2009 Porsche Cayman S PDK - Improvements - First Drive

Compared with that life-or-death subject -- Should pulling a shift-paddle cause an upshift or a downshift? -- political and religious wrangles look like tea parties. Our editor-in-chief, for instance, is stone-certain Porsche's got it completely backwards: That's not how it's done in racing! Evidently, there's been some in-house angst at Porsche for the same reason, but the sentiment has been trumped by a reluctance to confuse current Tiptronic drivers. Untainted as I am with any racing habits, pulling back to downshift -- akin, in my mind, to tugging on a horse's reins to slow it -- makes perfect sense to me...er, what's that, Angus? Oh, right, it's backwards. Yes sir, definitely backwards.

But the 2009 Cayman is a whole lot more than a PDK story (it's a $3420 option, by the way). It's gotten a nice visual makeover, including bigger air openings to either side of the grille, turn signals integrated into the headlamp (for a 911-like two-tube look), daytime LED driving lights, and a massaged stern fitted with strings of LED taillights. Inside, is a revised multifunction touchscreen (called Porsche Communication Management) that greatly truncates the button count.

Most important though, both the Cayman and Cayman S's are powered by brand new sixes based on the architecture of the fresh 911 units. Among the pair's advances are lighter weight, greater stiffness (now with closed-deck blocks), a simplified timing chain, two-piece crankcases replacing the previous four-part ones (plus their separate bearing cases), twin-chamber stainless-steel exhausts, and oil pumps that dynamically match their engine's needs. The base Cayman's displacement is now 0.2 liter closer to Cayman S's, jumping to 2.9 liters with its output climbing to 265 horsepower (up 20 horses). The 3.4-liter's output swells to a hearty 320 horsepower from 295, largely on the basis of the introduction of direct injection. Notice that this engine's oomph is within a 5-horse Briggs & Stratton of the 2008 911's 3.6-liter's-and buttoned into a car that's roughly 100 pounds lighter. Calculation? Yes, it actually has a slightly superior power-to-weight ratio. Simultaneously, when equipped with PDKs, both Caymans' fuel consumption (and CO2 emissions) is markedly reduced compared with their Tiptronic predecessors, the base car improving by 11 percent, the S by 16. This is called having your cake and smushing it into your competition's face too.