2021 Porsche 718 Cayman T review: Sports car purity

If I had my druthers, there would be a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 in my garage. It truly is a excellent vehicle to generate with a in a natural way aspirated flat 6-cylinder motor, head-of-the-class dynamics and severely fantastic appears to be like. But that greatness also will come with a 6-figure price tag. Ouch. If that’s a little too loaded for your blood, but you want a definitely rewarding knowledge, may well I counsel taking a gander at the 2021 Porsche 718 Cayman T?

Optimized base 

The T builds on the foundation 718 Cayman, run by a turbocharged 2.-liter flat-four motor earning three hundred horsepower and 280 pound-ft of torque. Even though all those usually are not jaw-dropping numbers, they are far more than serviceable, obtaining this three,065-pound coupe to sixty mph in four.nine seconds with the normal 6-speed handbook transmission. These who pony up an further $three,730 for Porsche’s PDK twin-clutch gearbox can do the sixty-mph dash in four.5 ticks. Prime speed for equally drivetrain configurations is one hundred seventy mph.

As considerably as ability is concerned, the foundation flat-four gives far more than more than enough. The Cayman T receives off the line nicely and the motor delivers stout midrange grunt for shooting out of corners. Electricity hardly tapers off when approaching the seven,500-rpm redline and this vehicle is a pleasure to command whilst doing the job the slick handbook shifter. Throttle reaction is also snappy with pedal placement that’s excellent for heel-and-toe rev-matching. If you can find one particular matter that Porsche fans will knock, nevertheless, it is really the motor observe. To me, it is really not terrible, especially with the sport exhaust. But it admittedly doesn’t maintain a candle to the wonderful sounds a right flat-6 sings.

Acceleration moments and v-max numbers usually are not what the Cayman T is definitely about. Alternatively, it is really the in general knowledge. To improve that, the T receives some normal chassis goodies that formerly were not available on the entry-level 718, this kind of as Porsche’s sport suspension set up that drops trip peak by 20 millimeters, energetic drivetrain mounts, a mechanical confined-slip differential, 20-inch Carrera S wheels and the Sport Chrono bundle.

All of this will work to make the Cayman T an partaking specimen, especially with the Sport Plus generate placing engaged. It turns on a dime and the electromechanical steering system gives oodles of feedback. There is certainly hardly any dive underneath braking and you can find little to no overall body lean. The 20-inch staggered Pirelli P Zero tires provide tons of grip, and this balanced managing behavior has me hankering for monitor time to securely discover the 718’s dynamic limits.

When it will come time to simmer down for schedule commutes or street visits, the Cayman T is nonetheless loads capable. Throwing it into Typical manner softens the dampers, delivering some trip compliance all over town, which is no easy feat on a vehicle shod with 35-collection tires. Really don’t expect to unnoticeably float about just about every street imperfection, but tiny to medium impacts are primarily absorbed and even even larger blemishes don’t definitely jolt the cabin. The Cayman T is comparatively fuel-efficient, too, returning an EPA-estimated 20 miles for each gallon in the town and 26 mpg on the freeway.

Smaller visible alterations

Like any right sports activities vehicle, the T appears to be like the section. It is not all that unique from the normal 718 Cayman, but it doesn’t need to be. The Cayman’s curvy overall body strains and great proportions nonetheless garner focus, and the only factors that established the T apart from the foundation vehicle are the Titanium Grey-painted 20-inch wheels, grey mirror caps, black exhaust strategies and badges. 

Head inside of and you can find a somewhat lesser-diameter GT Sport steering wheel, nylon doorway opener loops in area of traditional handles and woven Sport-Tex cloth seat inserts. Total, the Cayman T has a purposeful and easy inside free of quite a few frills. The seats are generously bolstered, the driving posture is comfortable and there are some storage cubbies in the doorways and middle console, but you usually are not going to discover comfortable leathers lining just about every surface area or snazzy trim items jazzing factors up — at the very least not as normal. In typical Porsche trend, all that variety of things is available as more-value options.

That’s not to say my Cayman T tester doesn’t have any creature comforts and extras. Twin-zone computerized climate controls and 3-phase heated seats are here. Handling infotainment is the very last-generation Porsche Interaction Administration system that utilizes a tiny but crisp and responsive seven-inch touchscreen. Right here it is really outfitted with available navigation that quickly calculates routes. A Wi-Fi hotspot and Apple CarPlay are normal, however Android Vehicle nonetheless is not supported. The driver-assistant tech menu is confined to a $seven hundred blind-place monitoring system and $one,670 adaptive cruise management system, with the latter only provided on PDK-outfitted autos.

How I would spec it

Supplied the overall performance-focused mission of the Cayman T — which starts at $70,250, like $one,350 for desired destination — I wouldn’t go too nuts incorporating options when setting up my excellent product. I would throw in a no-value white paint work on it that’d contrast nicely with the black side strips, grey wheels and mirror caps. As enticing as the $seven,410 carbon ceramic brakes would be for monitor functioning, I would forgo all those to keep value in check out and simply because the normal steel clampers are far more than ample for spirited street driving. Picking the $one hundred forty sixteen.nine-gallon fuel tank as an alternative of the normal 14.2-gallon unit gives far more driving vary and the $seven hundred blind-place monitoring system provides peace of brain. That brings my excellent vehicle to $seventy one,090, which somewhat undercuts the $seventy two,710 price tag of the vehicle pictured here.

A pure sports activities vehicle

As significantly as I adore the Cayman GT4, I never once found myself bored with the Cayman T. Outdoors of the much less-than-excellent motor observe, it is really challenging to discover a thing to dislike about the T from a overall performance standpoint. There is certainly more than enough ability to keep factors fascinating all through spirited drives, the chassis delivers supreme equilibrium, it appears to be like wonderful and, most importantly, it is really a vehicle that’s pure, involving and truly a blast to wheel all over.