RE: Cayman S

Tuesday 20th September 2005

Cayman S

Ian Kuah was one of the first journalists to get behind the wheel of a Porsche Cayman


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In the late 1980s, Porsche had three distinct model ranges with almost no parts in common. In the late 1980s, Porsche nearly went bankrupt. Today, Porsche has three distinct model ranges, two of which share a significant percentage of parts. Today, Porsche is the most profitable of all the German car companies.

While the Boxster and Carrera share 30 percent of their parts, including the front structure and some suspension components, the new Cayman is essentially a Boxster coupe using the roadster's floorpan and suspension in its entirety. A variant of the Boxster (Code 987), hence its internal code of 987 C7S, the Cayman is just 5kg heavier than the equivalent Boxster S.

The Cayman S, the first of this hatchback Boxster derivative to be launched, has slightly uprated springs and dampers with the option of PASM active damping. Together with the significant increase in torsional and bending resistance that comes with its closed bodyshell, this gives the Cayman even more driver focused dynamics.

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In the scheme of things, the 295bhp 3.4 litre Cayman S sits between the 280bhp 3.2 litre Boxster S and the 325bhp Carrera in power and price. Its market positioning is particularly interesting because the 911 has become larger, more powerful, faster, heavier and more expensive over the years, resulting in Porsche purists asking for a cheaper and more minimalist car to replace the earlier variants.

While the Cayman shares around 40 percent of its components with the Boxster, the bonnet, front wings, headlamps, doors and tail-lights being the most obvious, the swoopy roofline and rear wings are all new.

The same modern, high-quality interior we have become used to recently in the new Boxster is carried over, but aft of the seats, the Cayman augments its stowage capability with a further area above its engine bay for a briefcase. Include the rear boot for a combined 260 litres of storage space. Add the 150 litre front luggage bay to the equation and you have a generous total of 410 litres.

Performance

The 3.4 litre motor is a development of the Boxster S engine with larger barrels and pistons. In addition, it gets the latest Variocam variable valve timing system with electro-hydraulic tappets as used on the 997 Carrera. 295bhp at 6,250rpm and 251 lb ft of torque are enough to give this 1,340kg coupe a 0-62mph of 5.4 sec and a 171mph top speed.

Walter Rohrl recently managed an 8 min 11 sec lap of the Nurburgring Nordschliefe in a PASM suspension and PCCB brake equipped six-speed manual Cayman S. That is 7.0 sec faster than the Boxster S and a stunning 4.0 sec faster than the Carrera 3.6! Stand by for the best handling affordable Porsche ever. The Porsche specific N3 version of the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 is the tyre of choice on both the standard 18-inch and optional 19-inch alloys.

The Malmsheim test track - an old airfield now used for automobile testing and driver instruction - is close to both Zuffenhausen and Weissach, and we occasionally use it for limit handling tests with Mercedes and Porsche. After a morning of dry weather testing, by the time we got to Malmsheim in the afternoon, the rain had really set in and the runway was well and truly sodden.

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Some mid-engined cars can be very tricky, treacherous even in such conditions, but we quickly found that the Cayman is not one of them. Malmsheim has a high grip surface, but that does not change the handling balance of a car on the limit and beyond. Here, the relatively low polar moments of inertia of the Cayman and its progressive nature quickly became obvious.

Handling

With a 250 percent improvement in torsional rigidity and 200 percent improvement in bending resistance over the already superb handling Boxster, the Cayman is as rigid a platform as any high performance road car could wish for. Hatchback it may be, but we never detected a single squeak, rattle or any sign of flexing.

Structural rigidity is also the jumping off point for ride quality. Finding spring and damper rates that work almost all the time on a variety of road surfaces around the world is a tough call for any car manufacturer, let alone one that makes specialist sportscars. Although the Cayman S rides on 18 or optional 19-inch wheels and tyres, bump compliance is pretty well sorted.

Our test car did not have the PASM suspension option, which we know from experience with the Boxster provides a taut but supple primary ride in Comfort mode. Even so, the ride of the standard suspension was well judged, complementing the stiff structure with its ability to minimise the effect of short, sharp bumps at low speeds, yet provide iron-fisted control over the wheels when pushing on.

That stiff structure also means that when you point the Cayman's nose into a turn, its front wheels are even more eager to comply than the Boxsters. Adding finely honed suspension geometry to the mix delivers high precision and plenty of feedback from the power steering by the standards of modern sportscars. Another plus is that the steering does not load up much when you push hard into a bend.

The Cayman has a rock solid inherent turn-in stability. Where the Carrera, as good as it is now, always reminds you of its pendulous weight at the rear, the Cayman races for the apex of a bend like a big go-kart.

Thanks to the grippy surface and the excellent wet weather performance of the Michelins, drifting the Cayman at Malmsheim was tough, even with PSM disengaged. Initiating a turn at modest speeds to avoid the front-end washing out, we delivered a big dollop of throttle in second gear thinking this would easily push the tail out. However, despite the wet surface the big rear tyres showed more mechanical grip than the torque of the motor could overcome.

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Going in on a more open curve at speed in third gear gave us the momentum to finally break the tyres grip on the tarmac. At that point, balancing the car on steering and blipping the throttle to keep the slide going proved effective. It also showed us that the Cayman is user friendly on the limit once you know what it will do. This really is the best handling production Porsche ever.

Words & Pictures Copyright (c) Ian Kuah

Author
Discussion

WILL_T

Original Poster:

821 posts

241 months

Sunday 18th September 2005
quotequote all
I like it :D

Will

Glenn McMenamin

2,305 posts

237 months

Sunday 18th September 2005
quotequote all
Can someone tell me why if this car has more or less the same power output as the 1st 996 carrera (3.4), then why is it significantly slower to 60 mph ??

Wasn't the carrera around 5.0-5.1 ???


Looks better with 19" wheels IMHO, although may well handle better on 18's

Looks good in Speed yellow too..........


G.

tuteez

31 posts

223 months

Sunday 18th September 2005
quotequote all
This car is really really growing on me. I kind of wish it came out last year so I could pick up a nice used one. I've been saying to myself I would never buy a new car again, but this one is so well-priced I'm very tempted to get on a list somewhere.....

GasBlaster

27,427 posts

278 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
Like it, love it, want more of it.

Tegis

53 posts

233 months

Monday 19th September 2005
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Glenn McMenamin said:
Can someone tell me why if this car has more or less the same power output as the 1st 996 carrera (3.4), then why is it significantly slower to 60 mph ??

Wasn't the carrera around 5.0-5.1 ???


Looks better with 19" wheels IMHO, although may well handle better on 18's

Looks good in Speed yellow too..........


G.


Becouse the 911 have more weight over the rear wheels is the simple answer on your question

PhantomPH

4,043 posts

224 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
Looks a lot less ugly in theese pics. All the teaser images I have seen so far just made the thing look awful!

Hopefully even nicer in the metal.

P~

lap_time

339 posts

226 months

Monday 19th September 2005
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I loooooove it!!! Very nice. Saw the CG shots of the Panamera, and i think it looks pretty good, actually. Oh, and am I the only one who thinks the roofline of the Cayman is a bit 360-esque, especially in yellow?

bumcrack

977 posts

264 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
Nice review,

Test drove a boxster S and wasn't impressed with the straight line speed, so discounted it and decided to stick with my 911 (3.4) for the time being. The Cayman has very similar in gear times as my 911.
Information from.www.germancarfans.com/news.cfm/newsid/2050913.009/page/1/lang/eng/porsche/1.html

The engine thus punches out 295 horsepower and 250 foot-pounds of torque, propelling the Cayman S from a standing start to 60 miles per hour (96 km/h) in just 5.1 seconds. The car reaches 99 mph (160 km/h) in a mere 11.7 seconds (11 second for the 911) and gets to 124 mph (200 km/h) in 18.6 seconds (17.9 seconds for the 911). The car eclipses the quarter-mile sprint in 13.6 seconds and achieves a top speed on the test track of nearly 171 mph (275 km/h).
The engine also is strong enough to provide power even to what might be considered “lazier” drivers. For example, while cruising in fifth gear at 50 mph (80 km/h), a driver who wants to make a passing manoeuvre can simply push down on the gas pedal and the Cayman S responds by sprinting to 75 mph (125 km/h) in just 6.6 seconds.

The in gear time is actually better than the 3.4, the 911 taking 7.2 seconds to go from 80 KPH to 125KPH in 5 th, while the Cayman takes less with a time of 6.6 seconds.
Glad I’ve got one on order now, wasn’t sure if it would feel a bit flat after the 911.

K-ManS

2 posts

222 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
The Cayman S is faster than the old 3.4L 996, I know because my 2005 Boxster S is faster straight line than a 1999 3.4L 996 owned by a buddy of mine. The Cayman S will be faster than my Boxster S. The Cayman S is also lighter than the Boxster S, not heavier.

If you need more Cayman info visit the Cayman Club
www.caymanclub.net

Enjoy!

fulham911club

2,046 posts

241 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
K-ManS said:
The Cayman S is faster than the old 3.4L 996, I know because my 2005 Boxster S is faster straight line than a 1999 3.4L 996 owned by a buddy of mine. The Cayman S will be faster than my Boxster S. The Cayman S is also lighter than the Boxster S, not heavier.

If you need more Cayman info visit the Cayman Club
www.caymanclub.net

Enjoy!


Phew, glad I've got a 3.6 so I can play a game of "mine's bigger than yours and still win" !! But the fact will remain with this thing ... the name. Truly dreadful. And bound to be called Gaymans.

raftom

1,196 posts

260 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
fulham911club said:
Phew, glad I've got a 3.6 so I can play a game of "mine's bigger than yours and still win" !! But the fact will remain with this thing ... the name. Truly dreadful. And bound to be called Gaymans.
I'm still trying to figure herr Hans and Fritz in the Porsche AG marketing brainstorm:
- Vat about Gayman?
- Ya, das sound gutt!

bumcrack

977 posts

264 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
K-ManS said:
The Cayman S is faster than the old 3.4L 996, I know because my 2005 Boxster S is faster straight line than a 1999 3.4L 996 owned by a buddy of mine. The Cayman S will be faster than my Boxster S. The Cayman S is also lighter than the Boxster S, not heavier.

If you need more Cayman info visit the Cayman Club
www.caymanclub.net

Enjoy!


Must be something wrong with your mates car, according to Porsche figures the 3.4 is faster at the top end than the Boxster s, the Boxster felt slow to me.

madou

366 posts

250 months

Monday 19th September 2005
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K-ManS said:

www.caymanclub.net

Enjoy!


Thank you, much safer to use this link than risk a typing error

roshambo

580 posts

246 months

Monday 19th September 2005
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My 3.4 996 was a lot faster than my Boxster S.

Box S always felt like it needed more power.

Ro.

bumcrack

977 posts

264 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
I can honestly say I don't care about the name, if I was still at junior school and some bigger boys said it, it could hurt my feeling and make me cry, boo-hoo.
I'm quite happy to have best handling Porsche (bar the GT) and a similar power to my 3.4 911. Best of both worlds to me.

DanH

12,287 posts

259 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all

Yuck, it looks vile in that yellow. Also the alloys look lost in those wheel arches, and the way the rear tapers upwards on the underside makes it look like an afterthough.

Quite like the line of the rear lights in profile, but otherwise it doesn't do much for me.

4WD

2,289 posts

230 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
Boxter owners already get ribbed about driving girly convertables. Now they're going to call this a gayman. Oh dear.

Seriously, I think the new boxters way better. Why give up the summer soft top option?

bumcrack

977 posts

264 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
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4WD said:
Boxter owners already get ribbed about driving girly convertables. Now they're going to call this a gayman. Oh dear.

Seriously, I think the new boxters way better. Why give up the summer soft top option?


According to the press it's a bit more than a Boxster with a fixed roof

Don

28,377 posts

283 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
I can't wait to see what happens when Mr Ruf gets hold of one of these.

GT3 lump in that and it will fly.

Aaaand go round corners!

kamal996

4,225 posts

243 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
Oh Cr*p..I had placed a very early letter of intent with my local OPC and then withdrew it when I saw the teaser pics-These pics really make the car look gorgeous but I've lost my place in the queue!