Porsche Cayman 987

2nd Generation Porsche Cayman (987) Story & History

IMPORTANT NOTE: The 987 was actually the first generation of Cayman. We are referring to it as the second generation on this site because it is the second generation of the Boxster platform. The Cayman and Boxster platforms have been the same since the Cayman was launched, which is why we kept them aligned in terms of generation (to make things easier and cleaner).

Cayman 987.1 (2005 – 2008)

Official photos: 2005 May 23 / Premiere: 2005 September 14, IAA Frankfurt motor show press day / Market launch: 2005 November 26

Technical Specifications 987.1 Cayman

Modification	Engine	Power	Torque	Gearbox	60 mph	100 km/h	100 mph	200 km/h	1 km	Top speed	DIN weight
Cayman	2.7B6	180 kW	201 lb-ft / 273 Nm	Tiptronic 5-speed	6.7 sec.	7.0 sec.	16.4 sec.	27.3 sec.	27.0 sec.	157 mph 253 km/h	1360 kg 2998 lb
Cayman	2.7B6	180 kW	201 lb-ft / 273 Nm	manual 5-speed	5.8 sec.	6.1 sec.	14.2 sec.	23.7 sec.	26.0 sec.	160 mph 258 km/h	1300 kg 2866 lb
Cayman	2.7B6	180 kW	201 lb-ft / 273 Nm	manual 6-speed	5.8 sec.	6.1 sec.	14.0 sec.	23.2 sec.	25.8 sec.	162 mph 260 km/h
Cayman S	3.4B6	217 kW	250 lb-ft / 340 Nm	Tiptronic 5-speed	5.8 sec.	6.1 sec.	13.5 sec.	21.6 sec.	25.4 sec.	166 mph 267 km/h	1390 kg 3064 lb
Cayman S	3.4B6	217 kW	250 lb-ft / 340 Nm	manual 6-speed	5.1 sec.	5.4 sec.	11.7 sec.	18.6 sec.	24.3 sec.	171 mph 275 km/h	1340 kg 2955 lb

Caiman is a small and nimble crocodile. Cayman is a small and nimble Porsche. With the Boxster 987 as the base, it was a rare occasion in the world of car construction that a coupé was built on the platform of an open car. The plus was the more rigid chassis, the minus the weight not saved. Another strange thing: the fixed roof coupé was more expensive than the roadster with its electrically folding top. The price increase from Boxster to Cayman was 8-10%.

AutoWeek’s editors named the Porsche Cayman S the best car at the 2005 Frankfurt motor show. Autocar magazine called it “brilliant” and “Porsche´s most focused sports car”. At the New York International Auto Show, the Cayman S was awarded World Performance Car of 2006. In the eyes of the 46-strong jury the Cayman S impressed with its “perfect combination of outstanding handling, looks and performance.”

The cars were built at the Valmet factory in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The incoming car parts were shipped from Rostock in Germany to Uusikaupunki 3 times a week and the majority of the built-up vehicles were shipped back to Germany, this time to Emden port.

The 2.7-litre base version was made available later, from August 2006 as a 2007 model. Its manual transmission had just 5 speeds. The base price on the Cayman 2.7 was a whopping 19% lower than on the 3.4-litre S-version, but standard equipment was really non-existent. That might be a good thing with a sports car, but if you want it for sports, you need the S-version. Even the 6-speed transmission was optional for the base Cayman. For comparison, the entry level Porsche 968 had the 6-speed transmission as standard already in 1991. And no less than a 3-litre engine. 15 years earlier.

Porsche Cayman mule based on 911 — This is a Cayman test mule built on a 911 cabriolet© Porsche

Porsche Cayman prototype — Winter testing of a Cayman prototype© Porsche

Porsche Cayman at the 2005 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show — Cayman S at the 2005 IAA Frankfurt motor show© Porsche

Porsche Cayman production at Valmet in Finland — Cayman production at Valmet Automotive in Finland© Valmet

Porsche Boxster and Cayman made at Valmet in Finland — Confirmation that your Cayman or Boxster was made in Finland is when the 11th character in the VIN is “U” which stands for Uusikaupunki, the town name where the Valmet car factory is located© Valmet

2007-2008 Porsche Cayman with Aerokit — Aerokit was made available in 2007© Porsche

2007-2008 Porsche Cayman with Aerokit front spoiler lip — Front spoiler add-ons that came with the Aerokit package© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 with PCCB ceramic brakes — Ultra rare: Cayman with PCCB Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987 rear fender design — © Porsche

2007-2008 Porsche Cayman with Aerokit rear spoiler — Aerokit’s fixed rear spoiler should never be installed alone – it is designed to work with the front spoiler add-ons© Porsche

Silver Porsche Cayman 987.1 with rear hatch open — A lot of luggage space under front and rear lids© Porsche

Red Porsche Cayman 987.1 with rear hatch open — 987 S has the brakes from the 911 Carrera, but the callipers are painted red!© Porsche

Silver Porsche Cayman 987.1, rear view — The rear spoiler comes out automatically when the speed of 75 mph / 120 km/h is reached© Porsche

Silver Porsche Cayman 987.1, side view — As announced by Porsche, the Cayman 987.1 S lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 8:20 minutes© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 steering wheel, instruments — White dial faces of the Cayman S 3.4 (they are black on Cayman 2.7)© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 PCM Porsche Communication Management — Optional navigation screen© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 interior, cockpit — Note the stopwatch on the dashboard, which tells the car is equipped with the Sports Chrono package. According to Porsche, the package made the car 3 seconds faster on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 rear trunk open — 9.1 cubic feet / 260 litres of luggage space in addition to 5.2 cubic feet / 150 litres under the front lid!© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 oil filler cap — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 see-through picture — Amazing engineering© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 engine and exhaust — The air intake is only on the left side© Porsche

Porsche 987.1 2.7-litre power and torque graph — 2.7-litre© Porsche

Porsche 987.1 3.4-litre power and torque graph — 3.4-litre© Porsche

Porsche 987 Sport Chrono graph — The Sport-button in the Sport Chrono package makes the throttle more responsive and raises the trigger threshold of the PSM Porsche Stability Management© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.1 front brake cooling — © Porsche

Brakes

	Color of callipers	Front disc diameter	Rear disc diameter
Cayman	Black	298 mm	299 mm
Cayman S	Red	318 mm	299 mm
PCCB ceramic	Yellow	350 mm	350 mm

Cayman S Porsche Design Edition 1

To boost the sales, a black on black Cayman S called Porsche Design Edition 1 was launched in the end of 2007. The car came with a briefcase containing Porsche Design items like the chronograph, a pocket knife, sunglasses, a pen, and a key ring. It should be mentioned, that Porsche Design is an Austrian company established by the designer of the 911, F. A. Porsche. Ferdinand Alexander was the son of Ferdinand Anton Ernst “Ferry” Porsche who created the Porsche marque and the grandson of engineer Ferdinand Porsche.

Porsche Design Edition 1 Cayman — © Porsche

Porsche Design Edition 1 Cayman limited edition plaque — The sales forecasts showed that it is possible to sell 777 units© Porsche

Cayman S Sport

The last original Caymans made before the 2009 facelift version, were Cayman S Sport in September 2008. They were uniquely available also in 911 GT3 RS colors Orange and Green in addition to Black, Indian Red, Speed Yellow, Carrara White and Arctic Silver Metallic. The cars came with sports exhaust system as standard and therefore the car had a little bit more power.

Porsche Cayman S Sport carbon mirror — Optional carbon mirror case© Stuttcars.com

Porsche Cayman S Sport with Aerokit — Cayman S Sport with optional Aerokit front and rear spoilers painted black© Stuttcars.com

Porsche Cayman S Sport black model designaton — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman S Sport alcantara interior — Cayman S Sport interior is similar to the Porsche Design Edition 1© Porsche

Porsche Cayman S Sport limited edition plaque — Plaque on the glove compartment lid

Cayman 987.2 (2009 – 2012)

Official photos: 2008 November 18 / Premiere: 2008 November 19, Los Angeles Auto Show / Market launch: 2009 February

Technical Specifications 987.2 Cayman

Modification	Engine	Power	Torque	Gearbox	100 km/h	100 mph	200 km/h	1 km	Top speed	DIN weight
Cayman	2.9B6	195 kW	221 lb-ft / 300 Nm	manual 6-speed	5.8 sec.	13.4 sec.	22.0 sec.	25.4 sec.	165 mph / 265 km/h	1330 kg / 2932 lb
Cayman	2.9B6	195 kW	221 lb-ft / 300 Nm	PDK 7-speed	*5.5/5.7 sec.	*12.9/13.2 sec.	* /21.8 sec.	* /25.2 sec.	163 mph / 263 km/h	1360 kg / 2998 lb
Cayman S	3.4B6	235 kW	272 lb-ft / 370 Nm	manual 6-speed	5.2 sec.	11.4 sec.	18.1 sec.	24.1 sec.	172 mph / 277 km/h	1350 kg / 2976 lb
Cayman S	3.4B6	235 kW	272 lb-ft / 370 Nm	PDK 7-speed	*4.9/5.1 sec.	*10.9/11.2 sec.	* /17.9 sec.	* /23.9 sec.	171 mph / 275 km/h	1375 kg / 3031 lb
Cayman S Black Edition	3.4B6	243 kW	272 lb-ft / 370 Nm	manual 6-speed	5.1 sec.				173 mph / 279 km/h
Cayman S Black Edition	3.4B6	243 kW	272 lb-ft / 370 Nm	PDK 7-speed	*4.8/5.0 sec.				172 mph / 277 km/h
Cayman R	3.4B6	243 kW	272 lb-ft / 370 Nm	manual 6-speed	5.0 sec.	10.7 sec.	17.2 sec.		175 mph / 282 km/h	1295 kg / 2855 lb
Cayman R	3.4B6	243 kW	272 lb-ft / 370 Nm	PDK 7-speed	*4.7/4.9 sec.	*10.2/10.5 sec.	*16.7/17.0 sec.		174 mph / 280 km/h	1320 kg / 2910 lb

From the 987.2 generation, the manual gearbox has a self-adjusting X-Tend clutch registering the gradual decrease in clutch pad thickness and, by turning an adjustment ring, setting off and compensating the gap caused by clutch pad wear. The advantage is that it reduces the increase in foot pressure required in the course of time until reaching the wear limit.

PDK double-clutch gearbox

The biggest news with the facelifted version of the original Cayman came for the drivers preferring automatic gear change. The more comfortable, but not so sporty Tiptronic was replaced with the 7-speed PDK (Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe). The PDK is made up of two transmission units connected via separate clutches with the drivetrain. One transmission unit comes with gears 1, 3, 5, 7 and reverse, the other operates gears 2, 4 and 6. The PDK is not so comfortable in the city as the Tiptronic used to be, but it is super fast at the race track when used in Sport Plus mode that comes with the Sport Chrono package. Regarding the acceleration times with the PDK, it should be mentioned that in real life a manual transmission car is faster from traffic lights, because you have to set up the launch with the automatic. The official acceleration numbers are better for the PDK, but these numbers are measured from the moment the car starts to move. While changing one gear at the time is eye blink fast with the PDK as what happens is a clutch change, not a gear change. It is not the case when you need to change 2 gears down, for example when taking over. Changing two gears sequentially is slow with PDK because these gears are on the same shaft.

Porsche PDK transmission explained — PDK explained© Porsche

The PDK was part of the solution to reduce CO2 emissions. And as such, the car is programmed to use very low rpm – which makes the car a dog at city speeds. You cannot make it better with pressing the Sport-button either as in this case the revs are too high for permanent use. The PDK would be perfect if you could adjust the car in a way that the engine revolutions would never drop below 2000 rpm.

DFI Direct Fuel Injection

The second technical feature to support the lowering of the CO2 emissions were the new engines with the direct fuel injection system. The fuel was now injected directly into the cylinder instead of the inlet port. The base engine grew from 2.7 to 2.9 litres.

Brake system

The 987.2 generation came with the new braking system that shortens stopping distance in an emergency situation. Whenever the driver lets go of the gas pedal very quickly, the hydraulic control unit builds up pressure on the brakes and moves the pads slightly towards the discs before the driver even presses the brake pedal. The cars also came as standard with a new feature called Start-Off Assistant. Without the need to use the handbrake, the new system prevented the car from rolling forwards or backwards when setting off on a gradient by automatically holding the brakes in position and then letting go in a controlled process after the driver released the brake pedal. Both PDK and manual transmission cars were equipped with this system. In size, the brakes were similar to the 911 Carrera, now also on the base Cayman. Disc thicknesses vary.

	Color of callipers	Front disc diameter	Rear disc diameter
Cayman	Black	318 mm	299 mm
Cayman S	Red	318 mm	299 mm
PCCB ceramic	Yellow	350 mm	350 mm

Porsche Cayman 987.2 premiere — Premiere at 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show© Porsche

Awards in 2009

Best coupé under 50,000€ – by the readers of German magazine “sport auto”
Best Driver’s Car – by US car journal Motor Trend
Best Sports Car – by British car journal Auto Express

Brown metallic Porsche Cayman 987.2 — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 with PCCB ceramic brake — PCCB ceramic brake© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 side view — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 top view — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 rear fender design — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 rear end design — © Porsche

Green, Blue and Red Porsche Cayman 987.2 — © Porsche

Blue Porsche Cayman 987.2 — Optional fixed rear spoiler© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 with rear hatch open — © Porsche

Red Porsche Cayman 987.2 — Cayman 2.9 can be told by the single large exhaust pipe© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987 car cover — When buying a car cover, note that indoor and outdoor covers are different© Porsche

Red Porsche Cayman 987.2, side view — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987 roof rack — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987 roof transport system, ski and bike carrier, roof box — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2, door open — Irresistible invitation

Porsche Cayman 987.2 dashboard — Car with optional PDK transmission and gear change buttons on the steering wheel that some drivers find unintuitive© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 Exclusive steering wheel — Porsche Exclusive© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 Exclusive PDK lever and handbrake lever in aluminium — Optional aluminium handbrake and gear selector from Porsche Exclusive© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 navigation — The PCM got a touch screen and its diagonal grew from 5.8 to 6.5 inches. The optional Bose sound system came with a new amplifier with its nominal output increased from 325 to 385 W.© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987 carbon centre console — Optional carbon fibre parts© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 Exclusive gear lever and handbrake lever in aluminium — Optional gear lever, handbrake lever and centre console© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 cockpit — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 interior — Bucket seats© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 see-through picture — Mid-engined Porsche© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987.2 engine, transmission, exhaust system — Flat-6 engine, transmission, exhaust system© Porsche

Porsche Cayman 987 PDK transmission — PDK gears© Porsche

Cayman R

The racy Cayman R debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 17, 2010 and was available from February 2011. The R had a little bit more power, a differential lock and a specially adapted sports chassis, lowered by 0.8″/20 mm compared to the Cayman S. With the omission of air conditioning system (-12 kg/26 lb), sound system, radio and even cup holders plus exchanging the doors to aluminium units (-15 kg/33 lb) and equipping the car with bucket seats (-12 kg/26 lb), it was possible to reduce the weight by 55 kg/120 lb.

Porsche Cayman R — 19″ lightweight wheels from Boxster Spyder© Porsche

Porsche Cayman R rear spoiler — Fixed rear spoiler© Porsche

Porsche Cayman R black exhaust pipe ends — Black exhaust pipe ends© Porsche

White Porsche Cayman R, side view — White has been the color of Porsche Motorsport cars and therefore suits the Cayman R perfectly© Porsche

Porsche Cayman R black design headlamp — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman R Sport Design steering wheel — No radio, no AC© Porsche

Porsche Cayman R interior — Cayman R interior as it was intended – with bucket seats and no creature comforts like air conditioning, radio, navigation, cruise control. Though, if the new car buyer ordered, Porsche put everything back and added the ordered equipment.© Porsche

Porsche Cayman R interior with red contrast — Red door openers and red seat belts look nice with interior trim painted red in a red car with red brake callipers© Porsche

Porsche Cayman R interior with white centre console — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman R cockpit — Removing the instrument cover for saving weight is more show than go in a 1.3 ton sports car© Porsche

Cayman S Black Edition

To boost the sales of the outgoing 987.2 generation, the Cayman S Black Edition was launched in July 2011. As the name suggests, it was a cosmetic edition. The car featured the Comfort, Infotainment and Design packages with price reduction. The coupé had the same power as Cayman R and and the same 19″ lightweight wheels from Boxster Spyder. Black items included body, wheels, model name, exhaust pipe ends, interior, instrument dials, dashboard and gear lever/selector trim. The equipment included dynamic cornering lights, anti-dazzle mirrors, rain sensor, automatic climate control, Sport Design steering wheel, cruise control, sound system, navigation screen, universal audio interface, Bluetooth.

Porsche Cayman S 987.2 Black Edition — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman S 987.2 Black Edition door sill — © Porsche

Porsche Cayman S 987.2 Black Edition plaque — “000” means it’s a prototype© Porsche

The 987.2 cars were launched during the worldwide recession and therefore the sales numbers were low. This was naturally bad news for Porsche, but good news for the 987.2 enthusiasts – these cars are relatively rare. Valmet produced 13.615 facelifted Caymans and with the 987.2 ended the Porsche production in Finland (1997-2011).