[southernstar]

Has anyone else noticed the differences in the front-end styling as between the new 981 Boxster and Cayman? Frankly, I think the changes to differentiate the more recently released Cayman are retrograde: to my eye the bulges for, and the tetrahedron shape to the air intakes (and the round running lights) seem incongruous, clumsy and old-fashioned. I know, they are attempting to market the Cayman as a different car than the Boxster.... I know, they need to do something more than adding a few HP to justify the price increase over the more-expensive-to-produce Boxster convertible.... But really????

The radiators are identical so there is no mechanical reason for the change. Yes, the Cayman has more precise handling because, as a hardtop, it has substantially more torsional rigidity. However, this is inevitably the case as between convertibles and hardtop versions of the same car. Take note that there is no difference in front-end styling as between the new 991 cab and hardtop - of course, the 991 cab costs more (as it should), so they are not playing games by pretending that the hardtop is a different and more valuable car.

Porsche's approach here is equivalent to the minor styling changes that were used for years by the American automotive industry to justify rebadging the same car in order to get a higher price in one of the company's more 'upscale' nameplates. Like turning the Chevrolet Camaro into a Pontiac Firebird (although at least, for a time, they had different engines). No, maybe its more like the changes that were made to turn the Dodge Caravan into the Chrysler Town and Country (and at least they had different trim levels). Incredibly cynical marketing.

Brad