Tag: Cayman

GROUP TEST: Driving the Boxster GTS, Cayman GTS and 911 Carrera back to back!

On By svenIn Test drivesLeave a comment

Last year I was at a Porsche event and had the opportunity to drive the Boxster GTS, Cayman GTS and 911 Carrera back to back.  The cars were evenly matched regarding power en weight. The Boxster GTS has 330 hp, the Cayman GTOS 340hp and the standard Carrera  350bp. The Carrera is slightly (25kg) heavier than the other two, offsetting the small advantage in power.

There were a couple of surprises.

Firstly, the Cayman GTS is much more hardcore than the Boxster GTS. This is partly due to the fact that the Cayman GTS we drove had the optional sports suspension; 20mm lower with no adjustable dampers. The Boxster GTS, on the other hand, was on standard adjustable dampers (PASM) and felt much more rounded and easy to exploit. The Cayman GTS (exactly the same car that I drove for my review here), is better suited for track work, though.

Secondly, the 911 Carrera felt slower than the two GTS cars, but not necessarily because it was slower, but because it was masking its speed. Looking at the speedo you realise that you are going much quicker than you think in the Carrera. On the other hand, with the Boxster and Cayman you feel like you are going faster, which adds to the fun.

Final words

The 911 is the practical proposition; it has back seats and it is very comfortable, in a GT way. The Cayman GTS, with the option of the extra sporty suspension, is probably more suited to track work and felt nervous on the Catalan mountain roads we drove. For me, on this roads, the Boxster GTS was the pick of the day.

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Porsche’s most important sports car launch since 1999: the Cayman GT4!

On By svenIn News2 Comments

Rumours have been circulating for a long time but on Wednesday Porsche finally released the details, specs and photos of the new Cayman GT4. OMG is it desirable!

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It has the 911 Carrera S engine producing 385 hp at 7400 rpm, but according to Porsche it is “probably more than 385 hp”. Porsche’s hp figures are always conservative for the GT cars and since the same engine is producing 400 hp in the Carrera S, you can draw your own conclusions…

Performance is astonishing, it goes from 0-100 km/h in 4.4s and it laps the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:40! (the same time as the 997 GT3 Mk2…)

The upgraded brakes consist of steel discs (380 mm) on all 4 wheels, i.e the same size as the 991 GT3, in spite of the latter being a heavier car.

The front suspension is almost identical to the 991 GT3 while the rear suspension is “new”, but it seems it is still a MacPherson-strut, although with new improved components.
The GT4 weights 1,340 kg DIN (1,415 kg EU), i.e. 90 kg less than the current 911 GT3. Compared to a standard Cayman, the GT4 is 30 mm lower.

It is only available with a manual gearbox as opposed to the 991 GT3 which is only available with PDK-gearbox.

Looking at the exterior, the GT4 has a few additions: front bumper and splitter, big rear wing and air scopes on the side to improve aerodynamics, looks, cooling and engine breathing.

In addition, there is a Clubsport package, only available together with optional bucket seats, that includes: roll cage, six-point harnesses, fire extinguisher and preparation for a body shell and battery disconnect switch. This is hardcore stuff…

Sharing many suspension components with the 911 GT3 and having the engine from the 991 Carrera S, the Cayman GT4 looks like a bargain, at a price way lower than both cars and even below the entry level 911 Carrera, which is a slower car.

Enjoy the photos and the video below!
(and read about my test drive of the Cayman GTS here)

TEST DRIVE: Two days with the Porsche Cayman GTS

On By svenIn Test drives4 Comments

The Cayman GTS is beautiful!! During the two days I had the car, plenty of people on the street complimented me on the looks of the car.

Cayman GTS

How does it drive?

Ok, it looks great, but more importantly, how does it drive? The car I borrowed was equipped with the optional sports chassis that lowers the car 20mm and removes adaptive dampers (PASM). You can clearly see in the pictures that the car is looow. This optional sports chassis is very firm for road use. If you are not planning to track the car, I would recommend going for the standard adjustable PASM chassis.

Having said that, the car drives absolutely on rails. It is an old cliché but it has never been so true. I can’t remember any car I have driven, that is more keyed to the road. It is at the same level as the two 911 GT3:s (996/997) I had a couple of years ago. Turn-in is excellent, the balance is neutral and fluent. The steering is very good and well weighted, in spite of having electric power steering. Brake feel is excellent. I am running out of superlatives…

Drivetrain

Driving the Cayman GTS, I initially felt a lack of power, until I realised I have to rev it much higher. I was upshifting at 4500 rpm… I have been driving diesels for too long. The V8 in my California was very torquey, in spite of being an atmospheric engine.

The sound from the engine and the Sports exhaust (standard on the GTS) is very good, although I have to admit that I had it in “silent” mode most of the time.

The dubble-clutch PDK gearbox is excellent, as always. The only problem is that the gearing is very long. If you rev the engine, as you should, in 3rd or even in 2nd gear,  you are suddenly carrying very high speeds. With shorter gearing you would be able to rev the engine more often.

Interior

The interior is very sporty with a lot of alcantara and carbon fibre parts. The spec on this car closely resembles the interior of the 997 GT3 Mk1, that I used to have. This car has the interior GTS package that adds more alcantara as well as contrasting stitching (I apologise for the poor quality of the photo). The leather dashboard is standard on the GTS, and contributes to the car feeling special.

Cayman GTS interior

Final words

Summarising, I believe that this is the best sports car in the market, with the possible exception of the Ferrari 458. My wife drove the car as well and was not keen at all on giving the wheel back to me…

Thanks to Porsche Center Ibercarrera in Barcelona for generously lending me this car.

Porsche visar nya Cayman – oj, oj, oj!

On By svenIn News1 Comment

Nu har Porsche visat nya Cayman som är baserad på den helt nya plattformen (981) som hade premiär med Boxster S tidigare i år. Tidigare har jag inte varit helt övertygad om skönheten i gamla Caymans linjeföring, men den nya bilen är riktigt snygg på bild; som en lyckad korsning mellan en Porsche 911 och en McLaren MP4-12C.

När jag provkörde nya Boxster S (snart kommer provkörningsrapporten på denna blogg) så tyckte jag att det var en fantastisk bil. Detta är samma bil fast med tak och med marginellt mer pulver. Cayman har 275 hästar vilket är 10 fler än Boxster. Toppmodellen Cayman S har 325 hästar, vilket också är 10 fler än Boxster S. Porsche anger samma vikt på Boxster och Cayman, vilket är lite märkligt eftersom Cayman borde vara marginellt lättare då den inte har fällbart tak.

Klarar man sig utan baksäte så är detta definitivt ett alternativ till en 991 Carrera. Billigare och bättre?