Six things I learned about the new Porsche Cayman
09-25-2018, 10:09 AM
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Six things I learned about the new Porsche Cayman
The engine has lost more than just noise:
This is the key thing with the new Porsche Cayman – and many other turbocharged sports cars. A few of the comments on the drive were asking what the big deal was with the switch from flat six to four cylinders, since it was only the noise that had taken a hit. But it’s not just the noise – there are three main elements that lose out when an engine is turbocharged: the noise, the response and the power characteristics.
So not only does the Cayman sound cheaper (although it’s plenty loud as Porsche has made sure volume hasn’t suffered), but throttle response is a hair slower as it takes the exhaust gas driven turbo a moment or two to wake up and get going, which means you don’t have the purity of pedal response you used to have in the naturally aspirated car.
The brake discs look tiny:
OK, so our car was on the optional £1,566 Carrera Sport 20-inch wheels rather than the standard 19s, but even so, the 330mm brake discs looked like bottle tops (they’re even worse at the back, just 299mm discs – I reckon my mountain bike looks more macho). The only way of correcting this is to fit the optional £4,997 PCCB ceramic brake system, which gives you 350mm discs all round. And yellow calipers.
We still think it's good looking... but others don't:
Opinions are mixed about whether the new Cayman is a looker or not. It’s hard to see further than the Miami Blue paint this one is wearing. Might be worth having a look at other wheel options too – there are six to choose from in total. But yeah, the Cayman floats my boat. What I do think have been nicely done are the details – the integration of the rear spoiler, the insides of the lights. It’s still not a very aggressive car, though. If this had been done by BMW it would have had sharper headlights and a much more edgy lower airdam.
You can make it very tasteless indeed:
It’s been said before, but the sheer scope for personalisation is outstanding – and means there’s plenty of room to make a complete ***** up of your spec unless you’re very careful. So no, you don’t need the Porsche logo imprinted on the lid of the centre stowage bin, nor do you need the dials painted Luxor beige, a mahogany steering wheel or leather inner door sills. And particularly no cross combination of aluminium, mahogany, leather, carbon and alcantara inside. You can do, but you absolutely musn’t. But I would urge you go and see what it looks like when you hose every option at a Cayman. The configurator is ace. See if you can beat a list of £85,742 for a Cayman S.
Anyway, back to the point. Porsche, I know you need to give the customer what they want, but you’re not helping your own potential residual values here, are you?
The PDK is better for daily driving... but we'd still go for the manual:
PDK costs £1,922, but you’ll be splurging so much on the options list you’ll barely notice the extra cost. Look, PDK is great – it’s simple, it’s low hassle and if you’re driving your car every day and have to deal with low speed traffic, you’d be an idiot not to have it.
I have to and I am that idiot. I’d have the manual. I’d have it for two reasons. Firstly, it’s an ace gearbox with a lovely short, snicky throw (clutch travel is overly long though). Secondly, it enhances your sense of connection with this new engine. It means you have to think, actually have to engage with the car. And the Cayman really is a car you want to engage with.
We'd still have the old one over the new one:
I would. I’ve just had a scout about on Autotrader and for £50,000 you can get a one year old Cayman S that’s done a handful of miles. I know it might not be in your exact spec, but you could get the important stuff right – you just might struggle to find one with the mahogany steering wheel and leather door sills.
This is the key thing with the new Porsche Cayman – and many other turbocharged sports cars. A few of the comments on the drive were asking what the big deal was with the switch from flat six to four cylinders, since it was only the noise that had taken a hit. But it’s not just the noise – there are three main elements that lose out when an engine is turbocharged: the noise, the response and the power characteristics.
So not only does the Cayman sound cheaper (although it’s plenty loud as Porsche has made sure volume hasn’t suffered), but throttle response is a hair slower as it takes the exhaust gas driven turbo a moment or two to wake up and get going, which means you don’t have the purity of pedal response you used to have in the naturally aspirated car.
The brake discs look tiny:
OK, so our car was on the optional £1,566 Carrera Sport 20-inch wheels rather than the standard 19s, but even so, the 330mm brake discs looked like bottle tops (they’re even worse at the back, just 299mm discs – I reckon my mountain bike looks more macho). The only way of correcting this is to fit the optional £4,997 PCCB ceramic brake system, which gives you 350mm discs all round. And yellow calipers.
We still think it's good looking... but others don't:
Opinions are mixed about whether the new Cayman is a looker or not. It’s hard to see further than the Miami Blue paint this one is wearing. Might be worth having a look at other wheel options too – there are six to choose from in total. But yeah, the Cayman floats my boat. What I do think have been nicely done are the details – the integration of the rear spoiler, the insides of the lights. It’s still not a very aggressive car, though. If this had been done by BMW it would have had sharper headlights and a much more edgy lower airdam.
You can make it very tasteless indeed:
It’s been said before, but the sheer scope for personalisation is outstanding – and means there’s plenty of room to make a complete ***** up of your spec unless you’re very careful. So no, you don’t need the Porsche logo imprinted on the lid of the centre stowage bin, nor do you need the dials painted Luxor beige, a mahogany steering wheel or leather inner door sills. And particularly no cross combination of aluminium, mahogany, leather, carbon and alcantara inside. You can do, but you absolutely musn’t. But I would urge you go and see what it looks like when you hose every option at a Cayman. The configurator is ace. See if you can beat a list of £85,742 for a Cayman S.
Anyway, back to the point. Porsche, I know you need to give the customer what they want, but you’re not helping your own potential residual values here, are you?
The PDK is better for daily driving... but we'd still go for the manual:
PDK costs £1,922, but you’ll be splurging so much on the options list you’ll barely notice the extra cost. Look, PDK is great – it’s simple, it’s low hassle and if you’re driving your car every day and have to deal with low speed traffic, you’d be an idiot not to have it.
I have to and I am that idiot. I’d have the manual. I’d have it for two reasons. Firstly, it’s an ace gearbox with a lovely short, snicky throw (clutch travel is overly long though). Secondly, it enhances your sense of connection with this new engine. It means you have to think, actually have to engage with the car. And the Cayman really is a car you want to engage with.
We'd still have the old one over the new one:
I would. I’ve just had a scout about on Autotrader and for £50,000 you can get a one year old Cayman S that’s done a handful of miles. I know it might not be in your exact spec, but you could get the important stuff right – you just might struggle to find one with the mahogany steering wheel and leather door sills.
