Having just driven the Boxster S a few months back, I was head over heels (or vice versa) in love with the superb dynamics of the poor man’s Porsche, revelling in the superb craftsmanship of virtually everything associated with the vehicle. The thought and detailing that went into each aspect of the vehicle was apparent as was the DNA of the car which is present in every Porsche - everything meant to appease the enthusiast, everything 
meant to excite him and a few things that he could only find in a Porsche.The shape of the car for instance - unmistakably Porsche, unmistakably exhilarating. With the Boxster having been labelled as it was, and the huge gap between the pricing of the roadster and the true blue sports coupe, the rear engined 911, there existed the place for another car to be positioned, something that the Cayman S owes its existence to.
The Cayman S takes its place in a classic Porsche line-up without a hint of difficulty as even at the very first sight it can be seen boasting classic design features reminiscent of the Porsche 550 Coupé introduced way back
in 1953 and the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupé. While the two large oval headlights and three symmetrically arranged large cooling air intake scoops create the typical Porsche face, uniqueness is added by the fog lamps with their positioning lights integrated via horizontal bars in the outer air intake scoops. Even though the Cayman S is based on the Boxster platform, its looks are far removed even though the front end of the car is just as characteristic as the side-line with air intake scoops in the front of the rear axle, the strong curvature of the roof and the rear end slowly tapering down to the bumper at the back - all classic Porsche design elements.
The overall effect is that of any even more muscular car than the Boxster could pretend to be. The chunkiness also comes a bit from its size and dimensions. Positioned between the two sports car offerings the Cayman S is longer than the Boxster but shorter than the 911, slightly higher than the Boxster but has the same width.
In keeping with Porsche’s classical drive concepts, the latest Porsche is powered by a horizontally opposed six-cylinder unit which is based on that of the Boxster S with the cylinder heads entirely from the 911 Carrera, a six-speed manual or tiptronic gearbox and rear wheel drive. The all aluminium dohc 24-valve engine features variable valve timing (Vario Cam Plus), hydraulic valve play compensation, switchable intake manifolds and two start up and two main catalysts and churns out a maximum of 295PS of power at 6250rpm and a whopping 340Nm of torque that is available from 4400rpm right through till 6000rpm. What amazed me most as I cranked up the engine was its eagerness to rev right up to its redline of 7300rpm. This has been made possible by incorporating the extremely short stroke of the Boxster S and combining it with the bore of the 911 Carrera. Thus the oversquare engine features cylinders with a bore diameter of 96mm combined with a stroke of 78mm. The VarioCam Plus system has three operating modes - idle, half load and full load. Idle speed is optimised by switching the intake valve lift on a small 3.6-millimetre cam and retarding valve timing to minimise valve overlap. In order to reduce the throttle effect in the engine and cut back fuel consumption accordingly, it is ideal to run the engine under part load with a large share of residual exhaust gas in the combustion chambers. To achieve this effect, camshaft adjustment is advanced with the valve lift being kept to a minimum to provide a large overlap area, exhaust gas from the exhaust gas manifold thus being able to flow back into the chambers, with an appropriate reduction of fuel consumption under everyday driving conditions.
Under full load high torque and engine output are ensured, first, by minimising losses in the cylinder charge cycle and, second, by using appropriate cam contours without any compromises. In practice, these effects are ensured by the maximum intake valve lift of 11mm and appropriately modified opening and closing times of the valve opening points for the valve opening period. Porsche’s VarioCam Plus system is made up of two main components: The parameters serving to control the operation of VarioCam Plus, in turn, are engine speed, the amount of fresh air drawn in, the position of the gas pedal, engine oil and coolant temperature, as well as recognition of the gear (both on Tiptronic S and the manual gearbox) currently in mesh.
The high torque on the other hand is made available through a 1600rpm band as well as very low rpm is made possible by a variable geometry intake system with a double-chamber distributor pipe leading directly to a distributor butterfly. Once the butterfly is connected, the two rows of cylinders draw in combustion air separately of one another, the engine thus running like a double three-cylinder. This effect significantly boosts torque at low engine speeds, thus providing a significant increase in power and momentum from just 1500rpm.
The distributor butterfly is opened for an optimum flow of air as of 3500rpm and closes again at 4900rpm, while the resonance butterfly in the second connection pipe opens at the same time to generate more power through the resonance charge effect. Both butterflies are then opened at speeds above 5200rpm to provide maximum air throughput.
The gearbox is taken from the Boxster S with some modifications to the ratios (first and second being shorter) and is fun and engaging to operate with an extremely short throw and a precision shift. This is achieved by using three syncromeshes on the first three gears and two on the next three. The Tiptronic, though great to use because one does not need to remove hands from the steering wheel, is not as much fun because of the lag and it took me quite a while to time the button pressings right to get the gearshift at the correct place.
Our drive in Oman was from the centre of the capital Muscat to an oasis about 150km away. While the roar of the engine or the sheer nervous excitement that accompanies the Cayman S is nothing like what accompanies the Corvette, it is huge adrenaline rush stuff. The minute one slots it into first, begins a drive of discovery. Discovery of the fact that try as hard as you might, you just do not seem to find the limit to which this car can be pushed. If the Boxster was good in this respect, then the Cayman S is better, much better. Keeping it all so tight are the 19-inch Carrera style wheels (standard is 18-inch though) which are suspended from the car by MacPherson struts all around like in the Boxster S but further tuned to sporty handling and agility. Harder springs combined with a softer anti-roll bar make the Cayman S more sure footed and less prone to knee-jerk reactions.made it a joy to drive on the sharp twisty roads of the Omani countryside was the precise steering featuring variable assist which weighted up the steering adequately at high speeds to ensure not just overall stability in a straight line but also nimble footedness and agility as and when required.Detailing the safety features and the six airbags, would just take up too much space, so I will skip it for now and focus on the huge space in the car with both the single front and twin rear spaces combining up to 410 litres which is much larger than what many of our sedans have.
The interiors are quite Boxster-ish with the Sports Chrono package as an optional for even more dynamic performance that seems to turn even the most significant of curves into a straight line.
If you are thinking of the thrills that are usually associated with the Porsche name then you need to look at one of their rear-engined cars even though those have been somewhat tamed as well especially with the 997. However what I discovered with the Cayman was that it gives you the freedom to explore the limits of your capability in a package that is ultimately forgiving and superbly balanced so that you won’t be caught out by the quirks of the car. The savage deserts of Oman with beautifully paved roads were an ideal ground for us to unleash the power of the Cayman. After a little getting used to the Cayman S was on song, blasting through the rugged countryscape at speeds getting closed to the top speed and though I did give it a try, 260-odd was all I could manage. But the real joy of the car was on the twisty sections where try as hard as i might have, i was unable to shake its surefootedness.
The Cayman S will be available in India later on in the month and is expected to be priced between the 911 Carrera and the Boxster S, and that should translate into a starting price of about Rs 60 lakh.
meant to excite him and a few things that he could only find in a Porsche.The shape of the car for instance - unmistakably Porsche, unmistakably exhilarating. With the Boxster having been labelled as it was, and the huge gap between the pricing of the roadster and the true blue sports coupe, the rear engined 911, there existed the place for another car to be positioned, something that the Cayman S owes its existence to.The Cayman S takes its place in a classic Porsche line-up without a hint of difficulty as even at the very first sight it can be seen boasting classic design features reminiscent of the Porsche 550 Coupé introduced way back
in 1953 and the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupé. While the two large oval headlights and three symmetrically arranged large cooling air intake scoops create the typical Porsche face, uniqueness is added by the fog lamps with their positioning lights integrated via horizontal bars in the outer air intake scoops. Even though the Cayman S is based on the Boxster platform, its looks are far removed even though the front end of the car is just as characteristic as the side-line with air intake scoops in the front of the rear axle, the strong curvature of the roof and the rear end slowly tapering down to the bumper at the back - all classic Porsche design elements.The overall effect is that of any even more muscular car than the Boxster could pretend to be. The chunkiness also comes a bit from its size and dimensions. Positioned between the two sports car offerings the Cayman S is longer than the Boxster but shorter than the 911, slightly higher than the Boxster but has the same width.
In keeping with Porsche’s classical drive concepts, the latest Porsche is powered by a horizontally opposed six-cylinder unit which is based on that of the Boxster S with the cylinder heads entirely from the 911 Carrera, a six-speed manual or tiptronic gearbox and rear wheel drive. The all aluminium dohc 24-valve engine features variable valve timing (Vario Cam Plus), hydraulic valve play compensation, switchable intake manifolds and two start up and two main catalysts and churns out a maximum of 295PS of power at 6250rpm and a whopping 340Nm of torque that is available from 4400rpm right through till 6000rpm. What amazed me most as I cranked up the engine was its eagerness to rev right up to its redline of 7300rpm. This has been made possible by incorporating the extremely short stroke of the Boxster S and combining it with the bore of the 911 Carrera. Thus the oversquare engine features cylinders with a bore diameter of 96mm combined with a stroke of 78mm. The VarioCam Plus system has three operating modes - idle, half load and full load. Idle speed is optimised by switching the intake valve lift on a small 3.6-millimetre cam and retarding valve timing to minimise valve overlap. In order to reduce the throttle effect in the engine and cut back fuel consumption accordingly, it is ideal to run the engine under part load with a large share of residual exhaust gas in the combustion chambers. To achieve this effect, camshaft adjustment is advanced with the valve lift being kept to a minimum to provide a large overlap area, exhaust gas from the exhaust gas manifold thus being able to flow back into the chambers, with an appropriate reduction of fuel consumption under everyday driving conditions.
Under full load high torque and engine output are ensured, first, by minimising losses in the cylinder charge cycle and, second, by using appropriate cam contours without any compromises. In practice, these effects are ensured by the maximum intake valve lift of 11mm and appropriately modified opening and closing times of the valve opening points for the valve opening period. Porsche’s VarioCam Plus system is made up of two main components: The parameters serving to control the operation of VarioCam Plus, in turn, are engine speed, the amount of fresh air drawn in, the position of the gas pedal, engine oil and coolant temperature, as well as recognition of the gear (both on Tiptronic S and the manual gearbox) currently in mesh.
The high torque on the other hand is made available through a 1600rpm band as well as very low rpm is made possible by a variable geometry intake system with a double-chamber distributor pipe leading directly to a distributor butterfly. Once the butterfly is connected, the two rows of cylinders draw in combustion air separately of one another, the engine thus running like a double three-cylinder. This effect significantly boosts torque at low engine speeds, thus providing a significant increase in power and momentum from just 1500rpm.
The distributor butterfly is opened for an optimum flow of air as of 3500rpm and closes again at 4900rpm, while the resonance butterfly in the second connection pipe opens at the same time to generate more power through the resonance charge effect. Both butterflies are then opened at speeds above 5200rpm to provide maximum air throughput.
The gearbox is taken from the Boxster S with some modifications to the ratios (first and second being shorter) and is fun and engaging to operate with an extremely short throw and a precision shift. This is achieved by using three syncromeshes on the first three gears and two on the next three. The Tiptronic, though great to use because one does not need to remove hands from the steering wheel, is not as much fun because of the lag and it took me quite a while to time the button pressings right to get the gearshift at the correct place.
Our drive in Oman was from the centre of the capital Muscat to an oasis about 150km away. While the roar of the engine or the sheer nervous excitement that accompanies the Cayman S is nothing like what accompanies the Corvette, it is huge adrenaline rush stuff. The minute one slots it into first, begins a drive of discovery. Discovery of the fact that try as hard as you might, you just do not seem to find the limit to which this car can be pushed. If the Boxster was good in this respect, then the Cayman S is better, much better. Keeping it all so tight are the 19-inch Carrera style wheels (standard is 18-inch though) which are suspended from the car by MacPherson struts all around like in the Boxster S but further tuned to sporty handling and agility. Harder springs combined with a softer anti-roll bar make the Cayman S more sure footed and less prone to knee-jerk reactions.made it a joy to drive on the sharp twisty roads of the Omani countryside was the precise steering featuring variable assist which weighted up the steering adequately at high speeds to ensure not just overall stability in a straight line but also nimble footedness and agility as and when required.Detailing the safety features and the six airbags, would just take up too much space, so I will skip it for now and focus on the huge space in the car with both the single front and twin rear spaces combining up to 410 litres which is much larger than what many of our sedans have.
The interiors are quite Boxster-ish with the Sports Chrono package as an optional for even more dynamic performance that seems to turn even the most significant of curves into a straight line.
If you are thinking of the thrills that are usually associated with the Porsche name then you need to look at one of their rear-engined cars even though those have been somewhat tamed as well especially with the 997. However what I discovered with the Cayman was that it gives you the freedom to explore the limits of your capability in a package that is ultimately forgiving and superbly balanced so that you won’t be caught out by the quirks of the car. The savage deserts of Oman with beautifully paved roads were an ideal ground for us to unleash the power of the Cayman. After a little getting used to the Cayman S was on song, blasting through the rugged countryscape at speeds getting closed to the top speed and though I did give it a try, 260-odd was all I could manage. But the real joy of the car was on the twisty sections where try as hard as i might have, i was unable to shake its surefootedness.
The Cayman S will be available in India later on in the month and is expected to be priced between the 911 Carrera and the Boxster S, and that should translate into a starting price of about Rs 60 lakh.
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