Porsche Cayman

	Porsche Cayman
	Debut: 2013 Maker: Porsche Predecessor: Cayman Mk1 (2005)

Published on 25 Mar 2013

Since its introduction in 2005, Cayman has been marketing as a model bridging the considerable price and performance gaps between Boxster and 911. However, in essence it is basically a Boxster Coupe. Otherwise, it would not have adopted the same internal codename, 987, as the contemporary Boxster, even though Porsche never mentioned it publicly. The new generation Cayman also shares the same 981 codename with the new Boxster, so their close relationship hasn't changed. Normally, AutoZine does not waste time to talk about different body styles of the same car. However, because this is a Porsche, and the very best Porsche indeed, I think it deserves a dedicated page.

The differences between Cayman and Boxster are subtle. The basic dimensions, the headlights, the bonnet, doors, taillights and rear spoiler are all the same. The three front intakes have different shapes, accompanied with different fog lights, but visually the biggest difference is undoubtedly the roof line. We like the style of Porsche cabriolet, but even more so is the traditional 911-style roof line. It was not quite convincing in the original Cayman, but now the fastback is extended thus the roof line runs smoothly towards the tail. The new car's longer wheelbase and overall length as well as the slightly lower height also help improving the proportion. Ditto the higher quality detailing, fit and finish and paint. It looks really delicious.

Inside, the difference is all but unnoticeable. Basically, Cayman, Boxster and 911 share much the same interior to save costs, which is no bad thing because the quality and comfort are now very impressive. You can find noticeably more shoulder room as the new Cayman (as well as Boxster) has a much wider cabin. Visibility is good. The seats are comfortable and supportive. The driving position is first rate, with all kinds of electrical adjustment to tailor to your shape. The gearstick is now placed higher to make gearshift even more convenient, although most buyers are now expected to opt for PDK gearbox and use its associated paddles behind the steering wheel. Unlike the old car, its materials and build quality finally match its price – or even exceed your expectation should you buy the cheaper 2.7-liter model. What it lacks is only a bit of imagination – isn't it too clinical and straightforward? Well, this is a German product after all.

Mechanically, the difference from Boxster is mainly the engine's state of tune. Both the 2.7-liter Cayman and 3.4-liter Cayman S produce 10 horsepower more than their equivalent sisters, accompanied with slightly more torque. As a result, 0-60 mph acceleration is a scant 0.1 second quicker in both cases. Analyse the power and torque curves will find the Cayman engines are stronger at the top end than the Boxster engines. The Cayman S' 325 hp maximum output is delivered at 7400 rpm, some 700 rpm higher than the peak of Boxster S. Brilliantly, this stronger top end does not come at the expense of any low to mid-range torque, as shown by the torque curves.

Another key difference is chassis rigidity. Porsche did not release official figures, but it said the Cayman is nearly twice as rigid as Boxster. Even so, the strength contributed by its tin top means it does not need the extra reinforcement that Boxster adopted to its door sills and floor.

The rest of the car is just the same as Boxster. However, compare with the old Cayman, the new car's aluminum-steel hybrid chassis is definitely a big improvement. It weighs 47 kg less yet delivers 40 percent higher torsional rigidity. Aluminum consists of 44 percent of the body-in-white, including front and rear structure, bonnet, engine lid and doors. The Cayman S with manual gearbox, for example, is 30 kg lighter than the old car. A 60 mm extension of wheelbase accompanied with wider tracks also enhance handling. Aerodynamic lift is reduced at both axles thanks to revised front lip spoiler and a wider rear spoiler.

Further improvement to ride and handling is introduced by a range of technologies previously reserved to 911, such as PASM adaptive damping, adaptive engine / transmission mounts, PTV brake-actuated torque vectoring (in addition to conventional LSD) and the controversial ZF electrical power steering.

Both engines are no larger than before – the base engine is even downsized from 2.9 to 2.7 liters – but they become more efficient and slightly more powerful, thanks to the use of direct injection, VarioCam-Plus (variable cam phasing and valve lift), on-demand cooling, automatic stop-start, brake energy regeneration and, in the case of PDK, a coasting function. Fuel economy is said to be improved by up to 15 percent.

Enough spec. How does it perform on the road?

As we have found on Boxster, its ride quality is markedly improved from the old car thanks to the stiffer chassis and adaptive damping. Its low-speed ride is as supple as luxury cars, so it is a sports car that you can truly enjoy driving on B-roads on daily basis. The cabin is also quieter, with less wind and road roar, but without filtering the beautiful exhaust note of the six-cylinder boxer. The engine might not be very powerful by modern standards, as Porsche once again deliberately limited it to avoid embarrassing the costlier 911 Carrera, but it is turbine-smooth and very enthusiastic to rev, while throttle response is much sharper than that of turbocharged motors. A 2-ton performance saloon or a 1.8-ton grand tourer might need at least 550 horsepower to mask its bulky feel, but the Cayman is so agile, its controls so precise and so feelsome that it doesn't need a lot of power to be enjoyable. In fact, with modest torque output, you are more encouraged to wind the engine harder and push the car harder in corners to extract more performance out of it. As a result, you get far more driving satisfaction than would have been possible on a more powerful machine.

The Cayman is one of the best sports cars regardless of money. Yes, it is even better to drive than the 911, because its chassis is better balanced, thanks to a weight distribution of 46:54. It is generally more neutral. The grip, traction, body control and brakes are more than a match to the 911, but when you push it really hard in corners, you will find it behave more linearly and friendly. The PTV intervenes more subtly to control its line as the car is inherently better balanced. Even the ZF electrical power steering feels a bit better tuned than its bigger brother's (perhaps due to further development), with a more natural weighting. Although it filters out the small information reflected from road surface textures, you will forget about it after a while and start appreciating its higher accuracy.

If you can stand the fact that this Porsche won't match a Corvette or Mustang in standing start acceleration, it should be the perfect choice. It is very comfortable and practical for everyday use yet it can deliver incredible fun to those really enjoy driving a sports car.

Verdict:

Published on 12 May 2014

Cayman GTS

The GTS is the new range topper of Cayman. Based on the 3.4-liter Cayman S, it gets a power boost of 15 hp and 7 lbft more torque thanks to a new exhaust and remapped ECU. Besides, it gets 20-inch wheels wearing lower profile tires, 10 mm lower and stiffer suspension, Sports Chrono Pack (which includes the sportier exhaust, adaptive engine/transmission mounts and, in case of PDK-equipped cars, electronic launch control). PASM adaptive damping is fitted as standard on the car, but in case you want a sportier handling at a small cost of ride comfort, Porsche will offer you with non-adjustable sport suspension, which is stiffer and lower again, at no extra cost. Admittedly, you can always get most of these things as options on Cayman S, but that would cost even more than the GTS yet without the extra power.

So how does the car drive on the road? Well, the extra 15 hp is not obvious without driving the lesser car back to back. It might be a little stronger at the very top end, but at lower rpm and the mid-range it doesn’t feel any difference. The Porsche naturally aspirated flat-six is not renowned for outright punch, but it is creamy smooth and enthusiastic for rev. Its linear power delivery matches the well balanced chassis and its throttle adjustable handling very well. The larger wheels seem to produce a tad more grip, and the sport suspension brings a slightly flatter cornering, but what makes the Cayman beautiful is not cornering prowess but its sharp response, accurate steering and tactile controls – no matter the steering, the throttle, braking or gearchange. It feels lighter and more fluent to slice through twisty roads than Jaguar F-type or any 911s. So while it is not the fastest in straight line or the hardest in cornering, it is the most fun to drive. This has always been the case for Cayman S. The GTS just brings things a little bit closer to perfection.

Verdict:

Published on 13 Mar 2015

Cayman GT4

We always say Cayman has the best chassis among all production Porsches but its power is deliberately held back to avoid threatening 911, which is the cash cow of Porsche. Think how great it would have been if it was given the 911 engines! Now this restriction is finally lifted, at least partially. The Cayman GT4 is a limited edition following the path of 911 GT3. Like the latter, it is developed and built by the motorsport department at Weissach. Some 2500 cars will be built in a 2-year production run to satisfy hardcore enthusiasts and amateur racers. Priced at £65,000, it is £10,000 more than Cayman GTS but almost £20,000 cheaper than the 911 Carrera S with which it shares the 3.8-liter engine. Isn’t it a bargain?

Officially, this 3.8-liter motor produces 385 horsepower and 310 pound-foot of torque, 15 hp and 14 lbft less the 911 engine. However, as its chief engineer admitted the rating is conservative, it is fair to say it has the same tune as the 911. Even if we take the official figures, it is still a good 45 horses and 30 pound-foot more than the 3.4-liter motor of Cayman GTS. Moreover, the GT4 gets this extra punch without any weight penalty – it is actually a bit lighter than the GTS, so it is able to translate all that power to performance. We are talking of 183 mph top speed and 4.2 seconds sprint from zero to sixty.

It could have accelerated even faster if it was fitted with PDK gearbox, but interestingly, the motorsport department rejected the idea and decided to stick with a conventional 6-speed manual. When the current 911 GT3 switched to PDK only, some hardcore customers were disappointed that they lost the joy of shifting gears. The Cayman GT4 answers their prayers and rewards them with one of the world’s best manual gearboxes. It has near-perfect gearshifts and clutch operation. The first 2 ratios might be a bit too tall for a sports car, but the 3.8-liter engine compensates with its extra torque. To sharpen throttle response, it employs a lighter dual-mass flywheel.

Not just the gearbox, from many areas we can see the Cayman GT4 values simplicity more than its bigger brothers. It doesn’t have the GT3’s active differential (a mechanical one is used instead) and 4-wheel steering. Its PASM adaptive damping offers 2 modes only – Normal and Sport, without Comfort. The chassis mods are by no means subtle, as can be seen from the 30 mm drop of ride height and 13 mm wider front track. In fact, its suspensions are vastly different from other Caymans and Boxsters. While it retains the all-strut layout, the front suspension is largely transplanted from 911 GT3, sharing the latter’s forged aluminum split wishbones, inverted aluminum dampers and anti-roll bars. Its camber and anti-roll bar settings are adjustable by tools, which is great news for track-days drivers. At the rear, there are new uprights, forged aluminum wishbones, height adjustable dampers and ball joints at the trailing arms. The rear strut towers are reinforced by a thicker cross-member.

Not just front suspension, the steering and brakes also come from the GT3. As the smaller, simpler car carries 90 kg less weight than the 911 GT3, those 380 mm brake discs (with 6-piston calipers up front and 4-pot at the rear) are simply over-specced. Even more so are the optional PCCB ceramic brakes, again come from the GT3. Wrapping around those huge pizzas are 20-inch forged alloy wheels and the widest rubbers ever seen on the Cayman – 245-section at the front and 295 at the rear. Unsurprisingly, these are track-oriented Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

Outside, the Cayman GT4 can be easily spotted by heavily modified aerodynamics, such as a deep air dam and a massive fixed rear spoiler hanging above a smaller one. It is the first Cayman achieving positive downforce both front and rear. At top speed, the total downforce is 100 kg, about the same as GT3.

On the Road

You might expect the cockpit to be stripped out like the last generation Cayman R. No, the GT4 keeps all the equipment and sound insulation. It only differs with Alcantara trims, a smaller diameter steering wheel (which mirrors that of 918 Spyder) and fabric door pulls (like Cayman R). You can opt for the 918 Spyder’s carbon-fiber bucket seats. That’s all. No matter which chairs, an excellent driving position is guaranteed.

Start driving the car and you will welcome the extra grunt of its larger engine. It’s still no match for many turbocharged rivals, say, BMW M4, neither does it has the crazy explosiveness of a GT3 running at 9000 rpm (it cuts fuel at 7800 rpm). However, the 6-cylinder boxer is still a joy to rev and to hear. Keep it above 4000 rpm and it feels pretty potent. As the car is light and agile, it doesn’t really need so much torque to feel fast. You do need to work harder on gearshift to keep the momentum, which is a big joy because the gearshift is short, precise and slick.

The chassis still overwhelms the powertrain though. Thanks to those wide Michelin Cup tires and big brakes, it generates outrageous grip and sensational stopping power. The suspension rides firmly, but not firm enough to spoil fun on regular roads (note: the Normal setting of PASM is designed for Nurburgring, which is known for varying surfaces). Unsurprisingly, with the lowered and stiffened suspension, body control is impeccable. The GT3 steering offers precision, weighting and communication as good as an electrical rack can dream of, even though it is not as tactile as the hydraulic setup of the old Cayman R. The rear-engined GT3 offers more traction thus accelerates quicker out of corners, but the mid-engined GT4 is inherently better balanced. Its strong front-end grip lets it turn in faithfully according to your wish. On normal roads, it is extremely difficult to slide the car either. On a track, you will be able to push it into a slight understeer, but then you can swing the tail out easily with throttle and counter steer. Thanks to the excellent balance as well as the Cup tires, the power slide is beautifully progressive. Even then it stays predictable and confident inspiring. Its chassis is so good!

This means the GT4 loses to GT3 only on power. However, costing just two-third the price, it is easily the poor man’s GT3 and the second best driver's car in Porsche's line-up. No wonder the majority of quota has already been snapped up.

Verdict: