{"id":37129,"date":"2018-11-05T06:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-11-04T21:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=37129"},"modified":"2018-11-05T11:28:50","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T02:28:50","slug":"about-cayman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/about-cayman\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Porsche Getting Ready to Launch a Cayman T? A Look Back at the Original Cayman\u2019s Specs and Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

Porsche Cayman<\/h3>\n

The other day, I came across an online news story saying that Porsche was preparing to launch a new 718 Cayman T<\/strong>. My first thought was, \u201cSo it\u2019s not just the 911 getting a T model\u2014the Cayman could get one, too?\u201d<\/strong> Then I realized something\u2026<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t a single article about the Cayman on this blog.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I publish articles every day, so why have I never written about the Cayman? There\u2019s no deep reason. I\u2019d actually like to feature one, but nobody around me owns a Cayman, and I haven\u2019t had the chance to get behind the wheel\u2014so it just never happened.<\/strong> Before I started this blog, my husband did get a brief test drive in an acquaintance\u2019s Cayman GTS. But when we met that owner again recently, he had switched to a 911.<\/p>\n

So I decided this was the perfect opportunity to look into the Cayman\u2019s history and how it has evolved since its debut. The research turned up an enormous amount of information (no surprise there)<\/span>, so for now, I\u2019ll focus on the original Cayman\u2019s specs and reception, and give you the big-picture overview.<\/strong> I\u2019ll do some research on the 718 Cayman and write about that another time.<\/p>\n

The Cayman Debuts in 2005<\/h5>\n

The Cayman is a coupe derived from the open-top Boxster (Type 987)<\/span>, and it made its debut in 2005 as the Cayman S.<\/strong> Its name comes from the caiman, a reptile in the alligator family.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\uff0aImage source: Wikipedia, \u201cPorsche Cayman\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

As a Boxster-derived model, the Cayman shares its basic layout:<\/p>\n

\u30fbTwo seats
\n\u30fbA horizontally opposed engine
\n\u30fbA mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout<\/p>\n

Unlike the open-top Boxster, however, the Cayman has a fixed roof. When it launched, its torsional rigidity was set at twice that of the Boxster<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When it came to performance, though, Porsche followed the principle that \u201cthe heart and soul of Porsche is the 911.\u201d<\/strong> The Cayman was powered by a 3.4-liter engine based on the Boxster\u2019s, but with a larger bore and cylinder heads and a crankcase from the 911 (Type 997)<\/span>.<\/p>\n

And yet, prices started in the \u00a56 million range. That made it a pretty tempting deal.<\/p>\n

At the time, many articles compared the Cayman with the 911.<\/strong> On paper, the Cayman looked like the better buy:<\/p>\n

\u30fbThe Cayman was about 100 kg lighter than the 911.
\n\u30fbIts mid-engine layout made it easier to drive than the rear-engined 911.
\n\u30fbWith two seats, the Cayman offered more luggage space than the 911\u2019s 2+2 layout, making it more practical for everyday use.
\n\u30fbIt cost far less than the 911.<\/p>\n

But after taking both cars out for a drive, most reviewers gave the 911 the edge, saying it simply felt more like a Porsche.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s often said that, in a sports car, a mid-engine layout is fundamentally better than a rear-engine one. The Cayman was also lighter than the 911, but it still didn\u2019t beat the 911\u2019s lap times\u2026<\/p>\n

That was because the 911 remained the model above the Cayman in Porsche\u2019s lineup. The Cayman\u2019s performance was apparently deliberately limited; for example, its engine was tuned so it wouldn\u2019t outperform the 3.6-liter engine in the 911 of the time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Relationship Between the 911 and the Cayman<\/h3>\n

As I sorted through the information about the Cayman, I started to feel a little sorry for it (-_-). No matter how you look at it, Porsche has always revolved around the 911.<\/p>\n

It reminds me of two sons born into a samurai family during Japan\u2019s Warring States period: the younger brother can never surpass his talented older sibling, and no matter how hard he tries, it\u2019s the eldest son who inherits the family legacy.<\/strong> Okay, I may be taking the personification a bit too far\u2026 lol (In 2015, the Cayman GT4 finally beat the 911 of the time on a circuit lap.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cayman later underwent a full redesign as part of the 718 range, evolving further\u2014and now there\u2019s even news that a Cayman T could be on the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cayman has also reportedly been selling well. In 2017, global sales of the 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster totaled 25,000 units, up 6% year on year. Impressive!
\n\uff0aPorsche Sets Another New Sales Record in 2017<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Cayman: The Best of Both Worlds<\/h3>\n

The more I read about the Cayman, the more I came to see it as a Porsche that brings together the best of the Boxster and the 911 at an attractive price.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a two-seater with a mid-engine layout, giving it a good weight balance for a sports car. Unlike the Boxster, it has a fixed roof for added rigidity, offers a decent amount of luggage space in its front and rear trunks, and\u2014at least in base form\u2014costs about half as much as a 911.<\/p>\n

The Cayman is often called an entry-level Porsche, and it\u2019s easy to see why many people think, \u201cThe 911 is expensive and looks difficult to handle, so maybe I\u2019ll start by buying a Cayman.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The one thing I\u2019m not entirely sold on is the Cayman\u2019s rear design. It\u2019s certainly attractive, but when I compare it side by side with the 911, I can\u2019t help feeling that it falls short of the 911\u2019s elegant, refined looks (Is that part of Porsche\u2019s strategy?)<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I love the 911\u2019s rear design. My husband and I were even saying how much better our current Panamera looks now that it\u2019s closer to the 911\u2019s styling! So that\u2019s the one little thing that gives me pause.<\/p>\n

I know I\u2019m talking big, considering I\u2019ve never even ridden in the passenger seat of a Cayman\u2014but I\u2019d love to experience one. I wonder if someone I know will bring their Cayman to the Royu Driveway sometime (haha).<\/strong> A reader also asked me to write about the differences between the Cayman and Boxster, so I\u2019d like to cover that one day, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Porsche Cayman The other day, I came across an online news story saying that Porsche was preparing to launch a new 718 Cayman T. My first thought was, \u201cSo it\u2019s not just the 911 getting a T model\u2014the Cayman could get one, too?\u201d Then I realized something\u2026 There isn\u2019t a single article about the Cayman on this blog. I publish articles every day, so why have I never written about the Cayman? There\u2019s no deep...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=6390","footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[186],"class_list":["post-37129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aboutcayman","tag-porsche-cayman","en-US"],"yoast_head":"Is Porsche Getting Ready to Launch a Cayman T? A Look Back at the Original Cayman\u2019s Specs and Reviews - Porsche Owner's Blog from Japan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the original Porsche Cayman\u2019s specs, reviews, and relationship to the 911\u2014and find out why it\u2019s a compelling choice for Porsche ownership.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/about-cayman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Porsche Getting Ready to Launch a Cayman T? 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