Porsche Cayman S Sport Car
All right, you've seen the slightly premature double-page advertisement for the Porsche Cayman S Sport in last month's evo. Truth is, it's not prepared to go on sale yet. So here's the slightly premature version of the automobile itself.
Cynics can read what they will into this, but Porsche GB has made its very own ‘preview’ S Sport, seemingly by loading up a gatling gun with all the available performance-orientated options and spraying them at a regular Cayman S. The resulting car even gets the Sport-aping painted wheels and name decal side stripes.
Now, as was clear from the ad itself, there are a handful of key differences between the S and the S Sport. In fact, this is probably it for stringing out the appeal of the current generation car as the new one appears next year. Nonetheless, the fastest and sportiest Cayman to date will get 299bhp instead of 291, suspension lowered by 10mm and, for the first time as standard on a Cayman, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM). It all helps lift the price to £49,890, some £5640 more than the Cayman S. But, as the ad suggests, £50K is just the starting point and can be elevated ‘to the limits you set’.
Porsche GB has clearly taken this philosophy to heart with its pseudo-Sport. Naturally, it doesn’t get the 299bhp engine or 10mm drop (if these were options, there’d be no scope for a special model) but it does have the Sport’s painted 19in SportDesign wheels, PASM and aero bodykit. It also has (deep breath) full leather, ceramic-composite brakes, bucket seats, red seat belts, all-red tail lights, a sports exhaust system, chrome finished stainless steel tailpipes, Sport Chrono Package Plus, Porsche Communication Management (PCM), the telephone module for PCM, a colour-coordinated name badge on the rear and floor mats.
Not exactly the lightweight version, then. And, to be frank, it looks a bit embarrassing. Surprising how much more in-yer-face white and red is than orange and black. A go-faster livery and then some. It cuts to the core of the Cayman conundrum: just how far can you push the entry-level Porsche – at a fundamental level, the best car the company makes – before it starts snagging the coat tails of the iconic 911? It simply shouldn’t happen. The deal is that Boxster and hardtop sibling Cayman can never be more than sidekicks, with power and straight-line performance deliberately held back to flatter the older and more famous model.
And with the 911 starting at £63,070, you’d have to be certifiable to shell out £63,779 for Porsche GB’s Sport wannabe, but it does demonstrate, probably as intended, that the real thing should have rather more going for it than mere ‘run-out model’ status. As ever with the Cayman, it’s the chassis’ agility and unerring fluency that makes the deepest and most lasting impression, and here it’s never been better. There’s more grip, bite and helm acuity, but no obvious reduction in the suspension’s wonderful suppleness. More than that, the way the steering marries pure feel with exactly the right amount of kickback is something not even the 911 can better these days. Body motions are brilliantly controlled, traction almost unfathomably good. The chassis is particularly efficient at communicating small but critical dynamic cues, making it easy to get a feel for the point of balance. This Cayman tells you precisely how hard you can go.
And it keeps telling you things – about the road, about how well you’re driving – long after the initial rush of acquaintance has faded. Proof, if it were needed, that performance isn’t everything. That said, the gulf between what’s provided and what the chassis craves is impossible to ignore. Charismatic as the Cayman’s water-cooled 3.4-litre boxer engine is, it lacks the slam of the 911’s larger unit, and the way it leaves you wanting more (quite a lot more, actually) is a chronic condition. It’s unlikely another 8bhp is going to fill the void, but it will help. One thing’s for sure: keep a lid on the options, and £49,890 will undoubtedly be a little easier to swallow than £64K.
Porsche Cayman S Sport Video
Cynics can read what they will into this, but Porsche GB has made its very own ‘preview’ S Sport, seemingly by loading up a gatling gun with all the available performance-orientated options and spraying them at a regular Cayman S. The resulting car even gets the Sport-aping painted wheels and name decal side stripes.
Now, as was clear from the ad itself, there are a handful of key differences between the S and the S Sport. In fact, this is probably it for stringing out the appeal of the current generation car as the new one appears next year. Nonetheless, the fastest and sportiest Cayman to date will get 299bhp instead of 291, suspension lowered by 10mm and, for the first time as standard on a Cayman, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM). It all helps lift the price to £49,890, some £5640 more than the Cayman S. But, as the ad suggests, £50K is just the starting point and can be elevated ‘to the limits you set’.
Porsche GB has clearly taken this philosophy to heart with its pseudo-Sport. Naturally, it doesn’t get the 299bhp engine or 10mm drop (if these were options, there’d be no scope for a special model) but it does have the Sport’s painted 19in SportDesign wheels, PASM and aero bodykit. It also has (deep breath) full leather, ceramic-composite brakes, bucket seats, red seat belts, all-red tail lights, a sports exhaust system, chrome finished stainless steel tailpipes, Sport Chrono Package Plus, Porsche Communication Management (PCM), the telephone module for PCM, a colour-coordinated name badge on the rear and floor mats.
Not exactly the lightweight version, then. And, to be frank, it looks a bit embarrassing. Surprising how much more in-yer-face white and red is than orange and black. A go-faster livery and then some. It cuts to the core of the Cayman conundrum: just how far can you push the entry-level Porsche – at a fundamental level, the best car the company makes – before it starts snagging the coat tails of the iconic 911? It simply shouldn’t happen. The deal is that Boxster and hardtop sibling Cayman can never be more than sidekicks, with power and straight-line performance deliberately held back to flatter the older and more famous model.
And with the 911 starting at £63,070, you’d have to be certifiable to shell out £63,779 for Porsche GB’s Sport wannabe, but it does demonstrate, probably as intended, that the real thing should have rather more going for it than mere ‘run-out model’ status. As ever with the Cayman, it’s the chassis’ agility and unerring fluency that makes the deepest and most lasting impression, and here it’s never been better. There’s more grip, bite and helm acuity, but no obvious reduction in the suspension’s wonderful suppleness. More than that, the way the steering marries pure feel with exactly the right amount of kickback is something not even the 911 can better these days. Body motions are brilliantly controlled, traction almost unfathomably good. The chassis is particularly efficient at communicating small but critical dynamic cues, making it easy to get a feel for the point of balance. This Cayman tells you precisely how hard you can go.
And it keeps telling you things – about the road, about how well you’re driving – long after the initial rush of acquaintance has faded. Proof, if it were needed, that performance isn’t everything. That said, the gulf between what’s provided and what the chassis craves is impossible to ignore. Charismatic as the Cayman’s water-cooled 3.4-litre boxer engine is, it lacks the slam of the 911’s larger unit, and the way it leaves you wanting more (quite a lot more, actually) is a chronic condition. It’s unlikely another 8bhp is going to fill the void, but it will help. One thing’s for sure: keep a lid on the options, and £49,890 will undoubtedly be a little easier to swallow than £64K.
Porsche Cayman S Sport Video
No comments:
Post a Comment