Launch of the Porsche Cayman R

Porsche Centre Singapore proudly presented the new Porsche Cayman R at the Porsche City Centre, located at 23 Leng Kee road last weekend. The Cayman R, the top-of-the-range variant in the Cayman model range, promises a race-car like performance capability through a sporting concoction of speed, agility and efficiency. Through an extensive weight reduction of 55 kilograms over the Cayman S, the driving dynamics in the Cayman R has been significantly improved, with the car's agility and acceleration capabilities honed to deliver a precise driving experience.

The new Cayman R was first unveiled to a world-wide acclaim at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November last year and will be available in the striking peridot green colour - a colour uniquely designed for the Cayman R.

Mr Karsono Kwee, Executive Chairman of Stuttgart Auto said: "The Porsche Cayman model range has long been recognised for its excellent driving and handling capabilities. In the Cayman R, Porsche engineers have once again surpassed the industry benchmark, delivering a lighter, a more powerful and dynamic car that will provide drivers with an exhilarating race-car like driving experience."

The Porsche alphabet reserves the letter R for very special sports cars: R for responsive and refined - but most especially for racy. The new Cayman R combines all these attributes without compromise. 55 kilograms lighter and with ten horsepower more than the Cayman S, the new mid-engine coupé from Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is designed for spectacular road behaviour. With its specially adapted sports chassis, it provides an even more precise driving experience than the Cayman S.

The new mid-engine coupé is powered by a tuned-up 3.4-litre six-cylinder engine developing 330bhp. In the standard configuration, it transmits its power to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox that propels the car from 0 to 100km/h in 5 seconds. There is also the option of the seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) that reduces its acceleration time to 4.9 seconds. For even more impressive sprinting performance, the Cayman R can be supplied with one of the optional Sport Chrono packages, taking it to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds.

The new mid-engine coupé is capable of a top speed of 282 km/h with manual gearbox, or 280km/h with PDK. Its NEDC fuel consumption is 9.7 l/100 km with six-speed gearbox and 9.3 l/100 km with PDK. The main aim during the design of the Cayman R was to improve the two-seater even further in its performance, driving dynamics and agility through consistent weight reduction. With a DIN unladen weight of just 1,295 kilograms Porsche engineers was able to reduce the power-to-weight ratio of the coupé with standard manual gearbox to 3.9 kilograms per horse-power, with the PDK version weighing 4.0 kilograms per horsepower. The largest savings were achieved through the use of lightweight components and doing without convenience equipment. As for the 911 GT3/GT3 RS and Boxster Spyder, an optional lithium-ion lightweight construction battery is also available. In addition, the top model in the mid-engine coupé is equipped with the lightest 19 inch wheels the entire Porsche range can offer. The complete rim set weighs less than 40 kilograms.

The Cayman R's purpose and purist character can be seen at first glance. The extended silhouette of the bodywork, which has been lowered by 20 millimetres compared to the Cayman S, combined with the distinctive fixed rear spoiler, the high-quality silver-painted wheels and numerous sporting highlights on both the interior and exterior, ensures an individual appearance. The black-framed headlights, black exterior mirrors and the "Porsche" lettering on the side - in contrasting black or silver, depending on the body colour - take design cues from classic Porsche racing cars.

Precisely this lettering was the trademark of the first Porsche with the "R" designation, the 911 R of 1967. It was created for racing sport use in a small series of 19 cars. The "R" was a prototype based on the standard coupé with a 210 horsepower Carrera 6 engine and, thanks to its many plastic components and extremely sparse equipment, weighed only 830 kilograms. Also inspiring the Cayman R is the legendary 904 GTS from the 1960s.

The Carrera GTS clearly indicated its motorsport ambitions: the Spanish word "Carrera" means "racing", whilst the "GTS" suffix stands for "Gran Turismo Sport" and emphasises the GT homologation of the road-legal 904. The composite 904, consisting of a steel frame and a glass fibre reinforced plastic body, was designed by F.A. Porsche, who recognisably scored a major success with this vehicle. The use of plastic was new terrain for Porsche, leading the company to seek advice from aviation experts during manufacturing. Two bodies per day were laminated by hand at Heinkel Flugzeugbau GmbH in Speyer.

Besides its racy shape, it was also the small frontal area of just 1.4 square metres and the Cd value of 0.33 which transformed the mid-engined vehicle, measuring just 106 cm in height, into an extremely successful sports car. The Porsche engineers made use of experience recently acquired in Formula 1 in designing the chassis. Like the Type 804 Grand Prix racing car, the 904 Carrera GTS was also equipped with triangular control arms and coil springs plus disc brakes at the front and rear.
Its various engine options, ranging from four to eight cylinders, enabled the 904 to be put to diverse uses. 106 units of the 904 Carrera GTS were equipped with a 180bhp four-cylinder Carrera engine (with sport exhaust system), four works race cars were fitted with a 210bhp six-cylinder engine and two went onto the track with the 240bhp eight-cylinder engine. Power was transmitted by the tried-and-tested Porsche 5-speed synchromesh gearbox, for which four different transmission ratios (Nürburgring, hill racing, airfield racing, Le Mans) were suggested to customers.

The 904 Carrera GTS was an extremely diverse Porsche sports car which enjoyed success in virtually all sports disciplines. Just five months after being presented, the 904 homologenised as a Gran Turismo achieved a double overall victory at the Targa Florio, besides proving itself as the class victor in numerous long-distance world championship races in History: Porsche 904 Carrera GTS 16 1964 and 1965. At the end of 1964, Porsche won the world championship title in the GT class up to 2000 ccm with the 904. In the European hill racing championship, the Porsche 904 additionally proved victorious in the Gran Turismo category. The Porsche 904's participation in the 1965 Monte Carlo rally was also a success. Despite adverse weather conditions with lots of ice and snow, Eugen Böhringer and Rolf Wütherich took second place overall.

From 1966 onwards, the FIA placed the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS into the sports car category, where it was doomed to failure against its successor, the Porsche 906 Carrera 6. However, many private drivers in the USA and Europe remained faithful to their vehicles, with the result that the 904 can be found in the list of victors at numerous races and rallies well into the 70s. Today, the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS is one of the world's most coveted collector's items.

The estimated basic price of the Cayman R starts from SGD 306,888. Prices are inclusive of PDK, a 5-year free maintenance and warranty program, road tax and GST but exclude COE prices. Prices are also subjected to change without prior notice. Terms and conditions apply.

Credits: Edited by Raymond Lai Photos by Porsche