Porsche Cayman S The Truth About Cars
13 January 2006
By
Robert Farago
Sweet, but not quite an obscure object of irresistable desire.
If Porsche's new Boxster hardtop is a misspelled caiman, its 911 Carrera is a crocodile. While the two species share a common ancestor, put them in the same territory and one of them will end-up lunch. Maybe that’s why Porsche rigged the fight; when you make a living selling Carreras, you don’t want Caymans cannibalizing their cousins. Well guess what? Evolution will not, CAN not be denied. One blast around the block in a Cayman S and its future alpha status is inescapable. But let’s drop this discussion of internecine conflict for a moment and consider the Cayman on its own merits.
Physically, it’s no stunner. Yes, the Cayman’s muscular fastback and sculpted haunches are exquisite: a deeply alluring shape that finally eliminates the Boxster’s insipid push-me, pull-you design. But the Cayman's bootylicious butt draws new attention to the exceedingly bland Porsche family nose. Embedded fog lights may separate the model from its stablemates, but they do nothing to lift the miasma of mediocrity that has bedeviled the Boxster's face since birth. The Cayman’s side air intakes are another distraction, lacking in both shape and scale. The German/Finnish roadster is also more color-sensitive than Martha Stewart; in anything other than black, the Cayman looks like a small and frivolous sports car souffle. Which it bloody well isn’t.
The Cayman's Boxster twin: a missed branding opportunity.
It’s funny how a roof adds gravitas to an interior. For one thing, the Boxster’s Chicklet-sized buttons don’t seem quite so tiny. For another, the containment instills a profound (if subconscious) feeling of safety, increasing the overall sense purpose. Although there’s nothing particularly wrong with the Boxster's switchgear or its cabin's fit and finish, Porsche’s decision not to alter anything in their 'not a Boxster hardtop' is indefensible. Where's the Cayman-specific shift knob, steering wheel or pedals? Porsche buyers’ brains are wired for that kind of action.
And for driving fast. If you want to boldly go where police chase cameras yearn to record, the Cayman’s an ideal whip. It’s the laser-sighted Glock of sports cars: a perfectly balanced weapon offering infinite accuracy and virtually limitless stopping power. The ammunition provided is controversial-- the 295hp 3.4-liter six nestling in the Cayman S’ belly could just as easily be the Carrera S’ 350hp 3.8-liter mill-- but there’s no doubt that Porsche's two-plus-nothing tin top has enough shove to hunt with the big dogs, and enough poise to leave them panting by the side of the road. Lest we forget, the Boxster S spanked the Enzo through Road and Track’s slalom course. The Cayman S is both stiffer AND faster than a Boxster.
Bland family nose now apparent. Embedded fogs no help.
Out in the real world, the Cayman S drives with surefooted chuckability. At slow speeds, the car's fingertip steering, flyweight clutch and slow (though progressive) throttle fools you into thinking it's a bit dim-witted. As you pile on the revs, the Cayman's controls suddenly synergize: the steering gains heft, the six-speed snicks home like a spring-loaded knife and the engine switches into lunge mode. To get the best of the whipper-snapper's powerplant, you have to keep the revs above 4000rpm-- which is a bit like saying you have to drink a glass of '59 Chateau LaTour to enjoy it. The noise blatting from the cojoined pipes is cargasmic: raw, animal, aggressive.
The first time you chuck the latter day lil’ bastard into a corner its superiority to big brother 911 is immediately apparent. The Cayman's mid-engine layout and light weight make it far more precise going into a turn, more stable through the apex and more benign coming out (C4 and Turbo excepted). Thanks to Porsche's decision to put the 911 into the horsepower protection program, the Cayman can’t match the Carrera’s post-corner blastitude. But the Cayman’s inherent balance lets you carry more speed into the corner. Ultimately, all the [bigger-engined] Carrera variants are faster than a Cayman S. Even so, they can’t touch the Cayman S-- or the Boxster S-- for pedal-to-the-metal fun. What’s more, with PSM (Porsche Stability Management) in Sport, Frau Nanny allows a whiff of drift. Wikkid.
Silver on silver good, but not as good as black on blacktop.
Hey kid. Ever dance with the redline in the pale moonlight?
Cayman drivers will. And it won’t be enough. The truth is, the Cayman S lacks the low end grunt, the mad cackle motorvation it needs to complete its performance matrix and achieve the greatness it deserves. If Porsche put a bunch more whoa Nellie underfoot, the Cayman S would wipe the floor with all but the mightiest 911. In fact, the Cayman S is nothing less than a detuned supercar. What’s the point of that? Protecting Carrera sales? Not to coin a phrase, that’s a croc. This is the German sports car company that constantly harps-on about the importance of evolution. Ironically enough, Porsche will eventually realize you can’t keep a good reptile down. The Cayman will force the 911 to adapt or die and, in the process, bite the hand that feeds.
Porsche Cayman S
Design
Four Stars
Performance
Four Stars
Ride
Five Stars
Handling
Five Stars
Desirability
Four Stars
Model Tested:
Cayman S
Curb Weight: 3100 lbs.
Engine: 3.4-liter flat-6, aluminum block and heads
Horsepower: 295hp @ 6250 rpm
Torque: 250 ft. lbs. @ 4400 - 6000 rpm
Drive Type: rear wheel drive
0 to 60: 5.1 secs.
1/4 Mile: 13.4 sec @ 105 mph
Price as Tested: $69,910
Top Speed: 171 mph
Towing Capacity: N/A
MPG: 15/30
Farago is sure getting mileage out of his Cayman test. More power to him.
I think it is funny he says it is an exotic supercar that has been restricted and what fun is that? If the Cayman had premiered 20 years ago it would have been one of the top supercars of all time at that time, my how our perspectives change as to what is truly 'super'. In Reality the Cayman is more car than 99% of the owners will ever know or be able to get out of it and that's fine too. We don't all have the pocket change for a McLaren F1 when the mood strikes us...
Putting the 911 in the 'Horsepower Protection Program' , I like that.
How often has a car company slightlyexagerated the performance of a new model? Answer: often.
How often has a car company tried to hide the performance attributes of a new model? Answer: Never. That would be what I call...Retrograde Inversion...(upside down and backwards). That business behavior would not be one often discussed at Business Schools.
Porsche will understand this all to soon.
Cheers
