Cayman RS Ready To Blast In - From: Auto Express

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="365" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Cayman RS Ready To Blast In </td> </tr> <tr> <td> inimum weight, maximum thrills - that's the philosophy behind what promises to be one of the most thrilling cars Porsche has ever built. The mag's s spies caught a high-performance version of the recently unveiled Cayman undergoing testing around the Nürburgring circuit in Germany. And the mag's exclusive main picture gives the world its first glimpse of the hot new RS variant in showroom-ready form. Complete with trademark white paintwork - along with evocative red side decals and alloy wheels - the stripped-out newcomer will fit into the company's line-up as an understudy to the stunning 911 GT3 RS. As with that model, the Cayman RS won't use a turbocharged powerplant. Instead, it will rely on a tuned version of the 3.4-litre six-cylinder 295bhp unit found in the existing S variant. Likely to produce around 340bhp, the car will complete the benchmark sprint from 0-60mph in less than five seconds. That will give the Porsche all the performance it needs to take on the fastest version of the forthcoming BMW Z4 Coupé, which is scheduled to go on sale before the end of next year. With all unnecessary trim removed from the cabin and special racing bucket seats, the extreme variant of Porsche's smallest hard-top will sacrifice comfort for performance. A stiffer suspension set-up and uprated ceramic brakes will make the hot Cayman among the best drivers' cars around. Porsche officials remain tight-lipped over future variants of the new car, but these spy shots are all the proof you need that the RS is on the way. And our sources in Germany have hinted that the machine could be on sale as early as 2007. For those looking to buy at the other end of the scale, an entry-level, lower-powered car is also likely to join the range in the future. Although exact details and prices are still top secret, bosses at the Stuttgart company are conscious of avoiding overlap with the existing Boxster, Cayman and 911 line-ups. As a result, the RS will probably be produced in small numbers so as not to have any impact on sales of the larger 911.<br clear="all" /><span class="bodycopybold">Chris Thorp[/quote] </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Unless this is a planned homologation for some racing series what purpose does a 500-1000 unit production run of a $90-100K USD Cayman RS serve?? The people clamoring for this car all over the internet boards will find a 100,000 reasons not to buy this car because what they really want is the RS version for the price of the S. Avoid overlap? The Cayman RS has the potential to engulf the entire naturally aspirated 997 model line. If Porsche intends to race the Cayman there is some logic to this model, otherwise they risk overshadowing their flagship model for very little financial gain. Although it makes for energetic copy, I'll believe it when Porsche makes it official.

This hints at Porsches future. Porsche doesn't currently support any factory racing for production cars for any car but the GT1 engine based 911's (GT3). This is a huge move for Porsche and the first move away from the 911. Personally, I wonder why Porsche didn't just call the Cayman the 'New 911' give it the current Carrera S motor and be done with it. As long as they called it a 911 it probably would have been good enough for most.

I don't see the mentioned photos - is it just me?

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Thanks!

sorry to pour cold water over this thread, but this pics are old news, thay have been around for ages. On a plus note we have a letter of intent to purchase the Cayman RS, local OPC have informed us that this RS is on the cards for late 06 or early 07 cheers

Who is OPC? I thought the general concensus was this picture was photoshop produced.

OPS is the uk dealer network and rather originaly stands for Official Porsche Centre. Not very exciting, I know. Yes it is photoshopped, and will probably look nothing like that, but the info of release in late 06 early 07 seems pretty consistent with other reports. Jack

Who among us would trade their S for an RS? I don't know, since I will be using it on the street, I rather like plush amenites... I don't really want a roll cage and a fire extingusherin mydaily driver!

I definitely will, if I don't just forgo the S altogether. There have been a couple real world tests now and I'm not liking the 12 second 0-100 times (slower than my E46 M3). I would be moving from my current track car which is an Elise, whose only real downside is top end acceleration. Most of the tracks I frequent require a car to accelerate well from about 60 to 140 which the Elise lacks, but it looks like the S might as well.

The November Excellence article on the 924GTS should be read in the context of the current Cayman RS speculation. Those 924 models were built for racing homologation with all the goodies and the factory was unable to sell them all.

Background: <h2 class="Headline">Car News briefs: Porsche considering Clubsport Boxster coupe.</h2> <h5 class="Red"></h5> <div class="Byline">AUTOWEEK </div> <div class="Date"><span class="FieldLabel">Posted Date: [/quote]12/1/04</div> <div class="Body"> Boxster coupe coup The coupe version of Porsche’s entry-level Boxster roadster is set for launch next year as the Boxster GTS,but the German automaker is already considering a lightweight Clubsport version of the fixed-roof sports car. Tentatively planned for 2006, the stripped two-door Boxster GTS Clubsport (sans air conditioning, audio system and sound deadening) may serve as the basis for an extension of Porsche’s motorsport activities, say sources in Zuffenhausen. Other changes include a more free-flowing exhaust to sharpen throttle response, a higher redline, and a lower final-drive ratio for improved off-the-line acceleration. Suspension changes have already netted lateral acceleration figures of up to 1.2 g , says our Porsche source. </div>

I will have to take the wait and see attitude. Using my S as a daily driver, not sure I would be ready for all the track equipment since the roads aren't the best in my neck of the woods.