2009 Porsche Cayman S
Drug Money
Over at Stuttgart we suspect they can cure all the afflictions of our modern world…stress, greed, loneliness…even ‘not another special edition syndrome…’ but releasing one soul plugging Porsche-shaped Super pill all at once would never have made them the most profitable manufacturer in the galaxy.
Actually since this whole credit crunch thing Porsche have suffered a bit in sales so could releasing another model be a cunning way of conning us out of our pensions for the sake of a few more bhp and an Alacantra hide? Quite possibly but you’ve got to admire the nerve of it. They know the Cayman S couldn’t be any slicker if you covered it in baby oil and got the Hoff to sit in it. For that matter the Cayman S might as well be a wetsuit as nothing’s going to fit you as well and yet still dangle you above the jaws of the elements. Other cars will be prettier (read between the lines Nissan 350Z) and there are some that have radical acceleration and brakes that would squeeze a rhinosauraus in to sausage dog between their calipers (just try and up stage that BMW Z4 M) but when it comes to tranquilising you in to a state of oneness with the road, a Cayman S has a way of silently robbing you of any substitute you’ve ever known.
Well at least it did last time we checked and as of yet we haven’t managed to get our hands on the up and coming version but we can tell you this; it packs away 303bhp in that tuned 3.4-litre flat six, its interior finally looks like that of a £50,000 sports car and owners of the 911 GT3 RS might get a bit muddled if you park yours by its side. Let’s dissect that last one for a moment because surely anyone who’s forked out nearly £95,000 for a GT3 RS is going to get a bit Billy Goats Gruff about their turf being crossed. Or will they? Because to have spent all that money they have to have their own keys to the front gates of the Nurburgring, even a sleeping bag in the hospitality suite and if that is their home turf no Cayman S stands a whisker of a chance.
But out on the road, it is usually the bigger fish; the one hustling all the VW GTi’s and Ford Focus RS’s. The more tightly sprung the corners, the more the Cayman S is likely to make a clean get away and the more you drive it, the more you will succumb to the depths it wants to be driven at. PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) now comes as standard so you’ll be 10mm closer to the ground and have a 5mm wider track. Not only do the wheel spacers make the Sport version look more authoritative in stance, it also fills the space between the wheel and the fender thus stabilizing the car better and allowing it to make the most of its performance.
Ok so we’re convinced it will handle fantastically and we know it can cope with a higher strain of power but what about the odd rattle that was plaguing its otherwise solid reputation for quality? Well, Stuttgart certainly have their ear to the ground when it comes to what their customers are saying about them, it hasn’t made any difference with the 2 year warranty mind but they are being more diligent with the smaller details on their cars.
We touched on the interior earlier which has also seen a lick of luxury with its new Sports chrono package, Alcantara leather trim for the chunky GT3 inspired steering wheel and gearstick and the seats are finished with this delicate hide too. For the exterior you’ve got a choice of very vibrant colours, those being green, orange, yellow and red. You can have a more conservative black at no extra cost but if you’re going to be boring enough to choose silver they’ll be billing you. Shame because the contrast of silver paint with those 19” black wheels looks rather good, the wing mirrors are also black and a sports exhaust has been thrown in for good measure.
FOR: The engine so close it can massage your shoulders while you drive, brilliant handling made even better and it even looks like the cracker it is!
AGAINST: Only 2 years warranty, options ridiculously expensive, no rear seats, can’t pose with the top down.
VERDICT: It used to be a case of supplying the demand for the ultimate sports car, now it’s a case of clever packaging and shrewd economics. It may have been made for all the wrong reasons but as long as it hits the right spots who are we to argue?
SPEC:
ENGINE: 3.4-litre Flat six
POWER: 303bhp
0-62mph (sec): 4.8
TOP SPEED: 171
PRICE: £49,890
RIVALS: BMW Z4M, Nissan 350Z, Mercedes Benz SLK 55