If the devil wears Prada, he (she?) probably also drives a Porsche Cayman. After all, he's in the business of temptation, and slipping behind the wheel of this little demon, to set it flying down the highway like a bat out of hell, is hard to resist.
At $69,600, the Cayman is not inexpensive -- but you don't have to sell your soul to make it your own. By comparison, the Boxster convertible is $6,000 less and the "big brother" 911 is $31,100 more.
The Cayman follows a recent trend in the performance car market in producing a hardtop coupe out of an existing convertible. It follows the BMW Z4, the Corvette and the Viper along this path. The basis for the Cayman is the popular Boxster. Coupes are generally stiffer (in the Cayman's case it is almost twice as rigid as the Boxster), quieter and more secure than their open-top cousins. Introducing the Cayman let Porsche fill the gap between the Boxster and the 911 with very little added investment.
That means that underneath the reworked body skin of the Cayman repose the guts of the Boxster -- and that's a good thing. The 2.7-litre flat-six engine with variable valve timing remains in its mid-vehicle position. For people who like driving, this means that the vehicle mass is between the wheels, making for wicked handling.
If the devil's a purist, he may wince at using water to cool this powerplant. But he probably realizes that, with 245 horses propelling the pistons, a lot of heat is going to be produced. Zero to 100 km/h can be reached in 5.8 seconds. Keep your foot planted and Porsche says you can hit 256 km/h -- that'll take you to Hades in a hurry.
Power is an intoxicating feeling in the Cayman. It rewards early on and seemingly does not stop as long as you have your right foot depressed. Indeed, there is no need to stomp on the accelerator -- all you need to do is squeeze and the world goes rushing by. Beelzebub may not admit it openly but the five-speed transmission is a bit of heaven on earth; its feel is just perfect and the short throw is just right.
Water on the road can cool the desire for spirited driving very quickly. To keep the flames of passion going, the Cayman comes with enough three and four-letter acronyms to help keep drivers on this earth a while longer. They include PSM (Porsche stability management), ASR (anti-slip regulation), EDTC (engine drag torque control), ABD (active brake differential) and ABS-antilock braking system. They all helped as I tested the limits of the Porsche in the wet.
Handling is optimized by slightly wider rear tires and a suspension that allows for almost no body lean in the tightest of twisties. Even with such a performance-oriented set-up, road imperfections and pot-holes did not seem to affect the Cayman's composure. Variable-assist steering means that steering effort is perfect whether you are parallel parking or bombing along at high speed.
The interior is more down to earth. The seats offer good grip and bolstering in the right places -- and are forgiving, to a point, if you have a few extra inches around your trunk (too many helpings of devil's food cake, perhaps?). A tilt/telescoping steering wheel will be appreciated by taller drivers as it gives added clearance for the thighs. Headroom is more than generous, even for the long in torso. In keeping with past Porsches, the Cayman is very comfortable on long trips. Electronic wizardry is present but behind the thick-rimmed leather steering wheel, large, legible analog gauges take centre stage.
Source : www.canada.com
No comments:
Post a Comment