981 Cayman S

[Ekona]

Have had all day with one of these today, so here's my thoughts on the car.

 

 

 

Since the 981 Boxster was announced, I've been waiting for its younger brother to turn up the new frock. Or suit. Or whatever. There's no denying that the Boxster is now an incredibly handsome and muscular car, and since my days of having hair that could flow in the wind are long behind me, the coupe version of that car could be nothing less than a revelation. I prefer the 981 styling to the 991, so I went into today with the very real thoughts that this could well be my next car.

 

The spec chosen for this car was somewhat surprising. It's in Agate Grey, with a two-tone leather interior in Espresso Brown and Pebble Grey. It's a combination which in some ways worked very well, as the light grey lifts the whole car, but also it had a few black marks on already which I'm sure would come out with a bit of a clean. With only 1500 miles on the clock though, do you want to be doing that all the time? I don't know. Even in Resale, sorry Agate Grey, the lines are still broad yet flattering, and angular yet sleek. I could look at this car all day long, but then that would make for a terrible review.

 

To get the rest of the spec out of the way as lists are boring, we had: 20" Carrera Classic wheels (ugly IMHO), 14-way adjustable sports seats (that's a lie, these are the old normal seats with some more electric functions on, shoulder support is still non-existent), PDK 'box with the multifunction wheel (so buttons instead of paddles), Sport Chrono with the dynamic engine mounts (they stiffen up to prevent the engine moving on cornering, but soften up when cruising along), Bose stereo with the full navigation bit, and two zone A/C. Oh, and the seats were heated too. They now have three heat settings instead of the older two in my 997, god damn for progress!

 

Open the door, slide in and grab the handle to cocoon yourself in the cockpit with that traditionally solid Teutonic thump as the door closes on you, and prod the key into the ignition. The key that, by the way, is shaped like a mini-Porsche and is without a doubt the tackiest thing in the world ever. Twist and hold, and the 3.4 flat-six fires up with a whump and a gruff tone that lets you know that this is more than just a baby Porker. This is now a serious sports car, as if we couldn't have guessed that from the direction the previous gen 987 Cayman R took. It's a great noise, and it doesn't disappoint further into the rev range.

 

I give the car a fair crack by leaving it in normal mode, so letting the Cayman decide what gear I should be in and with a slightly dulled throttle response. I'm not sure what more I can add to this bit really: It's fine. It will pootle with the best of them, and is much smoother on the 1-2 change at any speed than my PDK 'box is. Times change, and for the better.

 

My route took me, on purpose, through the wandering roads of Norfolk around the Lotus factory at Hethel. I had to take a quick detour to see the place, like a kind of pilgrimage if you will, and it's just a massive building at the end of this country lane. Definitely reminds you of the heritage of a bunch of blokes in sheds building quick cars! Seeing as how Lotus tune their cars on these very roads, if the Cayman could shine here then it will shine anywhere. And shine it does.

 

Despite riding on 20" wheels and on fixed dampers, and those wheels shod in god-awful Pirelli rubber, there's a sense of balance and poise here you will not find in any car costing less than £200K. Well, unless it's made by a bunch of blokes in sheds in Norfolk. That's incredibly high praise, and I struggle to find words here that don't come from the Magic Book Of Motoring Cliches. Handles on rails, sticks like sh*t to a blanket, you name it and I'll use it here. The electric steering is light but accurate, and after 5 mins with the car you adjust and are able to point the nose where you want it whilst squeezing the power on. A bit ham fisted with your inputs? Don't worry, the car will not spit you off like a mid-engined motor can. I may or may not have forgotten that the engine in this particular Porsche wasn't at the rear at one particular roundabout early on, so I nailed the gas a bit too keenly and unsettled everything with a jolt that solicited an unhappy sulk from my passenger, and yet it was gathered up with minimal fuss. It's outstandingly subtle and supple.

 

Remember I spoke earlier of the whumpy, gruffy engine note? It's a peach, it really is. I dare anyone not to whince as the needle flips round the rev counter with such ease that you'll believe the limiter is broken, but that 7.5K rev limit is the target you always aim for to hear that traditional flat-six wail in it's full glory. The pace of the car is judged perfectly, as you get that good ol' shove-you-back feeling as the speed climbs, but you'll never feel it's getting away from you. An every day sports car couldn't feel more special in the blink of an eye if it lifted the new dress to reveal a flash of suspended stocking. It pulls from low down too, but you'll actively want to live above 4K rpm and the rewards are worth it. Fuel economy suffers precious little for this: A long run on the motorway was seeing around 40mpg, and a sensible thrashing returning 25mpg. That's seriously impressive stuff given the stick the car was being given.

 

The brakes were very un-Porsche like, or least not like any I've experienced recently. If you're used to driving Porkers you'll know that the brakes can seem very underservoed at first, and a lot of people can mistake this for a lack of braking. In truth it's not like that at all, it's just we're very used now to cars that want to throw you through the windscreen if you merely brush the pedal with your shoelaces. When you get used to the Stuttgart way of braking, you find that there's plenty of feel and even more stopping power. The reason I mention this is that this Cayman felt more like a 'regular' car in that respect: If I said to you the brakes were like an Audi, you'll know exactly what I mean. Very sharp to the touch, and I needed a good half hour to recalibrate my brain to this. To the average Joe you wouldn't even notice it, but to me it was very bizarre. Perhaps this could be down to the relative newness of the car, and that the brakes hadn't bedded themselves in yet? Perhaps. That incredibly picky comment aside, they felt as good as any I've used in anything, from modified Jap stuff to carbon discs on exotica. Stopping power was immense, much better than my 911, and I didn't get anywhere near the fade point.

 

Oh, and don't tell anyone, but the launch control function is much better on the new Cayman than the old one.

 

So, I went back and placed an order for one. At least, that's how I expected this story to end. You see, the gearbox is my only negative point about this car. For some reason, and I've only ever experienced it on this car, the PDK was very reluctant to drop gears when you prodded the accelerator. In my 997, and all other 991 and 981 cars I've tried, if you stab the pedal but don't go into kickdown, the car will still get the hint and drop from 5th to 2nd and take off like a stabbed rat. This Cayman didn't. It thought about it, pondered a bit more, then went 5-4-3-2 and then ran away with itself. The delay was fractional, and if you'd never driven a dual clutch car you'd probably never notice it, but I did. Even my better half did when she drove it. It did it in Sport and Sport Plus modes as well as normal. I mentioned it to the dealer when I returned and he said he'll look into it as it could well be a software issue. Certainly it felt like that rather than a hardware one, and in manual mode it was as good as it gets with these gearboxes.

 

This soured my experience somewhat, and yet it really shouldn't. Make no mistake, this is the best sports coupe sensible money can buy, if you consider £62,000 in this spec sensible. Even on the fixed dampers and large wheels, the ride is sensational and full of feedback, and if you couple that chassis with that engine I'm not sure what any person could want more from a car. Is it ugly? No. Does it grip and go? Oh yes. Does it feel like it will last forever? You bet. Is it common as muck? Not that I can see. Only a fool would kid themselves that this is anything other than the benchmark for fixed head cars right now, however that doesn't mean I'd expect everyone to buy one, assuming money no object.

 

 

It's all down to what you want from a car at the time. Personally I'm not quite ready to move away from rear-engined cars again just yet, which is why I've another drive in a 991 booked in for the middle of June...

Edited May 19, 2013 by Ekona

[DoogyRev]

Nice write up Dan, although .......

 

[Sam Mcgoo]

An interesting and enjoying read.

 

Cheers Dan.

[MITZ@CougarStore]

Excellent write up, Dan...

[TheMacDaddy]

Great write up. Better book myself a drive, can't just sit on the website building fantasy cars forever...

[Ekona]

Nice write up Dan, although .......

 

I know, once again I utterly fail at remembering to take pictures

 

I can't even bring the interior up on the configurator as it's not listed, so the OPC must've done it as a special order via Exclusive. Brave, but commendable.

[Ekona]

Minor edit to add a paragraph in about the brakes, which I forgot.

[Bems]

Great write up