Dodgy value from cut-price Cayman?
Newswheel staff :: 24 May 2006 :: Filed under Mid / rear engine sportscar, Porsche, Porsche Cayman, Europe & UK, US,
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Yours for £36k
Five brake horse power. And a grand total of 2 lb/ft of torque. That’s what you get for the roughly £4,000 extra Porsche demands for the new entry-level Cayman coupe, announced this week, compared to the base Boxster. That’s right folks, just like the cheapest Boxster, the new Cayman non-S packs a 2.7-litre version of Porsche’s classic flat-six mill. If you thought the price premium for the tin-top Cayman S looked a little dubious, this latest variant makes Porsche’s confusing cabriolet-vs-coupe pricing structure more baffling than ever.
Tin-top Cayman cruising comes at a £4,000 premium
But before we begin the bitching, let’s get the headline figures out of the way. The Cayman coupe packs 245bhp and peak torque of 201lb/ft, the latter over a rev range of 4,600 to 6,000rpm courtesy of Porsche’s VarioCam Plus system. Official performance numbers include a top speed of 160mph and a zero to 62mph sprint of 6.1seconds.
Which makes for interesting reading in context of the basic Boxster’s 6.2-seconds-to-62mph and 159mph capabilities. What’s more, this latest Cayman’s rather Spartan standard specification (including a five-speed manual gearbox, 17-inch wheels and modest 205 section front and 235 section rear boots) leaves you in no doubt that it’s an unabashed bargain basement offering. And leaves little on paper to justify that £4k price premium. After all, Porsche charges nearly £7,000 extra for the folding-top 911 compard with the hard version of its flagship sportscar. We can’t work it out.
For the record, the new Cayman non-S is yours for £36,220 in the UK, while Euro prices kick off for around E47,000 including taxes. Stateside, you’re looking at $49,400 plus tax. And just for reference, the full-fat Cayman S costs £43,930 and packs 295bhp and 251lb/ft from its 3.4-litre flat six. Phew, we got through that entire story without once mentioning the word profiteering…doh!
Posted 26 May 2006, by ben collins
tis indeed the only coupe where the more-expensive-to-make cabriolet is cheaper, DUH!