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Porsche Cayman R revealed

More power, less weight and more focus for Porsche's stripped out 325bhp, £51,000 Cayman R.

Five years, one mid-life upgrade and a frantically spinning rumour mill on from its launch, Porsche has finally announced a stripped out version of the Cayman. It’s called the R, has 325bhp, costs £51,731 and goes on sale here next February.

There’s no word on exactly what’s been done to the direct injection 3.4-litre flat six to extract the extra 9bhp over the standard Cayman S, but it’s enough, claims Porsche, to have lopped 0.2secs off the 0-60mph sprint, which now stands at 5secs flat (or 4.7secs if you opt for the PDK gearbox).

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But that’s not all. Porsche has brought the same weight saving ethos it applied to the GT3 to the Cayman, the result being that the Cayman R has no air conditioning or stereo as standard, there’s a smaller 54-litre fuel tank, carbon seats, aluminium door skins a la GT3, sports suspension complete with a 20mm drop, a limited slip diff and lighter wheels that save 1.25kg per corner.

It all adds up to a 55kg saving in total, meaning the R has a power to weight ratio of 251bhp/tonne, while the S makes do with 234bhp/tonne.

Read Chris Harris' blog on the Cayman R and its hallowed badge

The R has its premiere at the LA Show today and according to Porsche, ‘has been created for one reason: pure, distilled driving dynamics’. We can’t wait to find out for ourselves. 

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