Porsche of the Week Series - 3 minute read
Welcome back to Porsche of the Week, our mini series where each week we take a look at some of the most weird and wonderful cars to come out of Stuttgart, Germany. This week we're focusing on a car that wasn't around for long, in fact, it was only in production for about 18 months; The Cayman R.
(Image Credit: Car Magazine)
While on the face of it, the Cayman R may seem pretty similar to the Cayman S, I would urge you not to be fooled by it's very pleasant exterior. Make no mistake, this car is an animal! It featured a whole host of upgrades and tweaks to make the Cayman R a much more aggressive version of the already beloved Cayman S. Firstly, Porsche stripped off around 55kg of net weight by using aluminium doors straight off a GT3, lightweight 19" alloys, stripped down bucket seats and a smaller, 54 litre fuel tank, as well as the removal of the Air con system and radio, meaning its just you and the exhaust notes, sounds perfect!
(Image Credit: Evo)
The engine is a slightly uprated version of the 3.4L flat-six found in the Cayman S, with a minor upgrade in power and torque, but its really the reduction in weight that sets this car apart from the Cayman S! Often over looked is that less weight is every bit as good as more power, in fact, in terms of driving pleasure, I'd argue it's better! Less weight allows the car to feel nimble and alive at every moment, proven 10 fold by the likes of Tesla and other EV's, yes you can do 0-60 in 2 seconds flat, but I assure you driving one is like navigating a ferry through your local canal. Even the Taycan, which is widely regarded as the best EV on the market in terms of performance and drivability, cannot escape the fact that the car is well over 2 tonnes!
The Cayman R was available with both manual and PDK transmissions, both of which are phenomenal so that's personal preference! The only slight knock on the Cayman R, is more of a knock on the UK than it is of the car. We all know it, the roads in the UK are destroyed, completely and utterly destroyed! So the stiffer, lowered suspension and bigger 19" wheels make for a fairly bumpy ride with the amount of potholes there are these days, again, not so much a knock on the car as it is the environment it's being driven in. In fairness to the Cayman R, it certainly gets better at higher speeds and once you get on an A road its a dream, but around town your bum may get slightly sore.
(Image Credit: AutoEvolution)
The Cayman R was launched in Peridot metallic, the slightly olive green you see in the photos! and the interior featured lots of really stylish bits of green and red trim to make it feel like something really special, something different to what you could expect from an interior at this point in time.
(Image Credit: AutoEvolution)
Value in Todays Market?
The Cayman R has held its value really well in 2024! You can expect to pay anywhere between £35,000 - £45,000 for a tidy, low mileage example. Compare that with a clean, low mileage Cayman S at around 25k and you may be tempted to give the Cayman R a miss and pocket 10 grand. Not a bad idea! However we reckon these will age like fine wine and become more and more sought after as the years roll on. So the verdict would be not a bad investment, and a whole heap of fun!