14 Sep 05
Porsche disappointed many a show-goer by failing to pull the Panamera - or at least, a concept car previewing it - out of the bag, but the Cayman S coupe is exciting enough. Fitted with a new 3.4-litre, 291bhp (217kW) six-cylinder 'boxer' engine it is to go on sale in November priced from £43,930.
Developed from other Boxster engines, the new unit features VarioCam Plus variable cam control and timing, a technology which increases torque at low engine speeds; this was previously only available on 911 engines. The 3.4 develops 251lb ft of torque and drives through a standard-fit six-speed manual transmission, with Tiptronic S auto available as an option; both are developed from Boxster S units. Porsche claims that the Cayman will top 171mph and, with manual transmission, sprint from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds.
The Cayman S, which shares its platform with the mid-engined Boxster roadster, has a 260-litre luggage compartment underneath its rear hatch, as well as 150 litres of space in the nose. 18-inch alloy wheels come as standard, along with a full leather interior. Like the Boxster S, it also gets a twin, centre-mounted exhaust and an automatically rising rear spoiler.
In keeping with Porsche's current naming policy, the S will probably also be joined later by a lower-powered version of the car, badged simply 'Cayman', which may feature the Boxster S's 3.2-litre, 276bhp engine. There's no word on a 'Turbo' version, but given that it would almost certainly impinge on the standard, 321bhp 911's territory, we think it's unlikely.
