Steve Sutcliffe: Before I started driving this car about an hour ago, I wasn't actually sure whether Porsche
were capable of producing a better drivers' car than the old Cayman. I was completely
wrong, because this car, the new Cayman S, is absolutely mind-bogglingly brilliant.
This is one of the reasons why:
Pretty much everything except the engines are absolutely brand, spanking new as well: New chassis, new steering, new brakes, new body which is
40% stiffer than the old car but 30 kilograms lighter than the old car. You get 5 horsepower
more in this, the Cayman S, which means you get 320 in total.
That might not sound like a huge amount of power nowadays, but in a car that's this light,
this stiff, and this well-sorted, it's all you need. It's more than you need.
This particular one's got a whole bunch of options on it: it's got PDK, it's got PASM, which means
you get the torque vectoring system at the back, and the new engine mounts which they
first put on the 911 Turbo, which just remove any unwanted inertia at the back which just
sharpens up the body control and, says Porsche,
It really crispens up the turning and improves the traction on the way out of corners. For
a mid-engine car, this thing is just so nicely balanced. Watch this. You could do that all
day long if you wanted to.
Porsche say this car will get to 60mph - because it's got the PDK gearbox and launch control -
in 4.7 seconds. That is 911 Turbo quick of not that many years ago.
What they've done with the engine tuning and the engine noise, it's just amazing. There's a whole host of
buttons down here that you can play with, to dial up the exhaust note and make the gear
shifts quicker and more urgent.
You can even change the dampers. It doesn't matter what settings you have, this car drives and sounds
just beautifully. The throttle response is electric, literally. The steering is electric.
How has it affected the Cayman? Not that badly, to be honest. It's not as pure in terms of
feel as the old car; it never will be with an electric system. It's still very accurate,
very precise. You could put the front of this car absolutely where you want to on the road.
Engine and gearbox: 3.4-litre flat-six with 320 horsepower. In this car, there
is the optional PDK 7-speed gearbox and it is stonkingly good. It is so
fast up and down the ratios, and so smooth as well. If you can afford it,
have a PDK, please. Just do yourself a favour.
Listen to how fast this gear change handles. That's one up, two up; it's going down. You
cannot do that with a manual gear lever and keep your hands on the wheel. I'm sorry, this
gearbox is fantastic. This car is fantastic.
I've driven this car for half a day now, and I cannot believe that you get this much fun,
refinement, performance, economy, and beautiful interior - it really does feel expensive now,
which is, again, a move up compared with the old car - I can't believe that you get all
this for £48,000. That's phenomenal. It's amazing.
The Cayman used to be accused of being a poor man's 911. It's not any more, I'm sorry. This
now feels how a proper 911 used to feel. The 911 in the meantime, has got a little bit
fat. I'd have this instead of a 911, any day of any week.