When Porsche facelifted their Cayman and Boxster to the 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster, the atmospheric 6-cylinders were replaced by...
turbocharged 4-cylinders. Clearly, a lot of people were saddened by that news, because the atmospheric 6-cylinders went on to make a comeback.
It all started with the quite extreme 718 Spyder and the Cayman GT4, after which the GTS 4.0-versions followed. Those also had the...
atmospheric 6-cylinder-engines. Now however, they're available with the famous PDK-gearbox. All the more reasons to drive it with the roof...
down in the middle of december.
And since the PDK-gearbox is the reason we make this video, I'm going to start off with it as well. If you pay an additional €3.438, you'll get...
a double clutch automatic gearbox with flappy paddles behind the steering wheel. Also, you get an extra gear, which brings the total to...
seven, you get 10 additional Nm of torque, 30 additional kg mass, a lower 0-100 km/h-time and a slightly lower top speed.
As you can probably tell, the differences are tiny. And you'll notice them the least in the Boxster, if you ask me.
In the Boxster, it's all about personal preference. A lot of people, myself included, love driving on twisty roads like this.
Especially if they're able to control the gears themselves, putting it in the right gear at the exact right time.
And after that, they'll think to themselves 'I did that all by myself, without any help'. And they will be proud of that. However,
I can understand if you don't have that. And because this PDK is so sharp, especially in the Sport-mode,
and you start using the flappy paddles, it will always react immediately. If you put it in Sport Plus even, the gears are even more direct.
That's a lot of fun as well.
Also, it's much easier to use if you're just driving around town. Setting off is easier as well, the PDK makes it feel less shocky.
It's just a really good automatic gearbox. It's much more comfortable, it's easier to use because you don't have to operate a heavy clutch,
it's a really good machine. There's only one thing wrong with it, but that goes for the manual gearbox as well.
The final gear is way too long. You can easily do 120 km/h in second gear, and that's too bad. That's because this 4.0-litre flat-six...
needs the revs. You really need to get above 5.000 RPM to feel you're driving with 400 horsepower.
But that's very difficult. In very tight corners, you really have to get back to first gear, otherwise you won't feel the push in your back you'd...
expect from a car which has 400 horsepower hidden around somewhere. I know I'm really nitpicking on one little thing,
but it's a very annoying little thing. It's like looking at the Mona Lisa, but it's lit by a stroboscope. It's still a masterpiece,
but the whole experience isn't what you had hoped from it. And I'm calling this a masterpiece, because this really captures the essence of...
what a perfect roadster has to be. It's a compact car and it's relatively light with only 1.450 kg. With the PDK-gearbox that is.
All of the mass is inbetween the axles. There's the flat-six in the back, which is incredibly alert. If you get it beyond 5.000 RPM, it's incredibly...
fast and it sounds just heavenly. I can't describe it with anything else. The power build-up is beautifully linear as well. It's quick and you really...
get the double sensation with the roof down. It's just lovely. And then there's the chassis. I already mentioned it's...
not too heavy, it has a low centre of gravity, it feels compact, it's easy to position, but the steering also gives you a lot of feedback.
And right now, I'm driving on a wet, cold road on winter tires. So I can't have less grip, in realistic circumstances.
But you can immediately feel there isn't any grip to be found on the road. You can feel that in the steering, in the brake pedal,
so you immediately have the trust. That means you can have a lot of fun throwing it around, even in these circumstances.
If you've got a pocket of space, it immediately feels safe. It offers so much grip, so much precision. You really have to try to get it...
to misbehave. The base of this car is still as good as it was in 2013, when I was still a junior car journalist.
It was a Cayman back then, and it was my first sports car. I was really scared that I was too positive, that it wasn't as good as I said it was.
However, it was, is and will be such a great sports car.
So besides the long final gear, there's only one big drawback. Because of the added taxes, this car will cost you €130.000.
And that's a real shame. Because if we're talking about the purest or greatest roadster I've ever driven...
Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.