The 3.4-liter engine in the Porsche Cayman S uses the heads and variable valve timing of the 3.6-liter 911, to make its 295 horsepower. When we fired it up for a Sunday drive on a cold winter morning, after it had been sitting in the garage for a few days, it blew out some blue smoke before settling down into a light noisy idle. But smoking Porsches are nothing new, not even modern ones, and that idle becomes a lovely howl when you get on the gas.
Maybe the most impressive thing about this six-cylinder boxer engine is its broad powerband. Its 251 peak pound-feet of torque arrives at 4400 rpm and stays there to 6000. With torque this great, you can accelerate in sixth gear without downshifting, and the engine will carry the effort.
Redline is 7300 rpm, and the engine doesn't cry out for more; in fact, the redline might be too high, because the horsepower peaks at 6250 rpm, and the revs don't drop much between shifts of the close-ratio six-speed gearbox. One hundred mph is 4000 rpm, where it's perfectly smooth. Top speed is 171 mph as measured on the track, and it'll do zero to 60 in 5.1 seconds with the six-speed gearbox.
The vario-ratio steering is effortless. The Cayman is much easier to turn (and drive at high speed) than, say, the BMW Z4 M Coupe. Car and Driver magazine recently did a head-to-head comparison test between the two cars, and the Cayman S got the nod, for its racier chassis. Other enthusiast publications agree that it's more stable and sure-footed than either the Boxster S or Carrera 911. We didn't have those Porsches with which to compare the Cayman S, however, we can say its balance is impeccable, nearly impossible to upset with anything less than incompetent aggressive driving.
We're pleased that the electronic stability control (PSM), isn't easily excited; it's programmed conservatively (and correctly for a Porsche), and won't activate until it can be of benefit to help keep the car on the road.
The steel roof of the Cayman, along with an added crossbeam behind the seats, adds rigidity to the Boxster chassis; Porsche says it's twice as resistant to flex as the Boxster S. This enabled engineers to tune the suspension more tightly, because stiffer springs can be used with a more rigid chassis without affecting the comfort of the ride; so the Cayman S uses firmer springs and shocks, and needs a slightly smaller anti-roll bar than the Boxster. And despite the steel roof, it's 11 pounds lighter than a Boxster S; also 80 pounds lighter than a 911 Carrera, and 225 pounds lighter than a Corvette Coupe.
Our Cayman S used optional 19-inch wheels and fat, sticky Michelin Pilot Sport tires; even on cold asphalt it's very difficult to break them loose. Slalom and skid-pad tests for the Cayman S have been stunning; no Ferrari, Corvette, BMW or 911 can do better.
But don't even think about taking the Cayman out in snow or ice with its fat tires intended for traction on asphalt. We found ourselves on the freeway on an icy day, and it was stressful, if not downright scary; taking the Porsche out of the garage that day was dumb. Having a mounted set of high-performance ice tires for the winter months would be good.
Our Cayman S was equipped with both of the options that increase the sophistication and versatility of the suspension. First, there's Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), which lowers the ride height by 10 mm (0.4 inch) and provides two settings: Normal for everyday driving and Sport for aggressive driving. Compared to the standard Cayman S suspension, PASM Normal delivers a smoother ride, especially over rough roads; however it automatically stiffens as the driver makes more aggressive inputs.
Because we didn't get our Cayman S on the track, we didn't have any legitimate reason to test the Sport mode, which sharpens the throttle response and tightens the shocks. In PASM Sport, sensors measure vertical movement of the body, steering input, road speed, brake pressure and engine torque to determine optimum damper stiffness for each wheel.
The second level of high-performance suspension sophistication is the Sports Chrono Package that quickens throttle response, and shifting if the Cayman has a Tiptronic transmission; it also brings the rev limiter on harder, stiffens the shocks even more (with PASM), and raises the point where the electronic stability system (PSM) steps in. The package includes a stopwatch on top of the dash, to record lap times on track days; on cars equipped with the optional Porsche Communications Management system, lap times are displayed on the navigation screen. Which is a good thing, because they're not very readable on the face of the stopwatch. The stopwatch looks like a mere expensive trinket ($920), until you realize that it's just the crowning touch of the high-performance computer mapping.
We took a six-hour drive into a remote part of central Oregon. The winding road was free of snow or ice, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky; Mount Hood was often out the Cayman's west window, solid white but growing pink as the afternoon aged.
We loved the tight six-speed gearbox, whose first- and second-gear ratios on the Cayman S are shorter than on the Boxster, for quicker getaways. We hammered the brakes at every opportunity, and they were dazzling; with the big rotors and four-piston calipers, the Cayman S can stop from 60 mph in 106 feet. The optional $8000 ceramic rotors are designed for track days; part of their advantage is that they weight 13.2 pounds, half the weight of the standard steel ventilated rotors.
The suspension in the Normal mode is hard but not stiff; we could have easily added another six hours to our six-hour drive. Nor is the suspension upset by mid-corner bumps; but it shouldn't be, because it makes the necessary adjustments on its own. When the Cayman dances, it does so unthreateningly.
When we got home after our Sunday drive, we were amazed to see that, even running as hard as we were, we still got 25 miles per gallon. That's right on par with the EPA estimate of 20/28 City/Highway.
