Porsche 718 Cayman, Boxster to be launched tomorrow

Both the two-seater, mid-engined sports cars are powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre motor.

German carmaker Porsche is all set to launch the 718 cousins – the Boxster and the Cayman – in India tomorrow. The cars will arrive on Indian shores after just over a year of their official global debut. While the Boxster is a convertible, two-seater sports car, the Cayman is the hard-top version of the same.

Unlike the previous versions of these cars, which were powered by a 3.5-litre flat-six unit, the new ones share the same smaller but still gutsy engine. It is a turbocharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol motor which cracks out 300PS of power and 380Nm of torque. As compared to the previous-gen models, that’s an increase in power and torque by 35PS and 100Nm, respectively.

In international markets, this engine comes mated to a six-speed manual transmission as standard. In India, however, the 718s are expected to feature the seven-speed dual-clutch ‘PDK’ automatic transmission only. The powertrain set-up will be enough for the 718 cousins to complete the 0-100kmph sprint in 5.1 seconds and reach a top speed of 275kmph.

Porsche claims that the newly bred sportscars aren’t just about outright speed, but also about being more fuel efficient. Thanks to a smaller combustion chamber, the mid-engined sportscars are 13 percent more fuel efficient than their predecessors. The steering is now 10 percent more direct, which makes the two-seaters more agile and easier to steer at any speed.

For those who have been looking for the ‘S’ badge with either of the names mentioned above, the news isn’t promising. We can confirm that Porsche, for now, won’t be bringing the performance-spec 718 Boxster S/718 Cayman S – both of which are powered by a 2.5-litre engine (350PS/420Nm) – models to India.

Source: CarDekho.com