The new mid-engine sports coupe Porsche promised for 2010 Los Angeles Motor Show, turned out to be this, the Porsche Cayman R. It is a new, tarted-up version of the Cayman, introduced back in 2005, and it’s lightened and stiffened to become the track-focused version of the original car. The Cayman R is 55 kg lighter than the Cayman S. It also got more power, 330 bhp.

Porsche says the R, inspired by mid-engined 904 coupes of the 1960s, has been developed to provide pure, distilled driving dynamics. And it shouldn’t have been a hard task for the engineers, because the base car, Cayman, is already a fantastic driver’s car. They just had to tweak it a bit.

The Cayman R gets the same 3.4-litre, flat six-cylinder Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) boxer engine found in the Cayman S, but it has an extra 10 bhp. It does 0 to 62 mph in 5.0 seconds, two-tenths of a second faster than the Cayman S (WOW!). That’s with the six-speed manual transmission, get it with Porsche’s seven-speed dual-clutch PDK (Doppelkupplungsgetriebe) transmission and the Sport Chrono package then it sprints to 60 in 4.7 seconds.

Top speed with the manual transmission is up by 3 to 175 mph (282 km/h), 174 mph (280 km/h) with the PDK.

The car weighs only 1295 kg, which is incredible and given the output of the engine gives it a a power-to-weight ratio of 255 hp per tonne, and 250 hp per tonne with the PDK.

But this light weight will cost you dear! They remove the air conditioning and stereo and give you a smaller 54-litre fuel tank and a sports suspension system that lowers the Cayman R by 20 mm, helping lower the centre of gravity. It is kinda as stripped-put as the Boxster Spyder.

The Cayman R features a limited slip differential to optimise cornering grip, and lightweight 19” alloy wheels (first seen on the Boxster Spyder) that reduce weight by 5kg.

Lightweight aluminium door skins from the 911 Turbo and GT3, carbon fibre sports bucket seats and the distinctive interior door panels from the 911 GT3 RS also contribute to the weight reduction.

This model comes with the an Aerokit sports styling to be distinguished, sort of, from the normal Cayamns. The kit includes fixed rear spoiler in contrasting colour – sets the Cayman R apart, and black-framed halogen headlights, contrasting side mirrors and decorative “PORSCHE” side-stripes bring further differentiation.

Porsche also offers a new option of Peridot metallic paint.

Historically, special Porsche models with optimised sporting performance were identified by the moniker ‘R’, for Racing. The most revered model of this type is the 911 R of 1967. This specialised, lightweight edition of the 911 coupe had a 210 hp flat six engine shared with the Carrera 6 sports racer and weighed just 830 kg. Just 19 examples were built.

The car will go on sale in February 2011 with an MSRP of £51,731 in UK and $ 66,300 in the US.

Included in the purchase price is the invitation for customers to explore the dynamic attributes of their Cayman R and develop their own skills behind the wheel, courtesy of a Driving Experience Programme at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone.

	Cayman R	Cayman S
Engine:	3,436cc direct fuel injection flat six	3,436cc direct fuel injection flat six
Power:	330 hp/7,200 rpm	320 hp/7,200 rpm
Torque:	370 Nm/4,750 rpm	370 Nm/4,750 rpm
0-62mph:	5.0 secs (manual)	5.2 secs (manual)
	4.7 secs (PDK Sport Chrono Plus)	4.9 secs (PDK Sport Chrono Plus)
Top speed:	175 mph	172 mph
Combined mpg:	29.1 (manual)	28.8 (manual)
	30.4 (PDK)	30.1 (PDK)
Kerbweight:	1,295kg (PDK + 25kg)	1,350kg (PDK + 25kg)