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Crocodile rocks - Porsche Cayman
SUNDAY , 11 DECEMBER 2005
The fourth model line from Porsche bears the name of a South American alligator, and slots into the range as a stepping-stone between the Boxster and 911. NZ Autocar's Kyle Cassidy travels to Italy and finds it combines some of the best attributes of both existing Porsches. </div>
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You could call Porsche's new Cayman sports-coupe Boxster with a roof, a car bred by the suits in the marketing department rather than the engineers at Porsche. Sceptical you may be about the Cayman, but we can now confirm that it is a cracking good sports car for the money.
The third sports-car model from Porsche fits neatly between the Boxster and the 911 on power, performance and price. At $155,000 in standard trim in New Zealand, it's listed just $15K above Boxster S, but shows the 911 up for asking a $45K premium.
The Boxster is a sharp tool for slicing through the countryside but the Cayman is better. As it's more powerful, there's a harder edge to its driver appeal, with real midrange urge, laser-precise steering and a fabulously rigid platform for everything to work from.
The Cayman may not have the classic form of the 911, but as with Keith Richards, it's not the looks that count. And while Keith performs best on lines of the white stuff, the Cayman lives for a diet of curved blacktop.
Based on the Boxster, the layout is ideal: mid-engined, rear-wheel drive, and with the wheels pushed out to the corners. As far as parts-sharing goes, Porsche claims 20 per cent are Cayman-specific, 51 per cent are in common with the 911, and 29 per cent are carried over from the Boxster, including the suspension.
The dampers are firmer all round and the rear springs stiffer too, while the front suspension setup has been modified to increase Cayman's cornering talents yet it still rides well. The steering is super-responsive, informs like the BBC, and is perfectly weighted. The chassis communicates its intentions superbly: should the tail start to wag, it's all beautifully signalled and easy to bail up. The front-end sticks with tenacity, but even the Cayman has its limits, and will push wide when you try too hard. But when this occurs, or conditions unstick the Cayman, the excellent Porsche Stability Management system is there to sort things.
The engine is a development of the 3.2 litre Boxster S motor but also gains the cylinder head of the 911. The results see 217kW at 6250rpm and 340Nm from 4400 through to 6000rpm, both figures tuned to shade the Boxster but leave the 911 rosy in the sun. The car maker reckons the 1340kg Cayman S is good for 5.4 seconds over the 0-100km/h sprint. Able to spin out to 7300rpm, the engine produces the soundtrack of the year.
The six-speed gearbox is sourced from the Boxster S and the five-speed tiptronic is also available - but you wouldn't, would you? The standard alloys are 18-inchers but these look strangely inappropriate under the arches. Perhaps it's a cunning ploy to get people to plump for the seriously sexy five-spoke 19s.
Behind the wheels sit the impressive brake package we've come to expect from Porsche. They work a treat and fade isn't a concern. If you need better picks, you can pay the man for the ceramic set-up, which sports bigger discs and six-piston callipers on the front - painted yellow, so the neighbours will know. This is a sports car for everyday use however.
The interior is pure Boxster and is snug without being tight while the engine cover doubles as a handy storage shelf and helps increase total luggage capacity to 410 litres. It has the same twin boot arrangement as Boxster.
The Cayman is ultimately a more macho alternative to the 911 than the Boxster is. But the problem itself will never entirely go away: in spirit and passion, nothing compares to the 911, though Cayman makes a solid case in terms of driver appeal.
It's better balanced and more nimble, and of course, cheaper but will always have to live in the 911's shadow. But just five minutes behind the wheel on twisting back roads should convince buyers that the Cayman is a real Porsche with performance and handling to foot it with the best, including its much-hallowed big brother.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3508455a2021,00.html
