Yahoo Autos Tested: 2020 Porsche 718 Cayman T Simmers in Basic Excellence
If the Mazda Miata is the perfect starter sports car, then the new Cayman T is the perfect starter Porsche. For some people, it might be the perfect Porsche, period. After spending quality time with the new T, we can imagine an owner being perfectly satisfied with its simple goodness and not aspiring to one of Porsche's more powerful and expensive sports cars. But we could have told you that after little more than a drive around the block. The T is that good.
The Cayman T has just gone on sale in the United States as a late-2020 model, joining four other variants in Porsche's mid-engine 718 coupe lineup: the base Cayman, S, GTS 4.0, and GT4. (For open-air enthusiasts, there's now a Boxster T as well.) Porsche reminds us of a master chef who finds ways of concocting multiple compelling dishes from many of the same quality ingredients. The T is the company's latest delicacy, a combination of several flavorful condiments from the Cayman's near-limitless options list. It's a low-cost dish, too—well, low cost by Porsche standards—that you could almost duplicate by ordering the options separately.
Here's the recipe: Start with a base Cayman and its standard 300-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter flat-four and six-speed manual transmission. Add the PASM sport suspension, which includes adaptive dampers and lowers the car 0.8 inch. Mix in a mechanical limited-slip differential, 20-inch 911 Carrera S wheels, and the Sport Chrono package. Garnish with blackened tailpipes, black rear-deck badging, a smaller-diameter GT sport steering wheel, and optional sport seats with a techy-look fabric. Add all the above to a standard Cayman, and it'll cost you about three grand more than the T's $67,750 base price.
Still, you won't quite have a T. Only the T comes with its wheels painted a spiffy titanium gray, plus matching sideview mirrors and lower-body "T" decals that confirm you've got a specially cooked-up Porsche. The T also gets "718" stitched into its headrests, as well as the GT4 model's short-throw shifter and awkward-to-use pull straps in place of the interior door handles. Our test car tacked on another $4820 in options—including navigation, dual-zone automatic climate control, auto-dimming mirrors, Apple CarPlay, seat heaters, and a larger fuel tank—which brought the as-tested price to $72,570.
In keeping with the basic nature of the T, we'd jettison all the extras save for the bun warmers ($530). After all, loading this car up with extras negates its reason for being. With its ground-hugging stance and fat Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer tires—235/35R-20s in front, 265/35R-20s at the rear—an unadorned Cayman T is simple, tasteful, and purposeful.
