Very true, so when are you going to make that comparison video of your 8 vs a stock 8. So everyone can see how much of a gain the turbo gives you?

 

donno. FL meets have pretty much stopped. I didn't drive my car much in Jan cause of the transmission issue, and I haven't driven my car much this month since I sold the int-x and am waiting for the AP to arrive.

 

hate to burst your bubble, but those 3 911GT3's had a stock engine block and actual 911 chassis under the race paint while the #70 had a complete tube chassis and a 3 rotor engine...

so don't go bragging about that outside of this board

 

The RX-8 out handles the Cayman (S), horsepower is an easily improved upon value. Chassis design is not. I guarantee the handling difference isn't because Mazda used more expensive components than Porsche either.

 

I have not driven the Cayman, as some of the people here fairly asked or pointed out.

I am surprised that you thought the 8 felt faster - I wonder if it's because of weight or ???

I knew the braking on stock cars was really close - I think 60-0 in 111 ft for the Cayman and 117 for the 8 (though I've read as little as 112 for the 8 somewhere).

Although I've never sat in the Cayman, the gauges and dash look minimalistic compared to the 8, which is not a bad thing by any means. The Cayman has a real oil pressure gauge, and has an analog speedometer (although the digital speedometer on the 8 has SURPRISINGLY grown on me in the 2.5 years I've owned it).

You say the materials in the Cayman are really high end. I don't doubt it at all. That's not to say I think the 8 has shoddy interior by any stretch. In fact, I think fit and finish in the 8 is pretty decent, with the exception of the usual issues that we like to complain about here (visors, center arm rest/compartment).

Thanks for your input.

To everyone else, I never said the 8 was better than the Cayman. I happen to love the Cayman and I think that it's a truly beautiful car. Someone here remarked that on paper, performance may be close between the 8 and the Cayman, but paper specs mean little.

While that's true to some degree, and even though I haven't driven the Cayman, I think the similarities in weight distribution, acceleration, handling, and braking between stock cars is remarkable given that the 8 is priced some 20k less. As for steering, call me crazy, but I find the steering feel of the 8 to be superb, and yes, I have driven many other comparable cars, so I can't imagine the Cayman having any distinct advantage there - if it does, then it must be truly sublime.

But maybe some of you are right. Maybe I would completely rethink the merit of even making this comparison and mentioning the price difference between the two if I did drive the Porsche.

But I somehow doubt it.


Also, I mentioned earlier that the Cayman S had FI. I was wrong and am glad you pointed that out. I am surprised how much Porsche charges for that letter, though, given that Porsche officially lists the 0-60 time of the base Cayman at 5.9 and the S at 5.1. That's pretty significant, though, I guess.

 

Until you have driven both the Caymen and the RX8 especially with a little bit of excitement you'll not be able to judge them. The Caymen provides a totally different experience and its very positive.

The real question is whether it provides $20,000 worth of enjoyment.....That simply depends on how much $20,000 is worth to you.

I like the Caymen much better, just not $20,000 better.

 

How creative, anyone can steal Jeremy Clarkson's lines...

Does a Ferrari F430 offer twice the experience, speed, looks, sound, braking, luxury, etc of a Porsche 911 GT3?...

 

The man made a good point, and I've confirmed it through several other sources... why is Clarkson less valid of a source than anyone else? I didn't quote him directly and I happen to agree with him here. I think less of any manufacturer that holds back their other models to not compete with their "cash cow" halo car, the same way GM balked at a Fiero Turbo because it would have thrashed the Corvette. Porsche neutered the Caymann the same way, and it falls short of other cars at its price point as a result.

 

We all stole Clarkson's lines - we believe the rx8 is the best car we've driven this year (aside from the rain)

Does walking on the mars offer twice the experience, sights, sound, etc of walking on the moon? Wait, what??

He's not saying that the performance must double to make a double in price justifiable, just that it wouldn't be worth it to him to drop $20k more for the porsche. If I had 40k I sure know I wouldnt be buying a base cayman

edit: Who is this guy anyways, crazy s2k driver

 

cayman S = next car for me, just a matter of when

 

I am probably the biggest JC fan out there...but the point itself wasn't really valid to begin with. Where was all the complaint this whole time that the Boxster has been out?

The Cayman is nothing more than a Boxster with a fixed roof...

I disagree that it falls short of other cars at it's price point.

BTW: what makes you think the RX-8 wasn't built to a price? Every car out there is, save for the super/hyper cars.

 

but it does fall short of its potential.

 

You can say the same for just about every car out there. BTW if we are talking about disappointment, I'm sure that is the word that 95% of people out there would use to describe the rx8...

 

"95% of the people out there" wouldn't know who makes an RX-8. I can almost guarantee that 95% of the people on this forum are not "disappointed" with their car. Please stop trolling for a fight!

Thanks,

Lover of his RX-8

 

It's called having an intellectual discussion, not trolling. I LOVE the RX-8, I just happen to know a lot of people who don't feel the same way.

 

"disappointed" ? I don't think 95% of the buyers are disappointed in their RX8s.

The original question was something like 'Is a Cayman worth twice a RX8?'
If you ask me the answer is no.

If you ask the actual buyers the answer might be yes.

Mazda sold 579 RX8s in Jan. 08 AND Feb. 08!
Porsche sold 539 Caymans in Jan. 08 at twice the price!

 

I didn't say "buyers" of the RX8. Clearly, if you like the car, you are going to purchase it. Many people drive the RX8 and don't like it.

I am not surprised at that figure at all. If the RX8 lived up to it's expectations, then it would sell much better. That, plus the upcoming new version, plus the fact that it's just a "different" car, mean it won't sell as well as, say, a BMW 3-series.

 

Don't know, never drove an F430.

I had a 308 Quattrovalvole about 15 years ago and it rocked - figuratively and literally. Driving it for an hour on a concrete freeway was almost miserable, yet put it through the paces on a twisty road through the Piedmonts and it was an extension of your own body. Don't forget to drive on down to the Dealership (70 miles for me, & I lived in Raleigh NC) get those genuine Ferrari parts for the 30,000 mile service. (2) Timing belts at a paltry $130 EACH. Air Filter (paper) $90. The list went on to about $1000. I drove the car for about a year and sold it.

I've driven and owned a few 911's never a GT3. 95% of the time I liked the 911 better, but that other 5% the Ferrari had on it was priceless.

 

Complaint of the Boxster as a poor man's porsche? See Series Three Episode Two - s2k/Z4/boxster :D

Oh, and he's not trolling - its true, many people (not exactly 95% of the population though) were disappointed with the 8 at its release (people who were expecting a *new* rx7, people expecting 250hp, etc). He spends much of his off time hanging out at a rotary shop so thats all he hears though

Alex, your stubborn ways are going to get this thread locked :O

 

jeez this is scary, I really had to do a double take...




Bigger pic makes the difference more obvious but wow that was weird...

 

I wouldn't consider someone who can drop down $45k on a car, poor. A poor man's Porsche is more on the lines of a...1985 Porsche 928.

BTW if they lock this thread for having a discussion in the "RX-8 Discussion" forum, then this forum is hopeless haha.

 

His complaint with the Boxster was it was people too poor for a 911, but I don't agree with that because no Boxster in any trim has the the potential to out-perform a 911. A Caymann S, however, does if they just used the rear end they use in the 911 (the marginal cost of making those on the assembly line is low, so don't try and tell me it would add to the price. The car is overpriced anyway). A Caymann S, which was released BEFORE the base Caymann, is more than a Boxster with a fixed roof - it's got a slightly larger engine as well, and therefore performs better... about halfway between the Boxster S and Carrera S, actually.

I know the RX8 is built to a price, but the car is as good as Mazda could make it at that price. They're not leaving any bits off to stop it competing with anything else. The Caymann's price, much like everyone else about it, is just supposed to be between two other figures.

 

It seems like Mazda and Porsche have always kind of been "competing" against each other. On the racetrack obviously, but the FC and the 944, the FD was compared to 911s a lot, and now the RX-8 and Cayman.


Mazda always seems to win though!!

 

Mazda has long been called the "poor man's Porsche."

This poor man is happy with his Mazda.

 

Poor man's porsche relative to the 911 just as you were stating you had never heard of (we're talking pre-cayman and excluding the cayenne) - thought you would have picked that up?

Only stated it (like rootski said) in ref to the 911 because you said you had never heard complaint of the likes of the boxster "this whole time its been out" - of course you wouldn't have, it hasn't been on such a level with the cayman until recently (you know that). My comment was just regarding that although not necessarily intentionally slower, it still received criticism as a poor man's porsche relative to the 911.

The thread lock comment was a joke...