135,351 miles on it. While many surely exist we do not come across higher mileage examples of the 993 as often as with the other 911 models – not surprising given that they are the youngest of the air-cooled cars – so our grasp of the market and their values once we reach this sort of mileage is a bit less sure. As with any second-hand car those extra miles shouldn’t necessarily dissuade us from keeping it in consideration, we must simply take greater regard of its care over those miles. And as we have seen with many other examples, a higher mileage vehicle that has been well cared for actually can make for a better alternative to a car with fewer miles that has been neglected. What will be different is our approach given the general collector appeal of the 993. That places this car directly in front of us as a driver-quality example and one that an owner should be capable of getting plenty of joy from over the coming years, but without having to pay the typical 993 premiums. For those in search of that final air-cooled magic this 993 may offer great promise.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1995 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe on eBay
1 CommentEnough with high-dollar air-cooled Turbos and other rare 911s. They are wonderful machines, but let’s dip our toes back in the performance value end of the pool with this Rainforest Green Metallic 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo with Savannah Beige interior and 31,040 miles on it. In all of my time perusing the Porsche classifieds I cannot ever recall coming across a 996, let along a 996TT, in this color – or frankly in most any shade of green. We’ve remarked before how Green seems to be a persistently underappreciated color. That is especially true of any brighter shade of green; the closer the shade looks to black the more popular it tends to be. Rainforest Green appears to fall into a middle ground. It’s brighter than Forest Green and other similar dark examples, but obviously a far cry from some of Porsche’s pastel greens such as Viper Green or Lime Green. So we will have to see what sort of appeal this garners, but with its Savannah Beige interior it definitely has a feel of the forest about it. It is extremely earthy. For my tastes the exterior is very nice as I have no aversion to a green exterior. I would prefer one of the darker tan colors for the interior, but as I have said previously I think any of the tan interior choices complements a green exterior particularly well. While this one is not perfect, it would suit me better than many other applications.