2006 Porsche Cayman S Vs 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S Comparison

ROUND 3: 2006 Porsche Cayman S Vs 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S
Baby brother or heir to the throne?

There's been a rear-engine Porsche sports car for as long as most of us have been alive. Will there always be one? Should there always be one? No Porsche in our lifetime has asked that question as convincingly as this new Cayman S (below right) does. No 914/914-6, no 924-968, not even the big bruising 928 ever contended to replace the venerable 911. The new Boxster-derived Cayman S does.

For starters, while the previous lower-priced Porsches were designed in joint-ventures with VW and Audi, this mid-engine coupe is all Porsche. It shares some 30 percent of its parts with the 911, including the front suspension, front chassis structure, the cooling system, the doors, seats, and more. The body is essentially a hard-topped Boxster. Adding the lid doubles the roadster's bending stiffness and improves torsional rigidity to 911 levels. This solid platform allowed the suspension to be stiffened relative to that of the Boxster S, with a bigger front anti-roll bar, stiffer rear springs, and firmer rear shocks. The Cayman's unique 3.4-liter flat-six is similar to the one used in the last 911 from 1999 to 2001, but it utilizes the current 911's VarioCam Plus valve-timing and lift system to produce 295 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque. It's the first non-911 Porsche to use this sophisticated system, and it helps deliver 15 horsepower more than the 3.2-liter does in the top Boxster S roadster, which sells for $4200 less.

2006 Porsche Cayman S Side Mirror

Starting off $12,400 less than a base 911, the Cayman offers practically everything drivers love about Porsche's icon--the ideal control locations, the tidy dimensions, even the milled-from-billet structural integrity and build quality. And the things that are different about it make the Cayman S feel more exotic than a 911. The roof seems to have been pulled down tight over the greenhouse, trading fishbowl visibility for gun-slit cool. Wide C-pillars leave bigger blind spots, just like in a mid-engine Ferrari or Lambo. The seats even feel slightly lower to the ground. All the cool handling options are offered, too, including Porsche Active Suspension Management (which, for $1990, continuously alters shock valving to suit driving conditions) and upgraded Carrera S style 19-inch wheels and tires ($1550, but the rears are slightly smaller on the Cayman S to reflect the different weight distribution). Our test car had both.

2006 Porsche Cayman S

From the outside it's unmistakable as a Porsche, and yet the proportions and detailing are all just different enough to delight the eye. The wheelbase is 2.6 inches longer than the 911's, the tail is bobbed 3.5 inches, and the roofline appears to slope down continuously from the A-pillar to the rear bumper, giving the Cayman S a profile that suggests a runner crouched in the blocks awaiting the starter's pistol. A rear-three-quarter view of the hips and the hatch's

subtle flying buttresses is a feast for the eyes.