Motoring - Cayman S - it's the best Porsche yet

[Bartek S.]

The new Porsche Cayman S puts the 911 in the shade in so many ways but can it win over those die-hard purists?

This is the best car Porsche currently makes. Fine, you think, the punchline is blown and there's no point reading any more, but don't go just yet. I want to tell you why the Porsche Cayman S is so good and about the paradox that hints at why we don't see more of them.

But why now?

Because the Cayman, both S - from £44 100 (about R675 000) and less-powerful non-S - from £36 102 (R552 000) has just had an update similar to that recently undergone by the larger and more expensive 911

Each range now has a new direct-injection version of Porsche's flat-six engine design. In the 911 the engine can be 3.6 or 3.8 litres. In the Cayman it's a 2.9 or, as here in the S, a 3.4. Power for this one rises from the 217kW of the previous Cayman S to 235kW yet it uses less fuel and emits less carbon dioxide.

All Caymans now sneak under the 225g/km beyond which road tax gets very expensive.

Read more: motoring.