Porsche Cayman R: How To Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

This is a story about the track-ready Porsche Cayman R, which we’ll get to in just a moment, but let’s spend a minute talking about how the Cayman came to be.

It did not take a financial analyst to discover that Porsche, circa 1992, was having issues. The 911 was selling passably well—it almost always finds its audience—but the pricey 928 was failing to win the hearts and minds, not to mention to pocketbooks, of the Porsche faithful, especially near the end of its run, which finally occurred in 1995.

Similarly, the 968, introduced in 1991 as a replacement for the 944, wasn’t being embraced by sports car fans looking for an entry point into the Porsche brand. Though the company insisted that 80 percent of the 968 was new, it perhaps wasn’t different enough from the 944 to ignite a fire among potential customers. By the time it was dropped from the lineup in 1995, it was quite a good car, but it just wasn’t selling.

Meanwhile, Porsche executives were rethinking the whole entry-level-model conundrum. They arrived at something that felt comfortable—the Boxster concept car, which debuted at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show in 1993. “We had originally planned to present our concept car in Geneva in spring 1993,” says Grant Larson, lead designer of the car. “But we decided on Detroit in January because we did not want to waste any time.”

The mid-engine roadster was an unqualified hit. When the production car hit the market in 1996, it was very faithful to that concept. Twenty-five years later, total Boxster sales had topped 350,000.

But not everyone wants a roadster, those Porsche executives reasoned. (Especially Porsche fans, it turns out—coupe models are consistently valued higher than their drop-top stablemates within this brand.) What if they took the Boxster platform and made a coupe? Versatile designer Pinky Lai, who joined Porsche after styling the BMW E36, was assigned to the car. Yes, it was influenced by the 911, but it was different enough not to tread on its territory. Thus was born the Cayman, which debuted as a 2006 model.

The base Cayman was powered by a 2.7-liter six-cylinder engine, while the Cayman S got a 3.4-liter engine. But Porsche thought there was room for a more performance-oriented Cayman, which finally came in 2011: That was the Cayman R. But after 2012, it was gone, with the pending arrival of the third-generation Cayman.

A nice little niche market remains for the 1621 Cayman R models that Porsche cranked out. It isn’t that much more powerful than the Cayman S and Boxster Spyder—just an additional 10 horsepower from the 3.4-liter six-cylinder, achieved by tweaking the exhaust system.

But it’s what surrounds that 330-horsepower engine that gives the Cayman R its track credibility. Taking a page from the Lotus playbook, Porsche designers and engineers put the Cayman R on a diet, not that the Cayman S was all that porky. They managed to trim as much as 121 pounds, starting with aluminum doors, lighter seats, different (19-inch) wheels and a fixed rear wing. Fabric straps replaced interior door pulls.

Additional pounds were shed by those willing to, as Porsche put it, “Do without convenience equipment.” That included air conditioning and a sound system, which is good for a 33-pound savings. (Thankfully, you could add those two back in if you valued being cool and entertained.) After that, it got expensive. A lighter lithium-ion battery could save 26 pounds but would cost you $1700. Carbon-ceramic brakes cut seven pounds, at a cost of $8150.

The standard transmission was a six-speed manual, but you could swap that out with a seven-speed PDK automatic, though it weighed an extra 55 pounds.

Fortunately, there were other changes. “With its specially adapted sports chassis,” Porsche said, “it provides an even more precise driving experience than the Cayman S.” Improved aerodynamics substantially reduced front and rear lift. The addition of the Sport Chrono package whacked three-tenths of a second off the 0 to 60 mph time, trimming it to about 4.5 seconds. Top speed was 175 mph with the manual transmission, 174 with the PDK automatic.

While all these adjustments made for a potent track rat, the R was as accommodating on the road as any Cayman model. As thin and lightweight as those seat were, they weren’t nearly the punishment you’d expect them to be.

There remains a strong market for the Cayman R, which was introduced at a base price of $67,250. Hagerty values a Cayman R in #2 (“excellent”) condition at $90,300, and a #3 (“good”) example at $74,000. By comparison, a 2012 Porsche Cayman S in #3 condition is valued at $40,000.

Values started increasing during 2019 and through the pandemic boom, but have been largely flat for the last two years. From the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2022, condition #2 values for the Cayman R grew 54 percent, which was a higher percentage than any other version of 2006-12 Cayman. They haven’t moved at all since the end of 2022.

Buyer interest for all 2006-12 Caymans pretty much mirrors the classic car market as a whole. Baby boomers make up 36 percent of Cayman policyholders that Hagerty covers, with members of Generation X representing 33 percent. Millennials appreciate the Cayman, too, making up nearly 20 percent of policies.

Bringatrailer.com has sold at least four Cayman Rs in the past year or so: Two for $75,000 each, one for $74,500, and one for $68,250. As of Wednesday afternoon, two Cayman Rs are presently being offered on the site.

As with any performance car, a Cayman R that has been consistently beat on during track days is likely to need more work than the proverbial, school-teacher-just-driven-to-church-on-Sunday car. Though many of these cars have led a coddled life, plenty did get used as intended, so be sure to shop for your particular use case.

And we don’t know about you, but we like our air conditioning and sound systems.

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