Pictures of Porsche Cayman

Information about Porsche Cayman

The Porsche Cayman is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive 2-seat sports car produced by Porsche AG of Germany. First launched in the 2006 (4 years ago) model year, the Cayman is a coupé derived from Porsche's second generation Boxster convertible. Like the Boxster, most Caymans are assembled in Finland for Porsche by Valmet Automotive (the rest are assembled in Zuffenhausen near Stuttgart, Germany). Porsche's Deputy Chairman, Holger P. Haerter confirmed that their contract with Valmet Automotive will end in 2012, and the Cayman's production will be outsourced to Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik of Graz, Austria. (Panorama, 2008 (2 years ago))

Development

After two years of development, the first model of the coupé to be released was the Cayman S (type 987.120). Photographs and technical details were released in May 2005 (5 years ago), but the public unveiling did not take place until the Sep. Frankfurt Motor Show. The S suffix (an acronym for Sport or Special) indicated that this was a higher performance version of a then unreleased normal model. That model, the Cayman (987.110), went on sale in Jul. 2006 (4 years ago). A motorsport-tuned model, the Cayman RS, is rumored to have been tested at the Nürburgring that same year.

The Cayman coupé (project 987c) and the second generation Boxster convertible (project 987) share the same mid-engined platform and many components, including the front fenders and trunk lid, side doors, headlights, tailights and forward portion of the interior. The design of the Cayman's body incorporates styling cues from two classic Porsches; the 550 Coupé and the 904 Coupé. Unlike the Boxster, the Cayman has a large hatchback for access to luggage areas on top and in back of the engine cover. The suspension design is fundamentally the same as that of the Boxster, but features revised settings appropriate to the increase in chassis stiffness resulting from the Cayman's fixed roof.

The 3.4 litre flat-6 boxer engine (M97.21) in the Cayman S is derived from the 3.2 litre powerplant (M96.26) that was used in the Boxster S, but features cylinder heads from the Porsche 997 S's 3.8 litre motor (M97.01) which have the VarioCam Plus inlet valve timing and lift system. A less powerful but more fuel efficient version, the 2.7 litre M97.20, powers the base model. The use of these new powerplants exclusively in Caymans ended in MY 2007 (3 years ago) when Porsche upgraded the Boxster (987.310) and Boxster S (987.320).

A 5-speed manual transaxle is standard on the normal Cayman (G87.01), while a 6-speed manual (Getrag 466) is the default for the S (G87.21) and an option on the normal (A87.20). An electronically controlled 5-speed automatic transaxle (Tiptronic) is also available on the S (A87.21) and the non-S version (A87.02). Other options include active shock absorbers (ThyssenKrupp Bilstein GmbH's DampTronic, rebadged as PASM by Porsche), ceramic disc brakes (PCCB), xenon headlights (Hella's Bi-Xenon) and an electronically controlled sport mode (Sport Chrono Package).

Cayman S Porsche Design Edition 1

It is a model designed by Porsche Design, commemorating 35th anniversary of Porsche Design. The all black car features black leather and Alcantara upholstery, black center console, dashboard, and door trims, black Alcantara steering wheel, the gear lever, the handbrake grip, and the roof lining, standard Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), 19-inch 911 Turbo wheels with 235/35 ZR 19 front and 265/35 ZR 19 rear tires. Body is lowered by 10 mm. Standard equipment includes an elegant briefcase containing the Flat Six Chronograph, a pocket knife, a pair of sunglasses, a pen, and a key ring – all in black, even the knife blade.

777 vehicles were produced as 2008 (2 years ago) models. It went on sale on Nov. 2007 (3 years ago) in Germany, followed by the US in Jan. 2008 (2 years ago). Base price is 58,600 Euros.

Cayman S Sport

Porsche also announced the production of limited Cayman S Sport, to be available on Oct. 2008 (2 years ago) as a 2009 (last year) model. It features a freer-flowing exhaust, which raises power from 295 PS at 6250 rpm to 303 PS at an identical 6250 rpm. The Cayman S Sport comes in Bright Orange and Signal Green (from the Porsche 911 GT3 (5 walls) RS), as well as Carrera White, Speed Yellow, Guards Red, Black and Arctic Silver. The Cayman S has striping on the sides, black 19-inch wheels, as well as an Alcantara steering wheel directly from the 911 GT3 RS. The instrumentation loses its hood. The body is lowered by 1 cm, and the performance exhaust system is louder. 700 are to be made for worldwide market.

Awards

The Cayman has been the recipient of a number of awards, including:

Automobile – All-Star 2007 (3 years ago), Best Sports Car 2006
Car & Driver – One of the 10 Best Cars 2007-2009
World Car of the Year (WCOTY) – World Performance Car of the Year 2006
Top Gear – Sports Car of the Year 2005
Auto Express - Greatest Drives & Best Sporting Car 2007 (3 years ago) & 2006
Frankfurt Motor Show - Autoweek Editors' Best in Show 2005
Playboy Magazine - Car of the Year 2006
J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study, Best Compact Premium Sporty Cars 2006
J.D. Power's Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study, Best Compact Premium Sporty Cars 2007 (3 years ago) & 2006
Wheels Automotive Design Awards, Best Exterior 2006
Car Plus Magazine Car of the Year Award, Best Sports Car 2006

Performance

The performance of the Cayman S approaches that of Porsche's flagship sports car, the 911 Carrera. Rally legend Walter Röhrl lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife track in a Cayman S equipped with optional 19" wheels, PCCB, and PASM in a time of 8 minutes, 11 seconds. The time for a standard Cayman S, as published by the manufacturer, was 8 minutes, 20 seconds. In contrast, Röhrl recorded 8 minutes, 15 seconds in a 911 Carrera. The similarity in performance between the two cars has led to speculation about whether the Cayman S will cannibalize sales of the Carrera, as the basic Carrera's recommended retail price in the United States is $12,400 higher than that of the Cayman S.

Side view of the Porsche Cayman SA Cayman prepared and run by privateers Jürgen and Uwe Alzen finished fourth overall (of 220 entrants) in the 2007 (3 years ago) Nürburgring 24 Hour race, ahead of two flagship Porsche 997 GT3 RSR's, a 997 GT3 Cup, and a 996 GT3 Cup. Another two privateer Caymans, entered by CSR and MSpeed, finished 22nd and 117th overall, respectively. Porsche disclaims support for the Cayman teams, while supporting some or all of the 997 teams.

A sports car feature which is not offered by Porsche for the Cayman is limited slip differential (LSD). Some commentators have speculated that LSD is not offered, even as an option, because the Cayman S's performance would then be too close to that of the 911 Carrera (see Crippleware). Several tuning companies offer Cayman buyers the ability to retrofit an LSD. Also the biggest engine (3.8l) or the turbo engine is not available in the Cayman.

In the 2009 (last year) model, an LSD is available as an option if PDK is installed. The base Cayman has received an engine upgrade to 2.9L (265 bhp (198 kW; 269 PS)), and the Cayman S a 3.4L (320 bhp (239 kW; 324 PS)). This is significantly more than the previous models offerings, as even the factory tuned 2008 (2 years ago) Cayman S Sport with its special exhaust system only produces 303 bhp (226 kW; 307 PS) from its 3.4L powerplant.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

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