Porsche is guaranteed to have one of the stars of this today’s Los Angeles motor show with a lighter, more powerful, stripped-out version of its mid-engined Cayman.
Called Cayman R — and not Club Sport, as had been rumoured — the new model uses lightweight components and a number of alterations to the spec sheet to shed 55kg from the Cayman S. It loses air conditioning and the stereo, and adopts lightweight 19in alloy wheels (as seen on the Boxster Spyder), carbonfibre sports bucket seats and lighter interior door panels from the 911 GT3 RS.
A mild retune of the Cayman S’s 3.4-litre powerplant has yielded a further 10bhp, taking the R to 325bhp. Torque remains the same, at 273lb ft, but the slight increase in grunt and weight reduction gives the new car a power-to-weight ratio of 252bhp per tonne (247bhp per tonne with a PDK gearbox).
The R shaves 0.2sec from the Cayman S’s 0-62mph time, to 5.0sec, and reaches an increased top speed of 175mph (up from 172mph). The PDK-equipped R covers 0-62mph in 4.7sec and hits 174mph.
The chassis set-up includes a limited-slip differential as standard and sports suspension that lowers the car by 20mm. The car’s fuel tank is also slightly smaller, at 54 litres.
The standard kit list may not include air-con, but you do get what Porsche calls the Cayman Aerokit: styling add-ons including a fixed rear spoiler in a contrasting colour, black-framed halogen headlights, contrasting side mirrors and Porsche side stripe decals. The Peridot metallic paint shown on the launch car will also be exclusive to the R.
The Cayman R is due on sale in the UK in February. It’ll cost from £51,731 (with 20 per cent VAT) for a manual version, including a Driving Experience at Silverstone. That equates to a VAT-adjusted premium of about £5k over a Cayman S. Expect a PDK-equipped Cayman R to cost around £53,500.
Thanks to: Autocar