Car Lust: Porsche Cayman S Black Edition

In my ideal garage, sitting alongside my daily-driven BMW 135i would be a Porsche Cayman S. Offering the purity of a mid-engined rear drive two seater sports car, the Cayman S has an appeal that to me that its front-enginged competitors simply cannot offer. Although to me part of attraction of the Cayman S is a degree of less-is-more philosophy, the recent announcement of the release of the Cayman S Black Edition sporting more power and more features than the standard S still caught my attention.

Power is up 7kw on the S to 243kw, a healthy output for the car's 3.4L flat six, while torque remains unchanged. The extra power gives the Cayman S Black Edition a 0.1 second advantage over the S in a 0-100km/h sprint, now 5.1secs with the six speed manual or 5.0secs if you tick the option box for the seven-speed PDK gearbox. Option the Sport Chrono Package with the PDK and that time comes down even further to 4.8secs using Launch Control.

Extra equipment included as standard on the Black Edition includes a set of black 19-inch wheels from the Boxster Spyder, as well as Bi-Xenon headlights with dynamic cornering lights and other niceties such rain-sensing side mirrors and an automatic anti-dazzle interior. Plus, the car has the requesite minor touches that would be expected of a special edition from Stuttgart, including Porsche crests in the seat headrests and Black Edition scuff plates in the door openings. Unsuprisingly only one colour is available, I will leave you to work out what that might be.

The best part about the whole package is the price. While hardly affordable to most (myself unfortunately included) at $147,500, it costs not a single dollar more than the standard Cayman S. However, only 500 will be build worldwide, so expect the Cayman S Black Edition to be a rare sight on Australian roads.

Comments

Reflections Of A Car Addict On Holiday

BMW Vision Concept at AIMS 2011 After more than a month of running around madly, resting intensly, and doing various things that can only be done during uni holidays, it is well and truly time for me to put some time back into Have Car, Will Drive. In that time I've visited the Melbourne Motor Show, driven upwards of 1500km including two trips to Phillip Island, and dipped my feet in the mirky waters of car mechanics peforming my first radiator flush and attempting to understand the intricate workings of a Hyundai's hydraulic clutch system.

When Is A Diesel Not A Diesel? When It's A Fiat...

Like most small cars, the Fiat 500 is sold with an optional diesel engine in Europe. To date Australia has only had the choice of petrol-engined Fiat 500s, so when I heard that Fiat had announced the Fiat 500 Diesel for sale in Australia I was excited at the prospect of a new version of the funky Italian hatchback offering spectacular fuel efficiency while burning those long-chained hydrocarbons once reserved for trucks and tractors. Unfortunately, my hopes were soon dashed like a diesel-powered boat caught on a rocky coastline. Instead of being a diesel powered version of the miniature Italian, the Fiat 500 Diesel is a special edition of the regular petrol-powered 500 with trimmings designed by an Italian fashion house. 'Which Italian fashion house?' I hear you ask. That's right, you guessed it: Diesel.

Posthumus Review: 1994 Saab 9000CS

(This one may not actually be dead, but it is certainly dead to me, and so it qualifies for a Posthumus Review) Despite nearly two months having passed since the unfortunate demise of my Peugeot 405 Mi16 , I was definitely on the rebound when I bought my next set of wheels. From the sporty French emotion of the Peugeot I went to the clinically Swedish practicality (with a hint of European style, of course) of the Saab 9000CS. Instead of a five-speed manual mated to a rev-happy four mounted on go-kart-tight suspension, I now had a (relatively) heavy wallowing barge driven by an asthmatic 2.3L four and a clunky four-speed auto. But the old Saab was not without its perks. Its rear hatch provided easy access for transporting bikes and other assorted luggage with the seats folded flat. The heated front seats were a delight on cold winter mornings, and to my (possibly strange) tastes the fake woodgrain dash was a nice touch of class. The heated side mirrors and headlamp wipers were more of

Have Car, Will Drive

Search This Blog