Top Secret said:
I don't think that's what Clarkson was trying to get at. What I believe he was trying to say is that this car is merely produced to fill the gap between the Boxster and the 911, and that it could be a heck of a lot better, but Porsche deliberately toned it down, therefore not releasing the Cayman's full potential.
That's probably true, but the fact is that Luwalira's point still remains - most companies do it: in fact I'd hazzard a bet that all companies do it to an extent. Why doesn't the CLK55 or SLK55 have a supercharger for example? So it doesn't degrade the upper-tierd models such as the CL55 and SL55 - essentially, AMG aren't attempting to make the best, fastest, sportiest car they can, they're making a car which doesn't conflict with its other models.. exactly what Porsche is doing. I see no problem with it when the end result is something like the Cayman...
I think another point is that 'being the best car it can be' can be said on so many different levels. Sure, it may not be the best
sporting car it can be, but how about the fact it fills a void in Porsche's line up, bridging the considerable gap between the Boxter and 911, and doing so with considerable validity? Maybe looking at it from this perspective, from a
price point, the Cayman may indeed be the best it can be - if it had been 'more' sporty it would have simple conflicted with the 911 and become far more expensive than its Boxter base.