Quote:
Originally Posted by / / / M3
Oh yeah? A Miata is much lighter than a 718 or 911. It's also 3-4 times cheaper. So much for that theory.
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If you've ever worked on a 911 or Cayman/Boxster, you'd be impressed by how robust and heavy parts are on those cars. The exterior panels on my 987 Cayman (which essentially has the front end of a 997 911) are crazy thick. The panels feel twice as thick as the panels on my wife's 2020 4Runner. Even my 2016 M235 feels cheap in comparison. The chassis parts are robust and look to be cut and machined from blocks of aluminum. Everything on the Cayman has a very heavy and robust feel. Peel back plastic and carpet interior panels and they are HEAVY and very well insulated.
I test drove a 2023 Miata RF for an hour when looking at cars a couple of years ago. It is a light car, but much smaller than the 987/981/718 in terms of interior and storage space and it doesn't feel remotely has well put together. While on paper, my 265hp Cayman and the ND2 Miata have similar power to weights, but when driven, the Cayman feels way faster. Handling wise, stock to stock, it's not the same ball game and the Cayman is 11+ years older. The ND Miata is freaking awesome, especially the 2025 model, but Porsche 911s and Cayman/Boxsters are on a different level. You can get a new lower optioned Cayman Base for mid $70s. That's only twice the price of a 2024 Miata RF and is twice the car in terms of performance, quality, comfort, and usability, IMO.
Point being, 911s and Cayman/Boxsters could be a few hundred pounds lighter if Porsche wasn't so hell bent on making such solid cars. It's surprising to me that my fully loaded Cayman still is under 3000lbs with a full tank per the local truck scales.