Try to remember the feeling you get when you’re in a hurry and the traffic light next to you is just about to turn green. It’s this state of overwhelming anticipation that surrounded the launch of the second-generation
Porsche Cayman.
We got the picture when Porsche introduced the new, third-generation
Boxster, more than a year before the Cayman. Nonetheless, once the open-air thrills were explored, there was a terrible itch to find out how exactly the corresponding Cayman can build on that experience.
How else could one feel when the previous Cayman was a car that revolutionized Porsche? Never before had the Germans let one of their models get so close to the
911 God. In fact, the mid-engine configuration of the Cayman has led many to say that this is the car to buy, not its big brother.
Of course, Porsche has always had its ways of making sure that the Cayman doesn’t cannibalize the 911, things like keeping the
HP level down a bit. Not that the 2014 Cayman is out, the race is on to see how the sports car has matured.
Having driven both the 911 and the Boxster, our expectations were closer to the sky more than anything else. In fact, this is probably the biggest issue of the new Porsche Cayman: people expect the world and nothing less from it.
A quick glance through the spokes of the wheel exposes the beautiful aluminum suspension. Such a typical way for a Porsche to taunt one before a test drive kicks off...
It’s almost like the 2014 Porsche Cayman looks at the 911 and says “forget Pops here, buy me, I’m fresher!” To lure one, the Cayman starts with a pair of headlights inspired by the 918 Spyder hypercar and ends with Porsche’s ducktail, so you can’t help but admire this piece. It looks even better in the metal than it does on camera.
In between the two aforementioned elements, we find a Cayman that 1.3 inches (33 mm) longer and 0.43 inches (11 mm) lower. However, the real tricks take place within these dimensions. The overhangs are even shorter than before, and that’s because the generation change has brought a 2.3-inch (60 mm) wheelbase increase, with the Cayman even topping the 911 as far as this is concerned.