I owned a 981-generation Porsche Cayman S for several years.I put about 4,000 track miles on mine before I moved on to something else.My Cayman S was brilliant on the racetrack.
It was so well-balanced, the PDK transmission was fantastic, and the car sounded great as well.My only complaint was that 325 horsepower was really not enough.I got tired of being eaten alive by Corvettes at Watkins Glen! The 981 Cayman S finally gets the power it deserves Why RR Racing chose a supercharger Well, RR Racing, based in Phoenixville, PA, has a solution.
They have developed the world’s first supercharged 981 Cayman S, and I recently had a chance to drive it.This car now sends between 500 and 520 horsepower to the wheels.That is a full 200 horsepower more than the stock car.
The power is transformative.After spending time with both the car and the engineer who built it, I came away convinced this isn't simply an aftermarket horsepower package.It's an exercise in solving dozens of engineering problems Porsche itself never had to tackle.
Instead of chasing maximum boost, as with many turbocharged conversions, RR Racing deliberately chose a Rotrex centrifugal supercharger because it delivers power progressively.“This is a top-end power car,” Rafi Raban, owner of RR Racing, explained.“Turbo cars make huge torque very early.
We wanted something with a linear powerband that's much easier to drive at the limit.” That philosophy became obvious almost immediately when I got behind the wheel.Related Porsche’s perfect 911 GT3 S/C has one problem: You can’t buy it The Porsche 911 GT3 S/C has the ingredients of a perfect sports car, but is available only to collectors.Posts By Joe Kucinski Making 500 horsepower reliable on the track Cooling the mid-engine Cayman Close Adding horsepower is only one part of the challenge.
The car needs to be reliable and in line with Porsche's overall quality.RR Racing quickly discovered that the Cayman's mid-engine layout creates unique packaging and cooling challenges.Rather than relying on traditional air-to-air intercoolers, they designed an air-to-water intercooling system that routes coolant to the front of the car, much like the engine's radiator circuit.
Track-focused versions can even use interchangeable coolant reservoirs and an external chiller between sessions to maintain consistent intake temperatures throughout an entire day at the circuit.The supercharged 981 Cayman S also features an upgraded transmission cooler, a secondary oil cooling system, and a custom deep-sump oil pan designed specifically for sustained track use.They’re the reason the car can repeatedly lap a racetrack instead of becoming another dyno queen.
One of my favorite parts of the project was the aerodynamic vents that extract hot air from the engine compartment rather than forcing additional air into it.Raban explained that simply increasing airflow into the Cayman creates unwanted pressure because the mid-engine platform lacks an efficient escape path for hot air.His solution was to engineer a vent that actively draws heat out of the engine bay at speed, reducing pressure and improving airflow throughout the compartment.
Early testing has already shown impressive airflow numbers.What the supercharged Cayman is like to drive It still feels like a 981 Close The biggest surprise wasn't how fast the car was, but how familiar it felt.I have a lot of seat time in the 981 Cayman platform, and this car felt very familiar to me.
But also, very different.The car never became intimidating or unruly.The chassis still feels balanced.
The steering remains wonderfully communicative.Most importantly, the power arrives in a way that encourages you to keep revving the engine rather than short-shifting.Of course, the blow-off valve (BOV) makes one of the loudest “pshh” sounds you will ever hear.
But it is important to note that this is a development car and the sound will be fine-tuned for production.Rather than trying to build a Cayman that behaves like a 911 Turbo, Raban wanted something that amplified the personality of the naturally aspirated Porsche without overwhelming it.After driving it, I'd say he succeeded.
This is not a car built for the drag strip; it is built for backroads and racetracks.The 0-60 mph was not the focus; the 60-130 mph was.Because when you are on the track, that is the performance metric that matters most.
For comparison, a Porsche Cayman GT4 RS has a 60-130 mph time of 8.44 seconds.This car does it in 8.17 seconds.Related This French Porsche Cayman rival could finally come to the U.S.
A long-awaited European rival could be closer than ever.Posts By Tyler Dupont The 981 Cayman is held back no more Not even the GT4 has this kind of power Close There's an old saying among Porsche enthusiasts that the Cayman was always held back to protect the 911.Whether or not you believe that, this project makes an interesting case for what the platform was capable of all along.
Yes, it's dramatically quicker than a stock Cayman S.Yes, the engineering behind it is genuinely fascinating.But what impressed me most wasn't the dyno sheet or the specifications.
It was that this still feels like a Cayman, just one that finally has the power its chassis has always deserved.Keep in mind that the car you see here is wearing many other modifications from Soul race headers and a custom exhaust to GT4 RS-style front fenders, brake calipers from a Carrera S, and other goodies.These are all great upgrades, but you don’t need them to take advantage of this supercharger kit.
The engine is a stock 3.4L flat-six that Porsche installed at the factory.That stock engine and PDK transmission handle the new power without a problem.This test car has seen 5,000 miles so far on both the street and track, and it continues to run flawlessly.
The kit will retail for about $14,000 all said and done.RR Racing will install it for you (it takes about a week) for another $2,000.A clean 981 Cayman S will set you back about $55,000.
So, for less than $70,000 you can have a GT4 RS-beating Porsche sports car.The first kits are expected to ship at the end of the year.The 981 Cayman Porsche never built The 981 Cayman has always felt like a sports car waiting for the engine it deserved.
After spending a day behind the wheel of RR Racing's supercharged version, I'm convinced this might be it.Porsche never built a 500-horsepower Cayman from this era.But thanks to some clever engineering and a lot of persistence, someone else just did.
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