The Porsche Cockster Cayman S has been put on the Atkins diet to lose some weight and perform better. Debuted at the Los Angeles auto show, a new version of the light weight sports car is called the Porsche Cayman R. The R stands for racy!
The Porsche Cayman R is about 121 pounds (55 kilograms) lighter than the S version, the weight loss is achieved by removing modern accessories such as the air conditioner, stereo system and even the inside door handles – which have been replaced with strings that you pull on. The traditional seat materials are substituted with light-weight carbon fiber and the car is equipped with light-weight 19 inch wheels, weighing less than 80 pounds in total. To further reduce weight, a smaller fuel tank has been used and there is an optional lithium-ion light-weight battery available. The end result is a light weight sport car that weighs 2,855 pounds (1,295 kg).
The engine has been fine-tuned to produce an additional 10 horsepower to a total of 330 hp and 272 pound-feet (369 Nm) of torque, which is the same as the Cayman S.
There are three transmission offered on the Porsche Cayman R, a manual 6-speed transmission is standard which gets the car from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 5.0 seconds with a top speed of 175 mph. The optional 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (or PDK for those of us that like to simplify things) reduces the above time to 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 174 mph. The third option is a Sport Chrono Package transmission which further reduces the 0 – 62 mph time to 4.7 seconds.
The Cayman R comes with an even sportier suspension than the Cayman S and the car’s ride height is reduced by 20 mm, there is a limited slip differential in the back.
Visually there are a few changes with the most notable being the new rear wing and front lip spoiler. The headlights come with blacked-out trim and there are special graphics on the sides and mirrors. The Porsche Cayman R will be priced at €48,700 in the United States (of course you’d have to pay in dollars) and will be available at dealerships in February 2011.
2011 Porsche Cayman R Photo Gallery:
