WE WONDERED WHICH glovebox Porsche would leave the envelope of cash in this year, and after a fruitless search in the GT3 RS, we found it in the Cayman GT4… And for those of you wise enough to dismiss internet conspiracies, here are the reasons why the Cayman is placed either first or second by every eCoty 2015 judge.
‘Just sublime. And at no point in the test did I feel like a better driver than when I was driving the GT4,’ explains Nick before hastily retrieving his credit card from behind the bar and calling last orders. Marino, like Nick, places the GT4 second behind the McLaren, but was no less impressed by the Cayman: ‘It probably made me smile more than any other car here and it gave me thrills at all speeds.’
Jethro, another who put it behind the 675, is equally gushing with praise: ‘Physical, exciting, beautifully balanced, shot-through with class and control, the GT4 is everything you could ever hope a Motorsport-department Cayman to be. It’s perhaps the most involving car here.’ It’s second for Dan, too, who adds: ‘The Cayman has a really small window of understeer – more like a porthole – on initial turn-in, but you can so readily neutralise that on the throttle. That’s just one of the many ways in which it’s so engaging and responsive down a road. I don’t think I’d ever need more sports car than this.’
As for those of us who put the GT4 top, Goodwin says: ‘Almost perfect seating position, pedal weights and positioning. The gearshift is excellent and the GT4’s extra power makes the Cayman’s annoying gear ratios less of a problem.’ Dickie goes further, saying: ‘That steely precision and control so characteristic of Preuninger-era Porsche puts it way above any previous Cayman, but the way it feels alive and entertaining at all times means it gives you more, more of the time. It can’t live with the GT3 RS or 675LT for sheer pace, but it’s this greater accessibility and generosity that means it just nicks it for me.’

No matter who stepped out of the Cayman GT4, the opinion was the same: Porsche has created a masterpiece’


Adam Towler is no less forthcoming: ‘Every so often, a car comes along that feels intrinsically right. The GT4 is one such car. It’s inspiring to drive – that much is obvious in the first 250 metres. It’s the car here that best fits what I think an evo car should be like.’
Me? I think it’s simply brilliant. It gave me the best drive of the year, of the last decade and possibly of my life. No, really, it’s that good. Why? Because while the RS, LT, GTB and SV thrill and excite in their unique ways, it is the performance of their engines that ultimately dominates and dictates proceedings, be it the ferocious turbocharged thrust of the McLaren or Ferrari, the feral roar of the Lambo’s V12 or the thoroughbred howl of the RS’s flat-six.
However, in the Cayman GT4, any straight-line performance disadvantage is negligible. Its GT3-lite chassis is so adjustable, forgiving and precise that it doesn’t so much enter a corner tailing the bigger boys as edge its splitter out an inch or two, looking for a way past at every opportunity. You really need to be on your game in the more powerful cars to shake the less expensive car off, but you never feel you’re overstretching yourself in the GT4.
No matter who stepped out of the GT4, the opinion was the same: Porsche has created a masterpiece. It may not be the top choice for all of us, but every judge is in agreement that in 2015, this magazine’s mantra is best represented by the Porsche Cayman GT4, evo Car of the Year.

Couldn't get their hands on a Shelby GT350?