There is something about the complete package in the R, the extra 10hp, the sound (seemed different
), the good suspension, standard LSD, slightly blackened look.. If I were ordering a new cayman S, it'd be hard to not get the R even as a non-tracker. Sort of like a zhp over a zsp. There is nothing wrong with the latter, in fact it's perhaps a bit better for daily use in small ways but on the whole zhp's are simply more desirable.
If a pot of money fell on my lap, I might go for the 997. If for nothing else, simply for a new experience. I've had a cayman for five years and hardly go to the track.
I was just surprised by the not so subtle variations from coupe to cab, 2S to 4S. Both of these are more important than S to non-S, so a standard 997 might do as well. I was also highly impressed by the sheer grip of the 997S. Huge reserves of it. So it'd be fine on track as well, perhaps a bit less fun than the 987R (but also the more spacious feeling real world machine).