Beijing 2016: Meet The 177mph Porsche 718 Cayman

Ever since Porsche refreshed the Boxster in 2015 it’s been as certain as eggs is eggs that its coupe brother would get the same treatment, centred on downsized engines, styling tweaks inside and out and the new ‘718’ badging.

And so it proves. Any surprises? Not really, it’s a Boxster with a tintop, and therefore for many as enticing a prospect as Porsche could have come up with. But there is one change: for the first time in the Cayman’s 11 years the new model enters the price lists below the Boxster. In defiance of industry practice, this particular coupe has always been more expensive than the convertible in the past. But at just shy of £40k, the 718 Cayman now undercuts the equivalent soft-top, by £1750.

There’s one other first: both coupe and convertible share the same power output from the turbocharged four-pot boxer engine. That’s 300hp in the cooking 2.0-litre version, 350 for the spicier 2.5 S.

As expected the new coupe can do a little more with it than the soft-top, being credited with 4.7 seconds for 0-62mph (718 Boxster: 5.1 seconds) when fitted with PDK and optional Sport Chrono package. The new S coupe records an impressive 4.2 seconds (Boxster 4.6 seconds). Top speeds are the same, at 170mph and 177 for the S versions.

The six-cylinder wail of the old Cayman may be no more, but the new engine’s forced aspiration does deliver torque. There’s 280 lb ft of it from 1,950rpm, less than half the revs needed for the weedier total in the outgoing Cayman. Predictably the turbo delivers on the fuel and CO2 testing fronts, too, the 718 Cayman recording 40mpg.

Good luck with that. The joy of the Cayman has always been the way it encourages you to drive the nuts off the thing. And with its convertible brother garnering so much praise since it became the 718 Boxster, with its retuned suspension, quicker steering and bigger brakes and wheels, the odds here are that the Cayman will build on its reputation as a great entertainer.

The new 718 Cayman is available to order now, with prices from £39,878 and £48,800 for the S version, with the same comprehensive options as are already available for the 718 Boxster. First UK deliveries will be in the autumn.