In the database. Porsche Cayman

"An inexpensive Porsche"? The brand's press service is unlikely to allow such a combination of words. "More affordable" is already acceptable. But what affordability can we talk about if in our country the base version of the Porsche Cayman is priced at 66,100 euros?

The key difference from the Cayman S, which came out about a year earlier, is the engine, whose displacement has been reduced from 3.4 liters to 2.7. However, the loss of almost fifty horsepower will only be felt by those who are already accustomed to the 295-horsepower "crocodile" with the letter "S". And even then, the difference is mainly noticeable up to the 4000 rpm mark, after which a brisk pickup begins, and the flat engine raises its voice almost to falsetto. The engine, as before, is mounted in the middle — directly behind the driver and passenger.

The chassis settings have also been slightly revised. Despite the fact that the base wheels here are 17-inch, not 18-inch as on the Cayman S, the car retains an instant and impeccably precise response to steering inputs. A true Porsche! For those who find this insufficient, it is offered to put the "plain" Cayman on 18- or even 19-inch wheels — then the suspension becomes stiffer and the responses even sharper.

The Cayman is available with both a six-speed manual gearbox and a five-speed. You can also choose the Tiptronic S automatic	Among the options are the PASM active suspension and the Sports Chrono Package. It includes an electronic chronometer with a hand on the instrument panel, as well as a sport mode for the accelerator drive, automatic transmission, ABS, and stability control

In short, it turned out great again. However, a curious detail: subjectively, the lack of dynamics is felt more strongly than the numbers show. On the slightly more than twenty kilometers of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Cayman loses to its "big brother" with the "S" index by only about twelve seconds. That's just over half a second per kilometer — very little, especially considering that the car is 10,000 euros cheaper.

The exterior has hardly changed. The differences of the "plain" Cayman are black brake calipers (not red or yellow as on the "S"), a single exhaust tip instead of a twin one, and a black lower part of the front bumper.

The interior is still impeccable: leather dashboard and extremely comfortable seats. And the visual differences in the interior come down to the fact that the instrument dials are now black, not white. So if the car has more black color, it's the "plain" Cayman.

The new 2.7-liter engine is equipped with the VarioCam Plus system, which changes the lift height and opening phases of the intake valves. The compression ratio has been raised to 11.3. The same unit is now also installed on the "base" Porsche Boxster

The Germans plan to sell annually from 6,000 to 7,500 "base" Caymans — that's about the same as the S versions. However, Russians are unlikely to make a noticeable contribution to this statistic: in our country, if they buy a Porsche, they don't skimp — if it's a Cayman, then only a Cayman S! Therefore, the main hopes are associated with the US and German markets, where the very fact of owning a Porsche is more important than its power-to-weight ratio.

Lap times of the Nürburgring Nordschleife for some Porsche cars of the 2007 model year (driver — Walter Röhrl)