Porsche has officially premiered the successor to their 981 Cayman. World, meet the 718 Cayman.
We’ve already seen a lot of the new 718 series from Porsche, and also heard a lot about their new turbocharged flat-four engines that have replaced the previous naturally aspirated flat-sixers. And in a lot of ways, there’s not all that much to see in the 718 Cayman that wasn’t in the 718 Boxster, save for that fixed roof.
It’s worth repeating the decision Porsche has made to reorder the hierarchy of their entry-level sports cars. Where previously the Cayman was the more expensive of the two, now it is the Boxster that commands a higher price and slightly more prestige.
This is actually a return to routine, where every other model from Porsche (indeed nearly every other manufacturer) offers their convertible variants at a premium.
As before, the range is (for now) split between the base 718 Cayman and 718 Cayman S that brings more performance and kit for its higher price. Until a GTS or GT4 versions arrive, that should be how the tiers stand.
As with the base 718 Boxster, the new Cayman gets 2.0-litre turbocharged flat-four engine chucking out 221kW and 380Nm of torque, a rise in 25kW and 90Nm from the outgoing 2.7-litre atmospheric flat-six.
Moving up, and again matching the 718 Boxster S, the new Cayman S gets 2.5-litre turbocharged flat-four engine that produces 257kW and 420Nm of torque, an increase of 25kW and 50Nm over the outgoing 3.4-litre naturally aspirated flat-six.
Along with the increases in power and torque, the new engines were mainly engineered to facilitate improvements in fuel consumption and reducing emissions. In this respect, Porsche claims figures of between 6.9 to 8.1-litres per 100km on a combined cycle.
The new cars can be fitted with the optional Sport Chrono package, Torque Vectoring, and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) that can lower the car by up to 20mm in S trim.
Just like in the 718 Boxster, there’s Porsche upgraded PCM system with voice control and satellite navigation plus support for Apple’s CarPlay smartphone integration.
Australian buyers interested in the new line of Porsche 718 Cayman sports cars can register their interest now as deliveries are expected to start in late 2016.
For more on Porsche's full range of cars, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
