- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 2 seats
- Engine
4.0i, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
294kW, 420Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (98) 11L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2021 Porsche Cayman GTS: owner review
I've always loved sports cars: proper driving machines. Thrilling. Gorgeous. Raucous.
Owner: John-Paul
- Flawless engineering
- Near perfect balance of performance and practicality
- Astonishing brakes (is there any need for the carbon-ceramic upgrade?)
- Premium quality means premium price (with even pricier options)
- A front axle-lift feature would be handy
- Analog speedo is pretty, but 50km/h increments make it illegible (the digital readout in the tach solves this)
I've always loved sports cars: proper driving machines. Thrilling. Gorgeous. Raucous.
My youth was quite distracted by them. I would often visit dealers just to pore over all manner of sleek exotica: Ferraris, Porsches, Lotuses, Astons and Maseratis. I recall one car yard on Parramatta Rd in the '80s that lured me with a stunning lurid-orange Lamborghini Miura (back then it was a mere $29,990!). I convinced myself that mid-engine machine would be mine when I finished uni.
Unsurprisingly, life got in the way: work, wife, mortgage and eventually kids meant any notions of such indulgence succumbed to reality. Like most others, I went through a litany of hatchbacks, sedans and the inevitable SUVs. Practical, sensible yet ultimately uninspiring blah-mobiles. My dreams of sports cars simply ebbed away.
But then, so did the years: the kids' schooling finished. As did the mortgage. My career progressed and I was now at the point where car choices became about what I actually desired (no more 'whitegoods-on-wheels'). Still, the sensible part of me kept exuberance in check, so I looked at all the usual suspects (Audi RS series, M3/M4s, Alfa Quads, AMG-anything). All had serious intent yet were in all seriousness mainstream – in equal measure. Nothing convinced me until a whimsical detour landed me in a Porsche dealership.
Now, 911s are a bit beyond my reach. But Porsche has another sleek, low-slung, two-door coupe: the Cayman. A genuine sports car. With the engine in the right place – I've always liked them. True, the chassis always cried out for more power, and even the recent switch to flat-four turbos, though undoubtedly efficient, felt more Subaru than Stuttgart. They just seemed a bit underdone.
Until now.
After years of restraint, Porsche engineers have finally gifted us a meaningful power plant for the mid-engined sportster. They shoehorned a massive 4.0-litre flat-six into the small coupe and recreated the Cayman GTS. This was the sports car I’d been missing, and it took one test drive to confirm it. Yes, it was pricey (the options list alone will make your eyes bleed!), but after years of waiting I thought 'if not now, when?'. So I signed on the dotted line.
One year later...
Worth the wait? Absolutely! Caymans have a timeless yet purposeful design. The whole machine looks as if they simply stretched sheetmetal over the essential mechanicals, with svelte lines and curves that just make sense. No fake vents, nor superfluous panels or pointless plastics. It evokes joy each time I open the garage door. There is a low slide into the seats, but once you’re there, the generous glasshouse provides excellent vision with no blind spots.
The rear hatch offers a practical boot, with the engine deck lid that doubles as extra storage (tie-down hooks and a cargo net help here). The front trunk (frunk?) has room for another 2–3 decently sized cabin bags, and all up enough space for weeks away. I've even managed to carry a couple of road bikes on hatch racks. A lifestyle-friendly sports car? Who knew!
The interior has a build quality that is truly special. Everything feels solid, with premium materials and finishes all round. It's hard to understate how well-engineered the cockpit is; every switch and stalk and knob falls perfectly to hand. Some reviews have admonished the interior design as being somewhat dated. To my eyes, it's all the better for it!
Real analog dials. Metal paddles, switches with solid clicks, tactile rubber knobs... All truly driver-focused! (There's just something not right with having to take your eyes off the road, swipe and scroll through various menus, just to manage the air-con or change the suspension settings). There is still touchscreen versatility for those who want to smudge some glass, but I'm glad real switchgear means I don't need to.
The 10-speaker, 500W Bose sound system is impressive (there’s an even better Burmester option, but I’ll leave that for cashed-up audiophiles). The supremely efficient HVAC system is a standout feature; it completely envelopes the cabin (none of that frozen knuckles/sweaty-body debacle), while being the least intrusive climate-control system I've ever sampled.
The seats and steering wheel heating are equally welcomed on cold mornings. There's the usual array of mod-cons: camera, parking sensors, tyre-pressure monitors, adaptive cruise control, sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and lane-change assist, though it does miss out on some safety tech – notably AEB.
The steering wheel manettino controls the driving modes, swapping combinations of engine maps, suspension settings, gearshift points, exhaust baffles and rear-wing lift (though these can all be set individually via the switches). There's also a 'hot button' in the centre of the manettino, which gives you max everything for 20 seconds – perfect for overtaking when you need to hit hyperspace at full warp speed.
While the short-throw six-speed manual I test-drove was an absolute gem, I opted for the seven-speed PDK since: a) it's one of the best dual-clutch gearboxes around; b) it's quicker than the manual; and c) happy wife equals happy life.
Surprisingly, the PDK is also remarkably efficient, with 800km plus from the 65L tank not unrealistic on long drives. No doubt the cylinder bank deactivation and auto stop/start help here, but sub-7.5L/100km is quite achievable on the highway.
I was fretting that the 20mm lower sports suspension wouldn't cope with the goat tracks we call Sydney's roads – it does just fine (though potholes and low-profile tyres don't mix, and you do need extra care on some ramps). All of this makes the smallest Porsche as docile and comfortable as you’d ever want from a daily driver.
But that would be missing the entire point of the Cayman GTS.
To really appreciate the totality of this car's ability, you need to experience it on a circuit. As luck would have it, the dealer offered a full-day track event as a bonus at Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek, GP long circuit). After some initially timid laps, my confidence grew and I began pushing (my) limits.
Mashing throttle to floor brings a howling crescendo as the big-bore six shrieks to near 8000rpm. You try to keep up by flicking the paddles for more gears, then toeing 20 pistons' worth of ferocious brakes before being flung sideways from one corner to the next (comfort seats are great, but tick the box for the sports buckets if you want to cope with the immense G-forces this car generates). The steering is so responsive, you need nothing more than to think it around a corner.
Grip is limited only by the amount of tyre left to melt. Handling is effortlessly neutral, and can be coaxed into oversteer if pushed gratuitously, though it’s always controllable (there's always the stability controls to keep everything in line if you need them). And all with that symphonic-six roaring away.
Point, rev, brake, repeat. Make no mistake – Porsche built this car to mete out blistering speeds, corner after corner, lap after lap, over and over and over again. All. Day. Long.
Looking back, there'll always be some regret missing out on that Miura. But it's a fair consolation to find myself in another, altogether enchanting, mid-engined sports car. Are there faster cars? Sure. Better looking? That's your call. More practical? Only if you need four seats.
As it stands, the Cayman GTS combines quality design, performance, practicality and engineering into one of the most complete and compelling packages you can buy. You could argue a 911 is better, but you’d be paying a huge amount more for incremental gains.
It’s hard to imagine improving on this car, though I’ve seen that Porsche has yet again done just that. Behold the Cayman GT4 RS! I might just have to start saving up again.
Owner: John-Paul
MORE: Everything Porsche