Best Used Porsche Coupe - 911, Cayman
When it comes to producing some of the most exciting and emotional sports coupes of all time, few other car companies can come close to the extensive heritage surrounding the Porsche brand. Known for an almost fanatical devotion to motorsports purity and engineering excellence, Porsche has managed to continue to not only build up the prestige surrounding their vehicles over the past 50 years, but also turn up the performance with each forthcoming model. While modern Porsche vehicles may have grown both in terms of size and weight when compared to their ancestors, extra care has been taken to ensure that the vehicles remain as tightly coupled to the brand's original message as possible.
A heavy component of this continuity can be attributed to styling. The mechanicals have evolved significantly since the first Porsche 356 Speedsters managed to capture the hearts and minds of sports car fans the world over, but the general exterior appearance of the company's coupes has remained surprisingly consistent. Each shares the same roundish headlights peek out from underneath a rising fender, framing a plunging front fascia. Even Porsche vehicles which do not share the company's trademark rear-engine powertrain layout have been able to preserve the same type of look. This has helped the automaker build strong equity in the minds of buyers, as even a Porsche that is 10 to 15 years old still looks very much like its modern brethren.
Porsche's primary weapon on the coupe market has always been the 911. This vehicle's classic form, combined with strong naturally aspirated and turbocharged 6-cylinder engine options have made it the go-to two-door for anyone looking to step into the realm of serious performance. The 911 manages to be simultaneously nostalgic and forward-looking, thanks to the company's relentless drive to refine the automobiles design over many different generations.
Traditionally, many different trim levels of 911 have been made available in order to capture the widest range of possible buyers. However, in recent years Porsche has attempted to capture a portion of the entry-level sports coupe through a smaller vehicle known as the Cayman. The Cayman possesses many of the same styling cues as the larger vehicle but manages to differentiate itself enough to avoid becoming a clone of the popular two-door. This article focuses on these two automobiles, which represent the best used coupes available from Porsche.
2007 Porsche Cayman
The 2007 Porsche Cayman may have the general appearance of a baby 911, but the designers at Porsche have been careful about infringing too much on the exclusivity of the vehicle's flagship styling when it comes to producing a compact performance coupe. The vehicle's front end combines some of the best elements of the Boxster roadster and the 911, but the car's radically sloping roofline and tall haunches distinguish it quite clearly from either of those vehicles.
There are two different engine options for buyers of the 2007 Porsche Cayman. The entry-level vehicle comes with a 2.7-liter 6-cylinder engine that produces 245 horsepower and 201 lb-ft of torque. This is enough to launch the vehicle to 60 miles per hour in just under 6 seconds. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard, with a 5-speed Tiptronic S automatic available as an option. Real speed demons will prefer the Cayman S, which uses a larger 3.4-liter engine to churn out 295 horsepower and 251 lb-ft of torque, knocking almost a full second off the spring to 60 miles per hour. The same Tiptronic S transmission remains an option, but the vehicle's stock running gear includes a 6-speed manual. The Cayman's chassis is extremely stiff, allowing it to best many other Porsche vehicles in terms of connection to the road and sheer handling prowess. The car's overall handling experience also benefits significantly from its low mass and small form factor.
The 2007 Porsche Cayman may be pint-sized in terms of exterior dimensions, but the passenger compartment does not feel cramped whatsoever. In fact, there is a sense of roominess and practicality not generally found in a coupe of this size. Storage space is abundant throughout the cabin, and the front and rear trunks add a level of practicality that makes the Cayman an option as daily transportation for those who do not require a rear seat.
In terms of sheer exhilaration and excellent overall design, the 2007 Porsche Cayman is a used coupe with a lot to offer sports car fans.
2005 - 2007 Porsche 911
Much has already been written concerning the Porsche 911 and its beautiful yet simple sheet metal. Suffice it to say that with each successive generation, Porsche has been careful to update the coupe while still preserving the same basic visual essence that has been a characteristic of the vehicle since it was first put into production in the 1960s. After a slight mis-step in the early 2000s, the 2005 re-design of the 911 puts the vehicle back on track in terms of reflecting the image that Porsche hopes will warm the souls of performance-seeking drivers from around the world.
Choosing a version of the 2005 - 2007 Porsche 911 to buy is not a simple process. Although the vehicle is sold as a single model, there are enough trim levels available to take the vehicle from well-mannered sports coupe to wild track star. There is also the fact that both the old and new platforms were sold alongside during 2005. With regards to the new platform, rear-wheel drive editions of the Porsche start out with the Carrera, which comes with a 3.6-liter, 6-cylinder engine generating a respectable 325 horsepower. Moving up to the Carrera S bumps up the size of the engine slightly and squeezes an additional 30 ponies out of the additional displacement. A 381 horsepower Club Coupe edition of the Carrera was released in 2006 to tide people over until the king of the rear-wheel drive 911's, the 415 horsepower GT3 track menace was released in 2007.
All-wheel drive editions of both the Carrera and the Carrera S were made available in 2006, along with Targa versions of the car that featured a removable hard top. However, the vaunted all-wheel drive Turbo edition of the 911 did not make an appearance until 2007. With 480 horsepower the vehicle was well worth the wait, able to reach 60 miles per hour from a standing start in only 3.7 seconds. Each 2005 - 2007 Porsche 911 uses either a 6-speed auto or manual transmission to handle the gear shifting duties.
The 2005 - 2007 Porsche 911 is a rare sports car, a used coupe which can be used as a daily driver or taken to the track and flogged mercilessly without compromising on either performance or comfort. This makes it an extremely appealing option on the secondhand market.