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Porsche Cayman (2012-2016) review - Prices, specs and rivals

Everything you could ever want from a sports car

Evo rating
RRP
from £39,694
  • Too good to be regarded as 911’s budget alternative
  • Styling still jars from some angles; fantastic GT4 sold out far too quickly

Prices, specs and rivals

Starting at just under 40 grand, the base 2.7-litre Cayman rivals the Audi TTS with over 300bhp and the even more burly Nissan 370Z, though it’s comfortably more resolved drivers’ car than both, as we found out in evo 209. That test was conducted with the Nismo 370Z, which is priced closer to the Cayman (£37,745) and offers extra performance over the standard car. You can read our full 370Z Nismo review here.

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As it is the Alfa Romeo 4C (237bhp/£51,500) but a far sterner dynamic challenge is posed by the Lotus Exige S V6 (345bhp, £54,500), a rarer and far more hardcore alternative to the Porsche.

The Cayman S’s £48,783 price tag can easily sail closer to £60k with a few choice options which would otherwise buy anything from a BMW M3 or Lotus Evora to a lightly used Nissan GT-R. But perhaps the fact that this Cayman feels good enough to challenge Porsche’s more expensive 911 tells you all you really need to know.

And while the GTS is an additional £6500, it is appreciably sharper, and this is a sum easily spent on options anyway. Its most exciting rivals are the new BMW M4 coupe (423bhp, £57,055) and the Jaguar F-type V6 S Coupe (375bhp, £60,255), both of which are front-engine/rear-drive and therefore more practical than the Cayman, though bigger and heavier.

Like the 991 GT3 before it, the GT4 seems a bit of a bargain. This car has plenty of GT3 underneath (£100,540), a Carrera S 3.8-litre engine (£83,545) yet it’s lighter than both, has a superb aero package and every little detail has been tweaked by Porsche. Yet it costs from just £64,451.The Clubsport package (which includes a fitted half cage, you get the front bits should you want to fit them and go the whole hog) is £2670.

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