Junior Porsche hot on heels of its big brother

REMEMBER the shock when the goofy, Milliband brother seemed to come from nowhere to beat his older in the Labour leadership race last year?

Well, I guess it just turned out that Ed could just handle himself that bit better when the pressure was on... Appearances, it seems, can be deceptive.

Stunning much of the motoring press in recent years has been the fact that the well-established 911 seems to have come staggeringly close to being similarly usurped by its younger sibling, the Cayman.

Very much unlike big Ed, however, the Cayman never appeared goofy or lacking in gorm.

Being mid-engined, logic dictated that the Cayman’s weight distribution alone should make it a better handling car than the rear-engined 911.

And from day one its taut, Boxster-inspired lines meant that the junior Porsche coupe was every bit the aspirational sports car that—thanks to a £39,000 starting price—brought a taste of the iconic marque within reach.

Tested here is a Porsche Cayman S equipped with the Stuttgart manufacturer’s seven-speed, dual-clutch, PDK gearbox.

Leather lined

Coming in at £45,503 in basic trim it still represents a hefty £22,000 saving over standard 911 Carrera 2 but, packing a 320bhp 3.4-litre flat-six engine it’s a capable performer.

It’s 4.9 second sprint to 62mph (achieved with the help of the PDK system’s in-built launch control system) is a match for its big brother, while a 171 mph top speed represents a deficit of just 10mph.

Dropping into the leather-lined confines of the Cayman reveals an interior that is unmistakably Porsche.

The driving position is higher than in a 911 and there’s slightly less adjustment in the steering wheel, coupled to a shallower footwell, but it’s not cramped.

Like the 911 the steering wheel sits on a near-vertical plane but the view through the wing mirrors is unlike any 911, being filled by bulbous, rising wheel arches.

There’s a sense of functionality over luxury but neatly-stitched red leather and touch screen Sat-Nav (a hefty £1,962 option) add to an overriding feeling of no-nonsense build quality.

And, of course, there are no rear seats in the Cayman, just a carpeted shelf concealing the thrumming 3.4-litre engine.

The first few yards in any Porsche are characterised by the exquisite weight of the controls and the Cayman S is no different.

Jump straight from a hatchback and you might feel the steering is a little on the heavy side, the brakes a touch grabby, but the benefits are apparent once you hit the car’s favoured gait.

The steering wheel channels information about the road surface and available grip to the driver’s fingertips via some system of tarmac telepathy as the added weight delivers reassuring precision.

The Cayman S equips you with all the subtle tools needed to feel your way down a twisting b-road.

Porsche’s optional PASM suspenion, with its active dampers, is firm at lower speeds but seems to become more composed, more effective, as speeds rise.

There’s a sense that the Cayman S, unlike many coupes at this price, could be confidently hustled down a tight country road at speeds above those of a hard-charging hot hatch.

Suspension stiffness, gear shift speeds and the level of electronic stability control on offer can be adjusted via buttons denoting ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport Plus’ settings.

These sportier settings dial up a degree of suspension firmness that is unsuited to UK roads, but Sport Plus allows the Cayman S’ mid-engined chassis to truly shine.

Loosening the grip of the various safety aids, it allows the car to become infinitely exploitable through corners.

Understeer is the default attitude, just as in a 911, but the Cayman is more eager to turn-in to corners, while playing with the throttle illicits a sometimes snappy transition into power oversteer.

All this unfolds to a distinctively coarse, dry and rasping Porsche flat-six soundtrack.

hreading the Cayman S down country roads offers an addictive hit of speed and poise and there’s enough depth of character, such an array of possibilities from the agile chassis, that it’s hard to tire of.

To a larger degree than any 911, a car that has long been feared for its rear-biased weight distribution and a need to be nurtured, the Cayman S is a genuine sports car that can be explored by the novice or truly exploited by the professional.

There are cheaper alternatives out there—Audi’s tied-down TTS and Nissan’s hooligan 370Z—but, in handling terms, the Cayman S is one of the class acts in motoring...

Let’s hope Porsche can handle the family politics.