2006 Porsche Cayman S Road & Track Test

December 31, 2005
2006 Porsche Cayman S Road & Track Test
by Trevor Hofmann , Canadian Auto Press

The added power and slightly reduced mass results in a stimulating acceleration time of 5.2 seconds to 100 km/h, which is

To say that its handling is sublime hardly does the new Cayman S justice. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

a slight nudge under the Boxster S's posted sprint of 5.3. This is, of course, where I question the performance specs I have on either car. A lighter car with a five percent increase in power should be able to shave off more than a mere 0.1 second when charging to 100 km/h, shouldn't it? Whatever, powering off the line from stoplights isn't exactly what the Cayman S is for. You can buy a cheaper Corvette to handle such activities with greater success, but when the road starts to twist I challenge a comparable driver to keep up to the deft German coupe.

To say that its handling is sublime hardly does the new Cayman S justice. After all, a 911 with its engine hanging awkwardly behind its rear axle is sublime in the corners, the new mid-engine Cayman requires a new superlative

The Barber Motorsport Park is a difficult track to learn, with many convoluted twists and turns, and some even that look near identical to each other when approaching but follow unrelated paths when exiting. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

to describe its tenacity - say, exalted? No, I'm not even going to try and relate the acrobatic-like balance the car delivers in any given situation, turning my comparatively clumsy throttle application and braking response, plus my somewhat hesitant and often harried steering wheel input into relatively smooth, stable operation.

It's not that I'm such a bad driver, or anything. Actually, I'm pretty good on Quebec's Circuit de Mont-Tremblant, for instance, a track that I know quite well after returning to on six separate occasions this year alone. It's just that Barber Motorsport Park is such a difficult track to learn, with so many convoluted twists and turns, and some even that look near identical to each other when approaching but follow unrelated paths when exiting, that I kept going too quickly or too slowly, plus getting my line wrong when setting up corners. And just when I was getting the hang of it, it was time to come in off the main track and head up to a makeshift autocross course put together on one of the facility's upper parking lots.

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