Being a brand new cayman owner I started thinking about whether I would buy
another Porsche after this one breaks down or upgrade to the next model line.

Do you think in 5-6 years Porsche will still have cars that are competitive in performance/features/price/etc with so many brands coming out with high performance cars soon? I noticed many people feel they are paying way above a premium for the cars compared to other brands. Personally I love my cayman and if Porsche doesn't offer anything I like that is better or just as good when the time comes I'd have no problem switching brands or keeping the car forever.

BTW, does anyone have a general idea on how long the engines can last in mileage?Thanks.

I've been a fan of Porsche for over 40 years and I have seen them on the brink of extinction twice, but they have always come back strong. Now they are the most profitable car company and soon they will have the might of Volkswagen behind them. They seem to be in a great position to do some spectacular things if they want to. They tend not to show their cards until the very last minute, and usually they have a killer hand when they do. They have just come out with an even more powerful 911 with what will probably be the best double clutch set up there is. And it gets great milage to boot. They will probably sell a lot of 911's when the 997 and 1/2 model is released this summer. They will probably sell a lot of Panamera's too, which will make them all the more powerful. They seem to put their profits into making their sports cars even better. I certainly would never count them out. Who knows what they will come up with next.

In the long run then it would seem Porsche will continue to improve and hopefully maintain it's racing heritage. But in the short term, do you see Porsche losing sales from long time buyers or brand new buyers when shopping for a new car?

On the cayman, will Porsche ever push this car's limits well past the 911, making the cayman it's top model and leaving the 911 more for GT? I think we all know it's being held back until the current 911 gets upgraded, but just a thought if Porsche would ever consider changing the top model line with another model.

Honestly, if it was all about the speed I can guarantee nobody would ever buy a single Porsche within the last 3 years. Even with the GT-R, you can buy a loaded Vette around 48K out the door, spend 10-15K on it, and beat it too.

It is true that there are faster cars coming out, GT-R, ZR-1, etc., but none will have the feel of a Porsche. As you know, there is really something remarkable about it, you just cannot put your finger on it, the quality with the fit and finish is remarkable.

It is true that Porsche sales are down, but so are those of virtually ever auto manufacturer. Once the 997.5 comes out, a lot of people on the sidelines (after all, who wants to own a 80K car only to have it change in 6 months) will jump on it.

As for me, my CS is my first and probably last Porsche, not because I don't like the car, but I like to try different things.

I'm from the "no one ever stays on top" camp, so while I do believe their present very successful run is far from over, there is just too much competition lately from all sides,....other brands, economy, etc., to think they will remain at the top forever. Sooner or later the stars will align to knock them back a bit.

I actually see the Cayman/Boxster getting hurt in the future if Porsche keeps holding them back behind the 911. They're in a too volatile price range to keep competing with other cars that will be offering (or already are) 400 or more HP, nice handling, and more equipment.

911 drivers/wanters will for the most part always drive a 911 or want one, no matter what. Cayman owners are the ones that took a bit of a risk, and might look elsewhere if Porsche doesn't produce a very decent upgraded version fairly soon. BWM, Audi, Nissan & Chevy, all have good products that seem to get better in leaps and bounds, the Cayman needs to do that also. The little refinements Porsche is used to giving its products may not cut it anymore. Every 3 or 4 years they will have to re-invent the wheel,.....and it better be great each time to stay on top.

I don't know about the Panamera, it will either sell or be a flop. From the looks of it, I hate to say I'm betting flop. This could be one of the miss steps from Porsche in a fairly long time.

If I'm running Porsche?......I'd bring back the 928 to be the top end GT car. The world just wasn't ready for the 928 when it was being produced, I believe now is the time. Make it special enough with different versions to cover many areas from Aston to Ferrari.

Keep producing/selling the 911 for the people who just can't live without 'em, but bring down the price a bit. IMO, they simply aren't worth what they are asking for them. Maybe $5k more for a 911 over a Cayman/Boxster.

Put the same engines as in the 911 in the Cayman/Boxster. Cayman S with 385 HP from the factory!.....then you really won't need to sneak around Corvettes, M3s, etc., just blow them away. Don't raise/lower the price, just throw in PCM, Xenons, and a few other items for free.

Just my .02....

When buying a Porsche, you're also buying the brand and heritage that comes with it. There's more to it than just buying something that goes fast. If that were the case, cars such as Corvettes would be ahead of the game.

Seems to me that the "heritage" of racing is endangered with the current 911. If you saw the race this past weekend, the GT3RS won its first race of the year here in the Rolex at Mid Ohio, but likely due to the rain and a number of accidents to others, e.g., Speedsource RX-8s and the Pontiac GTRs (which are unfairly IMHO in GT since they are tube frames and not street cars). When the new M3 hits the circuit, watch out. I don't expect Porsche to give up, but there is an argument for the Cayman to be here with the 3.6 or 3.8 engine. Sure there is a problem with the Pirrellis, but clearly a mid engined car would own this series in GT. But, it will be oh so hard for Porsche to give up on its "cash cow" and likely they won't do it until they a completely trounced by the others. The mere fact that they won't support privateers says that they know the Cayman is capable of beating the 911s if properly set up.

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'07 CS, Meteor Grey, stone grey, 19" Carrera Sport with meteor grey spokes/polished rim, headrest crests, bi-xenons, Bose, power seats, rain sensor, fire extinguisher, heated seats, dimming mirrors
'06 CLS 500, white, beige
'04 Black Ranger Edge

+1 on the 911/cayman comments. Today I took a co- worker for a ride in my CS at lunch. His comment was" It does not matter which Porsche model you have. They all still look great regardles of how old they are or what else has come out to replace them". This is why the brand will always be around and will always be wished for and sought after. Nobody except maybe Ferrari, Lambo, or Rolls Royce pulls this off.

First, I must admit that I am a Porsche "fanboy" from the get go, but I think you are spot on with the comment you made suggesting that the tube frame cars are unfairly allowed to run against the GT3RS which is really just a street car. To me, the "real" racing is in ALMS. Last year, the Porsches were taking a licking from the mid-engined Ferraris in ALMS, but Porsche did their homework during the off-season and this year the 997 GT3 RSR is more than competetive against the Ferraris. Recently I read somewhere that when the GT3RSR is run on the same track that the GT3RS has been run, the RSR is something like 3 to 5 mph faster (if somebody has a more accurate number than I, please correct me, but I know the RSR is quicker). So, you can't count Porsche out just yet. And who knows, Porsche may surprise us and show up to a race with some uber-Caymans. It sure wouldn't be the first time that Porsche does the exact opposite of what they said they were going to do! I think Porsche also enjoys shock value. I remember when Porsche showed up with 25 917's out of the clear blue skies. It was a very nice surprise for Porsche fans like me. And, don't forget how they sprung the Carrera GT on us a few years back. We just need to sit back and let them do what they do best.

Porsche will always be the benchmark. They do more with less hp than any other car. they are a high end marque that in comparitivie models, dust ferrari and lambo.
as far as racing goes, they new GT3 RSR is def a major improvement and doesn EVERYTHING better according to the article on it i read in christophorus magazine. and the RS Spyder is just a monster having trounced audi and puegeot even though it has 300 less hp in the 12 hrs of sebring in the LMP2 class, and the RSR won in the GT2 class.
i also think that the 911 either needs to become a midengined two seater, or they need to start racing the cayman, or both! the 911 is eventually going to need to go to a v8 platform, where i see the rear seat being deleted for the space and becoming a mid engined car.
Porshce ALWAYS has something up their sleeves. the 997.5 is a good example. it doenst look like they did anything more than come out with a new front and rear bumper and diffusor and new wheels and pdk, when in reality, they have again honed the suspension, changed the engine a bit and make the car faster, handles better, brake better, etc.
take this for example...the 996 mk2 (325 hp) was 0-100 in about 11.5 seconds...they 997S came out with 30 more hp (355 hp) and .2 liters more displacement, yet it does 0-100 mph in ~10 seconds now...and it also runs substantially faster on tracks, in the 1/4 mile, it brakes shorter and thrills just the same if not better. they have taken what is inherently a poor design and turned it into the worlds best sports car! no other engineers besides Porsche could have pulled it off.

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2006 Cayman S
2008 335 coupe-Traded in for CS
2004 ///M3-FULLY N/A with OEM Motorsport 4.10s, BBS LM's (recently sold)
2000 Carrera 4 Cab-Modded (gone but missed)

Rolex is not competitive against Casio. It is utterly not cost effective. Yet it rulez.

LONG AFTER Porsche has gone the route of Rolex it will still sell well. Even today, can you even estimate the percentage of people who buy Porsches not for driving but for showing/self contentment/ego boost?

I think this thread is about Porsche staying competitive with the new wave of hi-tech super cars on the race track ( Acura, Nissan, Audi, Infinity, Renault, etc,) and it's not talking about the allure of the Porsche marketing imagine to those people who know little to nothing about the real performance of sports/GT cars, even though this is a HUGE part of Porsche buyers.

There is NO way that Porsche can develop a new mid-engine car to be its new flagship, and still call it a "911".

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