What's in a name?

[Mycroft]

I have to say this... we, the eager traditional British enthusiast is being fed second in the world of the supercar.

Back in the not too distant past the price of a ticket to exotic performance was far less than it is now.

I don't just mean in raw numbers, inflation plumps and fluffs the price of beans and supercars alike, but in more egalitarian times Ferrari awoke to the sales of Porsche and their 2.2ltr and 2.4ltr 911s and produced the beautiful and precise handling Dino.

This little gem was the first Italian supecar I drove [I hasten to add it was not my own] and it locked a sharp and detailed memory of what a supercar was all about, it wasn't as fast as a 2.4 S 911, but it took half the effort to do the good cross-country times that were, and still are, the very definition of supercar.

It was 55% the price of a Daytona, the toppest topmost of all Ferraris at the time.

Let us disregard the FF which may possibly be the least Ferrari of all Ferraris ever made except possibly the bloated 500 SuperAmerica, the Dino was just 30% the cost of that Kraken.

So, where is the Ferrari model that is 55% the price of a new 599 or 35% the price of a full specced FF?

£60,000 that is the number, where is the V6 engined 2 seater model that draws the young and eager to the fold as a first step into the wonderful world of the purpose built driving machine meant only for pleasure?

It's gone.

Consigned to the 70s and 80s along with Loon-pants, tied 'n' dyed and Johnny Rottens credibility. [Butter? I ask you, really?]

That bastion of the pugilistic challenge of "Put'em up, put'em up, I can take you with one hand tied behind my back" to Ferrari, Porsche has stayed there... well almost.

Only the 'S' models and above have ever been any challenge to Ferrari and you can't get a 991 S for £70k.

This is the price we all pay for a market that has no real competition.

Want the best 991 with just a pair of driving wheels and that will be £90k, ta muchly!

The £20,000 'premium' is just not justified.

But Porsche have a little gem in their range, it is the ridiculously named Cayman and don't under-estimate the ridicule that stems from a name... there are, I'm sure, thoroughly masculine and testosterone filled chaps called Tarquin but we all know that we would curse our parents to hell if we had been hobbled with it.

The Cayman needs a new name and I have it... the 511, pronounced 'five-eleven' and the Cayman R should be the Five-Eleven Carrera.

It should have a 'Ducktail', no lifty gizmo rubbish, flared arches and Fuchs wheels.

No electric seats, just windows and mirrors, air-con and no gadgets.

It should be 3.4ltrs as now but tuned perfectly to give 370hp, not stunted by fear of toppling the now far removed 991 from its place.

The 991 is far removed from its origins now.

It should also be the fastest English road A to B car made by anyone, and it should dent the Ferrari 458s crown, a car that still bottoms out too readily on real English roads.

It could, and should, do all this, but it can't... it is crippled, first by Porsche themselves and then finally by its name.

Ferrari 'got away with' going to the name 'Dino' it was inoffensive and flintstone cute to westerners and as a result it worked when it was chosen for the first car of the marque not to be numbered.

Porsche, couldn't call their car 'Ferry', the name the very unimaginitive Porsche dynasty has called every generation since the inception of the marque as 'Ferries' are cumbersome and distinctly not very cute at all!

So the clumsy and ill-considered Cayman was chosen.

511... its 'better' than 458, it has a sort of implied history.

Plus, don't we all ache for something that isn't all bling and X-factor?

A little, precisely honed, jewel of a car.

I do.

p.s. I wonder how much a 511 badge in 911 script would cost?

Google... it might just be the Caymans best friend.

[Marko]

Most people here will agree.

Most people who aren't here want their lazy arses cosseted every inch of their journey in cars that couldn't be less involving if they drove themselves, from volume manufacturers who are bound by modern safety regs and massive fear of litigation by outraged tabloid disciples.

That's why so few examples appear.

[Moz]

Jesus...I cant handle these long threads. Its like reading a book

[AlexA]

Another solid post mycroft, and I couldnt agree more.

[Mycroft]

Sorry Mosi, but some things can't be condensed further without losing reasoning and context.

It is only a couple of hundred words.

With that post already lodged, I could though condense it further now.

How attractive would it be to buy a 511 [Cayman] that was faster on the road and more tactile than your Scud and to pay just £60,000?

That was what we got with the Dino, it was faster on the average journey than either the Daytona or Muira.

Even Porsche had to up the capacity and standard of handling to cope with the little Ferrari, and it was only with the introduction of the 2.7 Carrera could you stay the course with a degree of ease.

The 2.4 S could keep up, but by god you had to be on the edge.

I want a new Dino.

Ferrari has left the stage in pursuit of the Oil and New Power money some time ago.

Porsche have the chassis and engines to perform this trick.

[Rob200sx]

A good post!

Whilst not owning any of these cars, I've driven a GT3RS and have shuffled around various Ferraris and Lamborghinis for photoshoot purposes but it's the GT3RS that I still grin about, once I'd got over the bruised sides, a result of having the seat buckle on the inside of a bucket seat (really?) it just felt more connected to the road, or maybe I just need to shuffle about in a wider selection.