Oh happy day, it’s a manual. Porsche might
have invented Tiptronic and PDK and all that, but these guys have never
forgotten how to do a gorgeous shift. It’s not just about the movement of the
lever, snicky though this one is. It’s about the perfect feel and progression
of the clutch pedal, and how, through the neutrals, the revs fall decisively or
rise just-so to a tickle of the throttle. In Sport Plus mode, it does those
downshift-blips for you, but I can’t think of a car that needs it less.
Much has been said about how the Porsche’s
new-gen electric steering isn’t quite as bewitching as the old hydraulic
set-up, but its precision is in no doubt. It’s progressive but lower-geared
than the Ferrari, which is a good thing for a long trip into night. Ditto the
softer ride and the quieter engine.
The
Speciale features a new design of caliper, plus discs with a higher silicone
content and pads that are 20% smaller than a 458’s
Quieter, but still dazzling at the $83,625
price. There’s a strong rhythmic mid-range, then a truly aristocratic journey
to 7,500rpm, all with the satisfyingly quick and progressive throttle response
no turbo driver could begin to imagine. And it’s properly quick. Along cursive
Austrian A-roads, it’s a handy scythe to overtake trucks. And in southern
Germany, as the golden sunset bathes the empty, derestricted autobahn, we
repeatedly see 260, 270, 280kph on the speedo. I don’t know how just how
accurate that is, but 280 translates as 174 of our mph, and the official spec
says 175 all-out, so I’d guess from the continuing acceleration we must be at
160-plus. At which rate your eyes are gazing a very long way ahead, your foot
waiting at red-alert for the signal to brake, and the world proceeds backwards
very fast indeed. The Cayman, meanwhile, feels good as gold.
The
Porsche 918 is equipped a high-performance hybrid brake system with adaptive
recuperation; internally ventilated and perforated front ceramic brake discs
Striking north-west will string together a
series of rural roadways across rolling countryside, all the way to the
morning’s Black Forest rendezvous. As night closes in, the car settles down and
swoops through them. Here’s the Cayman’s great trick. It’s one of the
best-behaved mid-engined track cars, yet it also manages to be a brilliant GT,
pitching an ideal combination of stimulation and comfort. We point it to a
small-town hotel. Round the corner it turns out a Bierfest is in full swing. I
have little trouble resisting, as I want to get cracking early in the morning.
After a couple of hours more of this lush
span of Swabia, we’re into the hills of the Black Forest, homing in on the
second handover of this fast relay. Parking the Cayman S, the same thought hits
me as it did when I got in yesterday. I want one, and am struggling to see why
this wonderful and beautiful car sells fewer than the Boxster, 911, Panamera,
Cayenne and Macan. In that order. Yes, Porsche is an SUV company with a
sideline in sports cars. Still, there’s one model that they make in even fewer
numbers. And it’s sitting in this lay-by among the trees. The 918.
The
Porsche Cayman S is fitted with larger ventilated discs front and rear (330
mm/299 mm, respectively), and high-performance, four-piston, aluminum,
mono-bloc calipers
The final leg of the relay begins in
innocent mode, the petrol engine silent. The birds continue to twitter
undisturbed in the trees. Walkers aren’t disturbed. Yet even in this
all-electric mode, the power is more than a 1974 911 Turbo’s. It’s as swift as
it is discreet. But if e-mode is a handy trick when you want to slip through a
postcard village or avoid waking the neighbours, it isn’t at all what this car
is about. From the inside, the carbon tub reverberates with the thumps from the
hard-set suspension. There are whirrs and clicks from various fans and pumps.
We’re doing something naive and simple in a car that’s bewilderingly
over-complicated for the job.
