Porsche Cayman R 2011 Review

WRAP yourself in Porsche's latest coupe and the feelings better than a warm blanket on a winter's morning.  The analogy isn't wasted on Porsche's Cayman R - the coupe that outdoes its honourable siblings to become the company's "best balance car - ever''.

That's pretty tough words - these from Cayman R product manager Jan Roth - but it's all meat in the slickly-styled offering.  Cayman R outsprints Cayman S in power, acceleration, weight loss and even fuel economy.

It is probably the last derivative of the Cayman success package - including the Boxster that saved Porsche's financial life - before the new generation that's due in 2013, almost a year after the all-new 911.

Porsche did relatively simple tricks to make the Cayman R so spectacular.  There are bigger header pipes for the exhaust and some revised engine computer mapping.

Technically, it doesn't seem a lot. But emotionally, it draws so much tighter the strings between the car and its driver.  If you love the Cayman, desire the Cayman S, then you'll be swept away by the R.

There is, unfortunately, some bad news. The R isn't cheap and you will note it has been relieved of a couple of comfort and convenience features.

Porsche Australia spokesman Paul Ellis says the car comes at a whopping $17,500 premium over the Cayman S on which it's based.  Pragmatic buyers - if indeed they exist within the Porsche customer database - will scoff at that premium in a car that removes some expected features yet adds - ostensibly - only 7kW.

But the devil's in the detail.  That power increase comes almost at the top - 7400rpm - of the rev range that closes down at 7600rpm.

"We wanted to give the engine more breathing space for drivers to enjoy the entire rev range," Roth explains.  So while the power step is relatively imperceptible - especially given these's no torque upgrade - it gets to have fun in a bigger playground.

The six-speed manual gearbox (PDK dual clutch is a $5300 option) has short-throw mechanicals that further tightens the package. That's on top of a body that gets shorter coils and re-rated dampers for a 20mm lower stance than the Cayman S, fatter rubber and honed aerodynamics that include the fixed rear spoiler.

Then there's the diet. Porsche shaved 55kg off the cars driven at launch in Spain's big island, Majorca. That was achieved, quite simply, by deleting things it saw may be unnecesary - things like the airconditioner, radio, standard seats, cupholders, door handles and door trim.
Overweight drivers, it seems, isn't in Porsche's control.

However, Australia gets a reprieve. For the entry-level $165,000, we get a six-speed manual model with aircon and a radio. True, you won't visit McDonalds for a thick shake because there won't be a hole in the console to accept it. Your maps won't find a place in the door pockets and your girl will be opening the door by pulling on a nylon strap.

But compared with your European and US counterparts, you'll be cool and there'll be music. And you'll still revel in a car that weighs 40kg less than Cayman S and even further embraces the driver's whims.

Options still apply to this model, including Sports Chrono and ceramic brakes, but some may miss the point of the lightweight concept.  Porsche Australia says the Cayman R won't nibble at Cayman and Boxster sales and expects only about 20 R sales a year.

DRIVING

It's the seats that get you first. The thin-walled sports seats that hold the body tight and put the driver up against the alcantara-rimmed steering wheel and poised above the gear shifter.

It's all hard-edged and purposeful but never intimidating.  Treat the Cayman R gently off the mark and it's a benign two-seater, trundling with the muffled beat of its six-cylinder engine nestled low behind the driver's hips.

Find the open road and it can be urged through a linear power delivery that ends with the bass resonance of the exhaust barking off the mountain faces of the Majorca test route.

Black ice - unexpected in a moment of sheer terror on the mountain-edged road - repeatedly flicked the tail before the traction control took hold. Yet the car held firm.

On drier roads the superb steering and brakes worked with the near perfect weight balance to lure the driver quicker into corners to the point where car confidence and driver ability discovered understeer.

Yet it wasn't as unpleasant as some experiences in other cars.  Ride comfort was also a surprise with sufficient suppleness absorbing rather than relaying some rutted Spanish asphalt.

But it's still not the quietest car. If the exhaust bark doesn't annoy you, then the tyre roar over coarse bitumen - common of course in Australia - will make you turn up the radio. Which is just as well we get that as standard.

Like the other Cayman models, the R gets two boots - a deep one in the nose and a shallow effort over the drivetrain at the back - but precious little cabin storage.  But that's not what this car is about. It's for the purist and will reward them precisely.

Porsche Cayman R

Price: $165,000
On sale: now
Engine: 3.4-litre flat-6
Power: 243kW @ 7400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 4750rpm
0-100km/h: 5sec (manual); 4.9sec (PDK)
Economy: 9.3 l/100km; 228g/km CO2
Transmission: 6-speed manual or 7-speed dual-clutch PDK
Drive: Rear
Suspension: Front and rear - MacPherson struts, wishbones
Brakes: Ventilated discs, 4-piston calipers, ESP, ABS brake assist
Wheels: 19-inch alloys
Tyres: Front - 235/35ZR19; Rear - 265/35ZR19
Dimensions: 4347mm (L); 1801mm (W); 1285mm (H); 2415mm (WB)
Weight: 1295kg (man); 1320kg (PDK)