Porsche Performance Modification & Tuning Guides
Could the new Porsche Cayman R really be better than the company’s already impressive Cayman S
It’s the perfect Cayman for those who think it needed just a little bit more power and a slightly less weight, because a new Cayman R, is 121 lb lighter and has ten more horses than the Cayman S.
Porsche used the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show as the venue to unveil the new Porsche Cayman R. The new 2012 Cayman R is now the lightest and most powerful model of any Cayman or Boxster
Porsche is set to introduce a four-cylinder engine unique to the brand to reduce fuel use and improve environmental performance.
Porsche has confirmed it is developing a four-cylinder engine for its Boxster and Cayman sports cars with the view to reducing fuel use by “8 to 12 per cent”.
Just weeks before he takes on a new role at Volkswagen-owned sister brands Bugatti and Bentley, outgoing Porsche research and development boss Wolfgang Durheimer confirmed a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine was in development.
The new engine would sit below the existing six-cylinder range used in the Boxster, Cayman and 911 and would be based on the same basic architecture.
He wouldn’t give a timeframe on the new engines but expectations are that it would be seen before the end of 2012.
Porsche has long been rumoured to be working on four-cylinder models, although some speculation had revolved around borrowing existing Volkswagen engines, as Porsche does with some Cayenne models.
But the new engine will be designed and engineered by Porsche, and used exclusively in Porsche products.
Durheimer said it would also be exclusively turbocharged to boost output. Turbocharging has also helped some car makers reduce fuel use and emissions.
“I think four-cylinder boxer engine in a Porsche sports car is viable as long as the performance level does not suffer. If you are talking about performance you need a turbo,” he says.
Key to the imminent move to release a four-cylinder Porsche is improved environmental performance and the inherent social awareness that comes with that.
Durheimer says the four-cylinder would use between 8 and 12 per cent less fuel than the current six-cylinder models.
“Keeping and adding to the current performance level to bring products to the market that meet the social standards of our target group,” he says.
“These people [our customers] are very successful business men, they are public leaders and they don’t want to have a bad situation why it has bad consumption or a bad performance level.”
Durheimer said the four-cylinder was not yet slated for use in the iconic 911 but he didn’t rule it out.
“It also could be applied if necessary to the 911,” he says. “Our decision is, on the 911 side, we’ll stay with the 911 flat (Porsche’s iconic horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine), but there are opportunities for the future.”
Nearly every has a Sport button, and the 2011 Cayman R is no different. It quickens the PDK gearbox’s shifts, tightens throttle response and allows a bit more slip. I should’ve paid more attention to those last two bits during our morning briefing.
On the rain- and occasionally hail-battered island roads of Mallorca, Spain, it took all of a quarter-inch of throttle travel to realize that the ultra-slippery tarmac partnered with the high-performance summer rubber were a match made in Hell. One minute, my co-driver (Motor Trend scribe and Autoblog alum Jonny Lieberman) was looking down at the route book; the next, he was staring at the sheer face of a rock wall. Whoops.
Over the course of our three-hour drive, I lost count how many times this scenario played out. And it wasn’t just my plebeian skills. Lieberman – who told me his initial thought went something like “$#%^&@* Damon!” – quickly admitted after he got behind the wheel that our weather/tire combo was destined to put us off a cliff. The rest of the North American contingent on the launch was busy dealing with the same issues, but there was something deceptively different about these impromptu tail-out antics.
Despite the lamentably slick conditions, the overriding sense of traction – that inescapable connection between hands, ass and road – was the most transparent I’ve experienced in recent memory. Even in these woeful conditions, I was perpetually aware of just how much – or little – grip was available at every turn. I was constantly on edge. Never relaxed and, in a sick way, kind of loving it.
That feeling lasted right up until my second lap of Circuito Mallorca RennArena.
Never have I wanted so desperately to get off a road course. Struggling to keep up with the Caymans in front, turn after turn was an exercise in minute toe manipulations. I imagine Natalie Portman’s ballet beau would’ve been proud, but once I learned to stop worrying and love the traction control, things evened out – if only for a curve or two. All praise Porsche Stability Management! It’s just too bad I never had the chance to experience the heightened levels of high-speed grip the chassis was begging to impart.
So, with those driving conditions and relatively low-speed impressions in mind, let’s get stuck in the specs and stats.
The Cayman R is essentially a fixed-roof version of Porsche’s undisputed King of Fun, the Boxster Spyder. Nestled amidships is the same 3.4-liter boxer six-cylinder engine found in the droptop, putting out an additional 10 horsepower over the standard Cayman S. That 330 hp peak comes in at 7,400 rpm – 200 rpm higher than its lesser siblings – while torque remains unchanged at 273 pound-feet (accessed at a rather lofty 4,750 rpm). The extra grunt is thanks to a new head pipe, tweaked ECU and reworked exhaust that’s instantly transformed with a quick push of a dash-mounted button. We used more than one tunnel to test out the aural excitement, which you can hear for yourself in the Short Cuts video below.
But the Cayman R story isn’t about power. It’s about finesse, focus and – most importantly – weight reduction. Porsche’s engineers have managed to strip some 121 pounds from the R, swapping out the doors for aluminum units (33 pounds), lightening the wheels (11 pounds) and fitting masterfully supportive and all-day comfortable carbon fiber-backed buckets (26 pounds), along with nixing the sat-nav/stereo and air conditioning (another 33 pounds). However, the latter two are available as no-cost options, and unless you’re tracking this thing every weekend, just tick the boxes and thank us later. Porsche says another 15 pounds have been removed by stripping some sound deadening material and a few other non-essentials, like the door handles, which have been swapped with silly fabric pulls. If that’s the extreme extent the boffins went to reduce weight, then why did they leave the lighted vanity mirrors? We asked. They laughed.
However, those same officials didn’t chuckle when I brought up some back-of-the-napkin math about the power-to-weight ratio of the standard 911 and this $66,300, stripped-out Cayman. The 345-hp, 3,186-pound rear-engined flagship doles out one horsepower for every 9.2 pounds it lugs around. The Cayman R? 8.5 pounds per horsepower. That’s getting awfully close, but with both the 911 and the Cayman due for more serious overhauls, we don’t think that proximity will last long – something Porsche’s people confirmed.
On the gearbox front, buyers have their choice between a six-speed manual and seven-speed PDK, but weight-watchers beware: the slick-shifting dual-clutch box adds an additional 55 pounds to the Cayman R’s 2,811-pound curb weight. Predictably, it’s what longtime Porsche wheelman Walter Röhrl prefers, but as a no-cost option, we could easily make the case for either. Both are spectacular, and in the case of the PDK, Porsche has fitted proper paddles to the steering wheel to deliver a shifting experience that’s thoroughly engaging – if just a slightly less involving than the manual. However, three-pedal addicts will sacrifice a tenth of a second to the speed gods, with the 0-60 mph run happening in 4.7 seconds with the PDK and 4.8 when rowing your own.
The rest of the changes are less dramatic, but add up to something spectacular. The fixed rear spoiler and tweaked undertray reduce rear lift by 40 percent, while the mildly revised aero bits up front reduces lift by an additional 15 percent. The springs, shocks and sway bars have all been swapped out for stiffer stuff, and the ride height comes in at 20mm lower than the standard Cayman S.
All these changes – no matter how slight – help the Cayman R exhibit a near-perfect compromise between road and track. The ride is on the stiff side of ideal, while the standard steel brakes remain predictable and confidence-inspiring once you get past the initial eighth-inch of travel. Optional carbon ceramics remove an additional eight pounds of unsprung weight and around $8,000 from your wallet, but the steel stoppers strike us as the better choice for daily duty and maintenance costs.
More than anything else, what left me consistently amazed was the remarkably direct steering and the sheer volume of information that traveled from the Alcantara coated wheel, through my palms and directly into my central cortex. If there was ever a proper cliche to be used, “telepathic” is it. Weighty without being cumbersome (à la Lotus Elise) yet smooth and frictionless; it’s – dare I say – better than the big boy 911.
We’ll have to wait to get one in the dry for a full slate of impressions, but from this unfortunately brief first dance, the Cayman R has all the earmarks of the Total Package. For the first time since its introduction, Porsche’s middle child has the potential to one-up its ass-engined brethren right from the factory. It’s just a shame about the weather – the one thing Porsche’s people can’t seem to engineer.
2011 Porsche Cayman R First Drive high resolution photogallery
As Porsche announced in LA Auto Show, November 2010 – new Porsche Cayman R will be available in sale from February this year.
It’s the perfect Cayman for those who think it needed just a little bit more power and a slightly less weight, because a new Cayman R, is 121 lb lighter and has ten more horses than the Cayman S.
Outside, Porsche has fitted the Cayman S with new 482-millimetre lightweight wheels, and aesthetic tweaks like a subtle stripe package, contrasting-color mirrors and black-accented headlight bezels . New New Cayman R is powered by a tuned-up 3.4 liter six-cylinder engine, develops an impressive 330 horsepower. In the standard configuration it transmits its power to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. The the speed from 0 to 60 mph, now made in 4.9 seconds (or 4,7 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono packages) and the top speed of 175 mph with manual gearbox, or 174 mph with PDK.
Watch video – New 2011 Cayman R presentation in Los Angeles Auto Show
Watch video – 2011 Porsche Cayman R in motion