Porsche AG’s Boxster-based coupe, the Cayman, will go into production in August, shortly before the model is officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Check out the latest pics and details.
Porsche AG’s Boxster-based coupe, the Cayman, will go into production in August, shortly before the model is officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
CARtoday.com reported last month that the Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer had announced that it will launch a new coupé based on the new Boxster towards the end of the year and that the new sports car would be named the Cayman.
According to a recent report, the Cayman, to be positioned squarely between the Boxster S and the 911, will be marketed as “an out-and-out driver’s car, more focused than both the 911 and Boxster from which it is derived” – lofty claims, indeed!
The first Cayman model, which will be powered by a newly-developed 220 kW 3,4-litre version of Porsche’s four-valve-per-cylinder flat-six, will have a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive chassis honed at the Nurburgring by ex-rally ace Walter Rohrl. Sources from within Porsche AG claim: “the Cayman has already lapped the famous German circuit faster than the 997-series Carrera coupé”.
Developed under the codename C7, Porsche conceived the new coupe to combine the inherent rigidity of the 911’s closed body design and the favourable weight distribution offered by the Boxster’s mid-mounted engine layout.
A range-topping 227 kW Cayman S model will follow the Cayman and will reportedly be priced halfway between the 208 kW, 3,2-litre Boxster S and the 242 kW, 3,6-litre 911 Carrera. Porsche will eventually also launch a “cheaper” 3,2-litre Cayman model with the same specification as its Boxster sibling, it was reported.
A lightweight Cayman Club Sport is in the pipeline, but not likely to see the light until 2006. It will have the same engine output as the S, but a series of weight-saving measures, such as special body panels and a Spartan interior (no air conditioning, audio system or sound deadening), will improve the car’s power-to-weight ratio and ostensibly its handling and overall balance.
Although the Cayman shares its mid-engine platform with the Boxster, Porsche was said to have made significant changes to allow the adoption of a fixed-roof and a practical hatchback-style rear window. Porsche designers gave the Cayman a voluptuous shape and uniquely styled rear panels, but also included a number of classic styling cues from the 911. Cost concerns ruled out a complete re-skin of the Boxster, so the two cars share the same hood, headlamps, front fenders, doors and taillights.
Apart from the fixed roof, the Cayman can be differentiated from its Boxster sibling by virtue of bigger bumpers and wider side sills, small rear windows behind the doors and a enlarged rear spoiler that automatically deploys at speed. Inside, the Cayman shares its dashboard, switchgear and seats with the Boxster.