Not a new observation, but it’s still striking to see it. By modern standards my 718 is not a large car, and definitely looks more svelte than a 992.2. But just now, I was stopped at my mailbox and my neighbor stopped next to me in his ’89 3.2 Carrera. It really hits now big the Cayman is compared to that.
Yes, this is germane to this group (note the 2nd picture).
TLDR version: I get why someone would buy one instead of a Cayman, but I think I made the correct decision with the Porsche.
Two weeks ago, I was invited to an open track day sponsored by a dealer group. Great deal: bring your own car, lots of track time, free breakfast and lunch.
This dealer group happens to own a Lotus store, and they brought two demo cars which they let anyone drive - unsupervised if you were in the advanced group. One was a V6/manual/touring, the other an I4/DCT/sport. I drove the former, which in hindsight was probably the wrong choice.
First, the good: Steering feel was excellent. More communicative than the EPAS in my 982. The V6 has more mid-range grunt too, which was great from mid-corner on. Pedals are very well placed for heel-toe. Looks are subjective, but I think is has an exotic sexiness the Cayman doesn’t.
Now, other stuff. Chassis did not feel as buttoned down as my GTS 4.0. While heel-toe is easy, the shifter is not. I’ve driven a manual Cayman, and comparing that to the Lotus is like comparing a Miata’s shifter to one in an E36 BMW with worn bushings. Once I put it in 5th instead of 3rd because it was so vague. One of my friends who drove it said he literally couldn’t find a gear during an upshift - note that we’ve both been driving manual race cars for years.
Then there were the brakes - the first guy to drive it warned me, “The ABS seems to like to go into ice mode. Just keep your foot on the brake, and it’ll soften.” Exactly what happened to me: Braking hard at the end of the main straight at about 125 MPH, pedal was initially hard as a rock with little speed reduction. After about 1/2 second it softened up and I was able to modulate. Thankfully, I’d started braking a full marker back from my usual point because not my car.
Lastly, remember what LOTUS is an acronym for. End of my session the CEL came on. They were able to reset it, but later in the day it went into limp home mode, and they couldn’t clear it. There were also 5 customer cars there. One of those had a similar CEL issue, and another had the rear hatch glass spontaneously shatter mid-lap.
I still get why someone would buy it. In the spec I drove, it would be an absolute blast as a back-roads/canyon car. Great steering, flexible drive train, and if you’re not hurrying the manual as you do on a track, probably enough fun to shift in a retro way. I suspect the suspension would work better there too. Plus, sure is purdy.
But for me, not worth the tradeoffs.