Porsche Cayman R PDK Review: Captain Cayman

What we like:

Well-balanced chassis

inspiring driver’s car

it’s a Porsche sports car

symphony of the flat-six behind your ears

What we dislike:

Expensive options

engine feels lazy at low speeds

lacks the performance of rivals like the M3

Shedding weight off a usually means the deletion of certain luxuries and convenience features from the car’s interior. The cabin’s minimalist look is emphasized by features like the deletion of the instrument panel hood, the body coloured plastic trim on the centre console and dashboard and so on. Petrolheads will be ecstatic when they see that the door handles have been replaced with red pull straps like in a GT3 RS as well as the red seat belts.

The standard Cayman R is fitted with lightweight bucket seats which shaves 12kg off the Cayman’s weight but this is an option for local cars hence the fitment of highly adjustable sports seats instead in the car here. As in any modern day Porsche, the driving position is spot on and the view out is excellent to assist its driver to perfectly place it accurately on the racing line at the race track. To remind you that you are in the most hardcore and sportiest of Cayman models, there are Cayman R logos on the sills as well as on the dashboard.

While a standard Cayman R will come sans stereo and air conditioning, even the most hardcore of local drivers can’t do without such convenience features here, hence the fitment of both features on all Cayman R models here.

On the road, the extra performance and handling prowess of the Cayman R over the S is noticeable but hardly very obvious. The Cayman R’s prowess will surely be more apparent on a B-road blast or on laps around a race track, environments where the R is meant to strut its stuff on. Porsche might have made the Cayman R even better and more balanced than its lesser siblings but only the enthusiast driver who frequent track days and bouts of B-road blasts up north will be able to truly exploit and hence appreciate the R.

Credits: Story and photos by Raymond Lai