Porsche Cayman R Lightweight Fighter Unveiled

Hinted at last week with the news that it would unveil a 'new' mid-engined model this week, Porsche has unveiled the long-awaited Cayman R at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Entering as the new flagship in the Cayman range, above the now mid-range S, the Cayman R is also the lightest and most powerful offering in the three-car line-up.

Where the S maintains and adds to the Cayman's comfort and convenience features, the Cayman R has been stripped of all but the most necessary features, including air-conditioning and audio. The door handles too have been tossed, replaced by classic straps.

Carbon fibre racing seats continue the weight-loss regime, and ultra-light 19-inch wheels weigh in at just 40kg. In all, the Cayman R comes in at just 1295kg, making it a good 55kg lighter than the Cayman S.

On the power front, the Cayman R is powered by a retuned version of the 3.4 litre six-cylinder driving the S, developing 246kW and 370Nm of torque. This means that while torque remains unchanged, power is up by around 8kW.

Match to a six-speed manual transmission, the Cayman R's six is good for a 0-100km/h sprint in 5.0 seconds, while the Porsche PDK transmission shaves that time down to 4.9 seconds.

Top speed is listed at 282km/h for the manual and 280km/h for the PDK, and fuel consumption is listed at 9.7 l/100km for the manual and 9.3 l/100km for the PDK.

With ceramic brakes available as an option, the Cayman R also features a limited-slip differential and a revised sports suspension setup that has it 20mm closer to the ground than the Cayman S.

Australia

The new Porsche Cayman R goes on sale in Australia late in the first quarter of 2011, priced at $165,000 with the standard six-speed manual gearbox.

PDK is a $5,700 option and includes steering wheel paddle shifts on the Cayman R.