|
Price |
|
-- |
Production |
|
-- |
|
Engine |
2.7
liter boxer-6 |
Weight |
-- |
|
Aspiration |
natural |
Torque |
201
lb-ft @ 4600 - 6000 rpm |
|
HP |
245
hp |
HP/Weight |
-- |
|
HP/Liter |
91.2
hp per liter |
1/4 mile |
-- |
|
0-62 mph |
-- |
Top Speed |
160
mph |
(from Porsche Press
Release) 2007 PORSCHE® CAYMAN™ COMBINES COUPE
ARCHITECTURE, MID-ENGINE DYNAMICS
Boxster® based hardtop offers
gorgeous and aerodynamic package
Just as Porsche builds
the Boxster and Boxster S roadsters, so it expands the Cayman sports
coupe lineup for 2007 with the Porsche Cayman, a Boxster-based
hardtop powered by a 245-horsepower, 2.7liter horizontally opposed
“boxer” six-cylinder engine – and now with Porsche’s exclusive
VarioCam® Plus variable intake-valve timing and lift technology that
broadens the torque curve, increases fuel economy and helps to
reduce emissions.
New for 2007 is a
revised and updated Tiptronic® S automatic transmission, a standard
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and optional new 19-inch
wheels with the same design as the 2007 911® Turbo.
But just as with the
Boxster itself, the sports coupe’s story isn’t sheer acceleration –
though it sprints from a standing start to 60 miles per hour in just
5.8 seconds (0-100 km/h in 6.1 seconds). The 2007 Porsche Cayman’s
story is one of amazing and balanced dynamic capabilities that come
from its mid-engine design and mechanical architecture and what that
means to the sort of fine-tuning done by Porsche’s legendary team of
engineers.
But the 2007 Porsche
Cayman is more than just another performance sports car. Its
well-equipped passenger compartment was designed and engineered to
be comfortable and well appointed for long-distance driving, whether
on two-lane mountain roads or wide-open stretches of Interstate
highway.
Like the Porsche 911 models and Cayman S, the power unit of the 2007
Cayman features VarioCam Plus technology. Maximum output of this
six-cylinder power unit is 245 horsepower, with torque peaking at
201 lb-ft between 4600 and 6000 rpm. The 2.7-liter power unit comes
with a lightweight crankshaft and a high compression ratio, with
output of 91.2 hp per liter.
Linked to the standard
5-speed manual transmission, the 2007 Cayman not only accelerates
quickly – and up to a speed of 160 miles per hour (258 km/h) on the
test track, but is rated at 23 miles per gallon in city driving and
at 32 mpg on the highway and meets ULEV II (ultra low-emission
vehicle) standards.
Small displacement but big
performance from 2.7-liter engine
The new engine in the
2007 Porsche Cayman is based on the 3.4-liter unit that powers the
higher-performance Porsche Cayman S, but while the external
dimensions are identical, the moving parts within the engine are
largely new in design and construction.
As in the 3.4-liter
power unit, stroke of the 2.7-liter engine is 3.07 inches (78
millimeters). The reduction in displacement results from the smaller
diameter – 3.37 inches (85.5 mm) of the cast pistons. The 2.7liter
engine also features a lighter crankshaft and the bores in the
hollow piston pins are larger, saving six grams of weight per pin
and giving the engine a fast, freer-revving response.
Detailed improvements are also to be found in the cylinder head,
where an injector bore between the two outlet valves completed after
the casting process improves coolant flow to reduce thermal loads at
this point, helping reduce the risk of the engine knocking. As a
result, the compression ratio can be set at 11.3:1.
Meanwhile, VarioCam Plus
technology combines adjustable valve timing and variable valve lift
on the intake camshaft. VarioCam Plus carefully manages camshaft and
valve lift to constantly make adjustments to optimize power output.
High torque throughout
the entire range of engine speed is ensured by the intake system
with its resonance flap, the two-chamber distributor pipe and
distributor pipe flap. The manifold system is the same in design and
configuration as on the 3.4-litre power unit of the Cayman S, with
the switch thresholds on both flaps being adjusted to the smaller
size of the engine.
To ensure an efficient
supply of oil to the engine even under dynamic driving conditions,
the Cayman comes with fully integrated dry sump lubrication. The
integrated dry-sump system is so precise at monitoring oil that the
Boxster engines require no dipstick; an electronic monitor measures
the oil level and displays the result on the instrument cluster.
The new Porsche Cayman
also boasts that muscular boxer sound to typical of Porsche, while
the sound of the engine when idling remains smooth and moderate.
Specially conceived for Porsche's new sports coupé, the exhaust
system has extra-large cross sections to keep counterpressure to a
minimum and engine output at a maximum.
Gearing up the Cayman
The 2007 Porsche Cayman
employs a standard five-speed manual gearbox and can be optioned
with the six-speed manual that is standard equipment on the Cayman
S. The five-speed manual features triple synchromesh on first gear
and double synchromesh on second. Multiple synchromesh rings assure
quick and easy shifts even with short shifter travel.
The six-speed has triple
synchromesh on first and second gears and double synchromesh on
third, fourth, fifth and sixth. As on the 911 Carrera®, the
synchromesh rings in first and second gear on both Boxster manuals
have a wear-resistant carbon coating.
An automatic choice: Tiptronic S
New for 2007 and
optional on the 2007 Porsche Cayman is the revised and updated
Porsche Tiptronic S five-speed automatic transmission that allows
for manual gear changing via fingertip controls located on the
crossbar of the steering wheel. For 2007, the Tiptronic S has been
upgraded with new hydraulics and electronics as on the 911 series
and Cayman S. This transmission’s refinements are best utilized when
combined with the optional Sport Chrono package, which when engaged
allows for variable shift patterns, which include more aggressive
downshifts, quicker shift times, and the ability to hold gears
against the rev limiter.
Variable-ratio steering
The 2007 Porsche Cayman
comes with variable-ratio rack-and-pinion steering that helps
enhance its agility on winding roads while helping to maintain
stability at higher speeds. When the steering wheel is within 15
degrees of its on-center position, the steering ratio remains
similar to that used on the first-generation Boxster. This assures a
smooth and calm driving experience, even on rough surfaces. However,
when the steering wheel angle exceeds 15 degrees from center, the
ratio becomes more direct, reducing lock-to-lock and giving the
driver better control on winding roads as well as in slow-speed
maneuvers, such as when parallel parking. Even with its wide tires,
the Cayman offers a tight turning circle of only 36.4 feet.
Enhanced braking system
The 2007 Porsche Cayman
is equipped with cross-drilled disc brakes at each wheel. Like all
Porsche vehicles, brakes undergo extreme testing both for stopping
power, durability and resistance to fading.
On the Cayman, front brakes are 11.73 inches (298 mm) in diameter
and 0.94 inches (24 mm) thick while the rear brakes are 11.77 inches
(299 mm) across and 0.79 inches (20 mm) thick. The Cayman comes with
four-piston black-colored aluminum monobloc calipers and anti-lock
braking technology.
While many vehicles power brakes via a suction pump with in the
engine intake manifold, Porsche uses a mechanically driven vacuum
pump to supply pressure to the brake servo. Driven by the exhaust
cam on the right-hand cylinder bank, the pump provides a high and
consistent level of power, even in low ambient air pressure or high
altitude conditions and also during highly dynamic driving
conditions under mostly open throttle.
Stiff chassis, nimble suspension
enhance performance
While the Cayman chassis
and suspension are based on the Boxster’s, the coupe is slightly
larger and gains rigidity from its fixed roof architecture. This
stiffer structure allows Porsche engineers to optimize the coupe’s
suspension for exceptional dynamic capabilities.
Compared to Porsche’s
own outstanding roadster, the body of the Cayman offers 100 percent
more resistance to flex and its torsional stiffness nearly matches
that of the heralded Porsche 911 Carrera. With such a solid
platform, Porsche engineers were able to tune the Cayman for an even
more sporting and dynamic dimension and with high reserves for
safety. However, the strength of the Cayman body also allowed them
to maximize the comfort of the driver and passenger.
At Porsche, performance
includes safety and the Cayman was designed with high degrees of
both passive and active safety features.
Nimble, sure-footed suspension
geometry
As on other Porsche
sports cars, the front suspension of the Cayman features
spring-strut axles with separately mounted longitudinal and track
control arms to assure precise wheel guidance while controlling body
roll. The rear suspension also features spring-strut axles with
longitudinal and track control arms.
Porsche Stability Management
included
The 2007 Porsche Cayman
features the latest generation of Porsche Stability Management (PSM),
unique vehicle control technology that comprises anti-lock braking,
anti-slip (traction) control, engine drag control and automatic
brake differential functions to intervene when necessary in driving
situations that approach the limits of adhesion. In such instances,
PSM can apply the brakes to individual wheels to help maintain the
car’s stability.
However, unlike
intrusive vehicle control systems available from other automakers,
PSM is designed not to interfere with sporty performance but to
enhance the experience for the enthusiast driver. To provide the
driver with more latitude in slower curves, PSM intervenes later
when the vehicle is traveling at a rate below 45 miles per hour (70
km/h). The driver can deactivate the system with a switch and the
system stays off until the driver applies the brakes. However, with
enhanced PSM, the system does not reactivate until the driver
presses firmly on the brakes, reaching the ABS threshold on at least
one front wheel. For the enthusiast driver, this change allows more
dynamic freedom, including slight use of the brakes in curves.
Porsche Active Suspension
Management available
Porsche introduced PASM
— Porsche Active Suspension Management — technology on the 2005 911
Carrera, and this system also is available as an option on the 2007
Cayman. PASM provides two suspensions in one: a sporting but
comfortable setup for normal use and a very dynamic setup for
performance-driving situations. In effect, PASM provides two
suspension setups in a single vehicle — one for comfortable cruising
and everyday driving and the other for track-day or autocross
exercises.
By pressing a button on the center console, the driver can switch
from PASM “Normal” to PASM “Sport.” But there are advantages to PASM
even when left in its normal setting because it automatically
adjusts to changes in driving style, gradually becoming firmer in
response to greater dynamic forces.
The PASM system combines
continuously adjustable shock absorbers, a pair of accelerometers —
one in the front right damper dome, the other in the left rear —
that determine vertical movements of the car’s body, and an
electronic control unit that also has access to steering angle, road
speed, brake pressure and engine torque figures. Compared to the
standard Cayman suspension, PASM Normal offers a more comfortable
suspension that provides even smoother ride qualities, especially
over rough roads. However, the system automatically stiffens when
the driver makes more aggressive inputs.
This provides optimum
damper control for each wheel with active dampers that have a
similar structure as standard shocks, providing damping with oil
pressure, but also a bypass valve that opens and closes to increase
or reduce the oil flow as needed. PASM Sports activates a much
firmer suspension control map for agile and dynamic handling, such
as that sought in track situations.
Dynamic modules for
nearly any driving situation
PASM is equipped with
five special software modules—lane change, vertical control, lateral
acceleration, brake and load change—to provide optimum settings for
many driving conditions:
• Lane change
module: In response to rapid movements of the steering wheel in
a sudden maneuver, the system instantaneously increases damper
forces on both axles, reducing any tendency toward sway or
rocking.
• Vertical control module: In the normal program, damper forces
increase whenever vertical movement of the car’s body exceed a
threshold, for example, when driving on a bumpy surface. This
prevents any risk of the body starting to rock. However, when in
the sport program, the system reduces the damping effect to
maintain wheel contact with a rough surface, preventing the risk
of the car “jumping” around.
• Lateral acceleration module: In the normal program, damping
varies through a curve, adjusting with road speed and lateral
acceleration.
• Brake module: As soon as the driver applies the brakes, PASM
firms damping to reduce body dive, ensuring faster transmission
of brake forces to the road. Then, at a certain point in the
braking process, the system switches to softer damping, with
different forces applied in the front and rear of the car. This
ensures better surface contact and shortens stopping distances,
even on rough roads.
• Load change module: In all-out acceleration, with the driver
lifting off the accelerator while shifting gears, the control
maps are adjusted for the front and rear axles. In the normal
mode, harder damping is used briefly to prevent too much squat.
In the sports mode, a softer damper response is used to improve
traction, for example, on a rough road surface.
Sports Chrono Package provides the
ultimate in dynamic agility
As a further option,
Porsche offers its Sports Chrono Package that modifies mapping for
the powertrain and braking systems to provide the ultimate in
performance driving. With the optional Sports Chrono Package
activated, the 2007 Porsche Cayman responds even more directly to
throttle inputs and offers the driver even greater freedom when
driving at the limit thanks to the car’s more sporting set-up of
engine management, shifting of the optional Tiptronic S transmission
as well as the parameters of the PASM system.
The Sports Chrono
Package includes a dash-mounted stopwatch gauge that records lap
times on track days or in autocross events. On cars equipped with
the optional Porsche Communications Management system, this data can
be displayed for review on the navigation monitor screen.
Standard Tire Pressure Monitoring
System
Porsche’s Tire Pressure
Monitoring System (TPMS) is standard on the 2007 Porsche Cayman and
uses wheel sensors to constantly monitor the air pressure in each
tire and to alert the driver with two warnings. A “gentle” warning
in white text appears on the digital display within the tachometer
if air pressure drops by more than 2.9 psi but less than 5.8 psi.
This warning appears for 10 seconds each time the car is started.
A “stern” warning is
displayed in red text on the tachometer's digital display if air
pressure drops more than 5.8 psi or if pressure is falling by more
than 2.9 psi per minute. This warning appears as soon as the
respective values are exceeded, whether the vehicle is stationary or
moving.
Multiple wheel/tire combos
The 2007 Porsche Cayman
rides on standard 17-inch wheels. Wheels are 6.5 inches wide in
front and eight inches wide in the rear. All tires are Z-rated
radials, 205/55 aspect in front and 235/50 in the rear.
18-inch and 19-inch wheels with wider tires are optional. The larger
wheels enhance vehicle dynamics and also shorten stopping distances.
Spare tire would add unnecessary
weight
To save 22 pounds (10
kilograms) per car, and to provide additional room for luggage, the
2007 Porsche Cayman is not equipped with a spare tire or a jack for
changing tires. Instead, cars have an electrical air compressor and
emergency tire sealant. Damage, such as that caused by a nail in the
tread, can be temporarily repaired by using the tire sealant and
re-inflating the tire. Porsche reminds drivers not to exceed 50 mph
(80 km/h) on a tire with a temporary repair and to have the tire
replaced or professionally repaired as quickly as possible.
Cayman design: purely Porsche, but
also unique
Some may look at the
2007 Porsche Cayman and be reminded of the Porsche 550 Coupe or the
Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupe, both legendary cars from previous
eras. Others will notice how Porsche designers incorporated elements
of both the Boxster roadsters and the 911 Carrera models into the
new two-seat, fixed-roof coupe. Still others will see the Cayman for
its unique design, purely Porsche but with distinct styling elements
such as its nose section, the way the rocker panels sweep up to the
side-mounted air vents like a hockey stick, and the graceful if
complex curves as the long sloping roofline narrows as it plunges
between the voluptuous rear fenders.
To try to classify the
Cayman as merely the coupe version of the Boxster does disservice to
both vehicles, each of which is unique with its own special
characteristics. The 2007 Cayman presents a new face for Porsche
with a more pronounced lower lip and with the fog lamps mounted on
bars that extend across the air intakes – with their unique vertical
slats -- on either side of that lap. The hood sweeps up between the
front fenders to a steeply raked windshield.
The exterior design not
only underscores the fixed-roof coupe styling, but also enhances
aerodynamic control. The small lip at the bottom of the front end of
the car reduces lift forces, which at 167 mph (270 km/h) increases
the load on each front wheel by 15 pounds (7 kg), producing a
significant improvement in stability at very high speeds.
The exterior mirrors are
like those used on the 200-mph Porsche Carrera GT supercar and the
new and split rear wing moves up some 3.15 inches (80 mm) as soon as
the car exceeds 75 mph (120 km/h) to enhance high-speed stability.
Rather than a traditional spoiler, this wing keeps air resistance to
a minimum while generating powerful downforce.
Airflow beneath the car
also is carefully controlled, both for cooling of engine,
transmission and brakes and for helping to keep the Cayman in
contact with the road surface. Further, ram air flaps are built in
the corners of the fan frames at the front of the car and open at
around 45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce throughput of air and thus reduce
forces acting on the front axle.
Headlamps use
projector-beam technology (bi-xenon lamps are optional). Wide tail
lamps are cut into the rear quarter panels. Rear horizontal form
bars merge into the specially designed and centrally mounted dual
tailpipes
Overall, the 2007
Porsche Cayman body is 172.1 inches (4371 mm) long, which makes it
not quite half an inch longer than the Boxster and 3.5 inches (88.9
mm) shorter than the 911 Carrera. The Cayman also is half-an-inch
taller (at 51.4 inches or 1305 mm) than the Boxster, though the cars
share their width (70.9 inches or 1801 mm) and their 95.1-incn (2415
mm) wheelbase dimensions.
Sophisticated interior features
high-quality materials
The interior of the 2007
Porsche Cayman combines luxury-class materials with the controls and
seat bolstering required by the enthusiast driver and thus provides
a fitting environment whether traveling across the country or around
a racetrack.
While based on the
interior in the Porsche Boxster, the Cayman adds several unique
features, such as its long and wide rear package shelf, covered
storage bins behind each seat and a revised binnacle above the
instrument cluster with a fine metal grid in the open spaces between
the circular instruments and the binnacle.
The gearshift lever,
steering wheel rim, handbrake lever handle, cover on the storage
compartment in the center console and in the door panels all are
finished in grain leather. Aluminum-colored trim accents the
interior.
The Cayman has an
oversized glove box. An open storage bin is located at the lower
front end of the center console with a covered storage box at the
rear end of the console. Inside this box are both a coin holder and
a 12-volt power outlet. Covered storage areas also are located in
each door panel.
A pair of cup holders is cleverly concealed behind a trim strip
above the glove compartment. Each accommodates beverages up to 2.91
inches in diameter and swivels out independently as needed.
The 2007 Porsche Cayman features two separate luggage compartments,
one under the front hood and the other under the long sloping rear
hatch. Combined, they provide 14.13 cubic feet (400 liters) of
capacity.
The rear luggage
compartment is fully carpeted and offers storage areas on either
side of a stainless steel trim strip. A luggage retention bar
between the headrests keeps bags safely in position, even when the
driver has to brake for an all-out emergency.
Several choices in audio equipment
The Cayman comes
standard with a Porsche CD Radio CDR-24 and can optional be equipped
with the Porsche Communication Management (PCM®) system includes
available DVD navigation and the ability to play MP3 titles.
A Sound Package Plus
with 9 speakers and also a BOSE® Surround Sound System is available
as an option. The BOSE Surround Sound System has 10 speakers and a
seven-channel digital amplifier specifically designed for the
Cayman.
Safe by design
Every 2007 Porsche
Cayman is equipped with six airbags including two front and two
seat-mounted side-impact airbags. In addition, the Porsche Side
Impact Protection (POSIP) system includes head airbags that deploy
upward from their housings in the door windowsills. These new
airbags provide a flat cushion that inflates to nearly 500 cubic
inches (8 liters) and are designed to help protect the heads of the
driver and passenger from broken glass and objects that might enter
through the window in the event of an accident.
