Young_Warrior
(Banned)
- 2,285
-Topgear.com
The car industry loves its fads. 2004 was the year of the supercar. 2005 is the year of the super saloon. Now 2006 looks like being the year of the super-coupe...
Kicking the excitement off is the Porsche Cayman S, the fixed-roof, hatchback-equipped two-seater based on the Boxster. Or look at it another way and it's a junior 911.
The mid-mounted 3.4-litre flat-six engine has a Variocam Plus variable valve timing and lift system nabbed straight from the entry-level 911 Carrera.
With 295bhp delivered at 6,250rpm, it produces just 30bhp less, propelling a car that's a useful 55kg lighter.
0-62mph passes in 5.4 seconds, before a 171mph maximum. Could you really be left wanting for more?
Take a look inside the wheelarches and the links continue. The brakes are also from the 911, Brembo calipers shrouding vast 318mm front and 299mm rear cross-drilled, inner-ventilated discs.
The same Porsche Active Suspension Management switchable damping system can also be fitted, albeit as a £1,030 optional extra.
Then there's the steep windscreen and gently curving roofline. You know you've seen that profile somewhere else before.
The thing is, at £43,930, the Cayman S is a considerable £14,450 cheaper than an entry-level 911. And unlike that car, its engine is positioned for perfect weight distribution and balance.
The fixed roof ensures that it's also a remarkable 100 per cent more resistant to corner-to-corner structural flexing than the equivalent Boxster S, making for even greater handling precision.
Inevitably, this is set to be one of next year's most desirable new cars. Which could well explain why Mercedes is rumoured to be working on a similarly driver-focused coupe, based on the SLK. The same goes for BMW: prepare for news of a Cayman-rivalling Z4 Coupe, any moment now...
The car industry loves its fads. 2004 was the year of the supercar. 2005 is the year of the super saloon. Now 2006 looks like being the year of the super-coupe...
Kicking the excitement off is the Porsche Cayman S, the fixed-roof, hatchback-equipped two-seater based on the Boxster. Or look at it another way and it's a junior 911.
The mid-mounted 3.4-litre flat-six engine has a Variocam Plus variable valve timing and lift system nabbed straight from the entry-level 911 Carrera.
With 295bhp delivered at 6,250rpm, it produces just 30bhp less, propelling a car that's a useful 55kg lighter.
0-62mph passes in 5.4 seconds, before a 171mph maximum. Could you really be left wanting for more?
Take a look inside the wheelarches and the links continue. The brakes are also from the 911, Brembo calipers shrouding vast 318mm front and 299mm rear cross-drilled, inner-ventilated discs.
The same Porsche Active Suspension Management switchable damping system can also be fitted, albeit as a £1,030 optional extra.
Then there's the steep windscreen and gently curving roofline. You know you've seen that profile somewhere else before.
The thing is, at £43,930, the Cayman S is a considerable £14,450 cheaper than an entry-level 911. And unlike that car, its engine is positioned for perfect weight distribution and balance.
The fixed roof ensures that it's also a remarkable 100 per cent more resistant to corner-to-corner structural flexing than the equivalent Boxster S, making for even greater handling precision.
Inevitably, this is set to be one of next year's most desirable new cars. Which could well explain why Mercedes is rumoured to be working on a similarly driver-focused coupe, based on the SLK. The same goes for BMW: prepare for news of a Cayman-rivalling Z4 Coupe, any moment now...
from some angles. But then again i think the boxster is ugly. I bet it will be a brilliant car but i'm not really a big fan of porsches, i find them a bit boring.
