2009 Porsche Cayman
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is presenting the second generation of the mid-engined Boxster and Cayman sports cars for the first time at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The highlight of the new generation is of course the new flat-six boxer engines developed with new technical features from the ground up, providing not only more power, but also significantly greater fuel efficiency than their predecessors. A further improvement of both fuel economy and performance is guaranteed by the Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe or PDK for short, the new double-clutch gearbox.
Newly developed Boxer engines with even more power on even less fuel
Displacing 2.9 litres, the “basic“ engine develops 255 bhp (188 kW) in the Boxster and 265 bhp (195 kW) in the Cayman, an increase by 10 and, respectively, 20 horsepower over the preceding models. The 3.4-litre power unit in the S-versions, benefiting from Direct Fuel Injection, now delivers 310 bhp (228 kW) in the Boxster S and 320 bhp (235 kW) in the Cayman S, up by 15 and, respectively, 25 bhp. An outstanding power-to-weight ratio ranging from 4.2 kg (9.3 lb)/bhp on the Cayman S to 5.2 kg (11.5 lb)/bhp on the Boxster offers the driver maximum driving dynamics on minimum fuel. As a result, the Cayman S with PDK and Launch Control featured in the optional Sports Chrono Package accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds, setting the benchmark in the range, while the Boxster with its six-speed manual gearbox featured as standard completes the same exercise in 5.9 seconds.
Featuring PDK, both the Boxster and the Cayman for the first time outperform the nine-litre consumption mark: Both models with the new 2.9-litre Boxer engine make do with 8.9 litres/100 kilometres (equal to 26.4 mpg US) according to the EU4 standard – 11 per cent less than the former models with Tiptronic S. Reducing fuel consumption by an even more significant 16 per cent to 9.2 litres/100 kilometres (equal to 25.5 mpg US), the 3.4-litre versions with PDK offer an even greater saving over their predecessors with Tiptronic S.
Roadster and Coupé with even more signs of distinction
The new two-seaters are clearly distinguishable from outside through their newly designed front and rear ends. The new halogen headlights with their integrated direction indicators are reminiscent of the lights on the Carrera GT, the new LED rear lights tapering out to the outside and integrated elegantly in the modified rear end of the car.
From the front the Roadster and Coupé differ clearly from one another through the distinctive design of their air intakes, from the rear through the new rear panels with diffuser inserts on the Boxster and a wind deflector plate on the Cayman.
The rod-shaped positioning lights in LED light conductor technology add a particular touch of class in terms of the cars’ looks, also through their horizontal arrangement in the outer air intakes. Yet a further highlight is provided by the foglamps featured as standard – rectangular in shape on the Boxster, round on the Cayman. For the first time both models are available with a Lights Package featuring bi-xenon headlights, dynamic curve lights and LED daytime driving lights. Replacing the foglamps, these light units are made up on the Boxster of four LEDs positioned next to one another, while on the Cayman four LEDs are arranged in round light units like the eyes of a dice.
PDK: shifting gears even more quickly, reducing fuel consumption by up to 16 per cent
All four sports cars are available for the first time with the Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe or PDK carried over directly from motorsport and replacing the former Tiptronic S. Equipped with the PDK double-clutch gearbox, the Roadster and Coupé accelerate to 100 km/h or 62 mph 0.1 seconds faster than with the manual six-speed gearbox now also featured on the “basic” models.
Acceleration is particularly fast and dynamic with one of the optional Sports Chrono Packages featuring Launch Control for maximum acceleration from a standing start and the Race Track Gearshift Strategy for the fastest conceivable gearshift as an exclusive highlight on the PDK models. Benefiting from Launch Control, the respective models accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h or 62 mph yet another 2/10ths of a second faster.
The progress offered by PDK is even more impressive when it comes to fuel economy reduced by up to 16 per cent from the former figure on the first generation: According to the EU4 consumption standard, the Boxster and Cayman equipped with PDK consume just 8.9 litres/100 kilometres, equal to 26.3 mpg US, with the S-models offering almost the same level of economy at just 9.2 litres or 25.5 mpg US.
Dynamic suspension and supreme brakes
The suspension with its new set-up gives the new models a combination of even greater driving dynamics and enhanced comfort all in one. Modification of the valve control map on the steering transmission serves furthermore to reduce steering forces, giving the Boxster and Cayman even more agile and spontaneous steering behaviour.
The wheels come in new design and are half an inch wider on the “basic” models than in the past in order to accommodate the larger brake system of the S-models on the front axle. Both the Boxster and Cayman feature the latest generation of PSM Porsche Stability Management now offering two new functions: Brake Pre-Loading and the Brake Assistant. Whenever the driver lets go of the gas pedal very quickly – which is typical of an upcoming emergency braking manoeuvre – the PSM hydraulic control unit builds up an appropriate level of pressure on the wheel brakes before the driver even presses down the brake pedal, moving the brake pads slightly towards the discs for immediate action. This significantly improves brake response and shortens stopping distances accordingly. When recognising that the driver is braking in an emergency due to very fast operation of the brake pedal and a defined brake force, the PSM hydraulic control unit actively delivers the brake pressure required for maximum stopping power.
New audio and communication systems
Both the Boxster and the Cayman come as standard with the new CDR-30 CD radio boasting an easy-to-read five-inch monochromatic display and the ability to play MP3 CDs. New PCM Porsche Communication Management available as an option complete with hard disc navigation serves as the central control unit for all audio, communication and navigation features.
PCM is now even more versatile, efficient and a lot easier to use than before, standing out in particular through its control monitor enabling the driver to select specific functions simply by tipping the appropriate key and increased in size from 5.8 to 6.5 inches.
As an option PCM is available with highly convenient voice control and, in conjunction with the optional, universal audio interface, can now be used also to control external audio sources such as an iPod® or USB stick.
Last but not least, Porsche’s new two-seaters are available as an option with seat ventilation combined with seat heating on both the standard seats and the comfort seats with full or partial leather.
Click here to pick out your new Porsche.
MileOne 2008 American Cancer Society Wrap-Up
October 26, 2008: MileOne Automotive joined the fight again by participating as a flagship sponsor in the 7th Annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Baltimore, MD. As a flagship sponsor for The American Cancer Society, MileOne provides additional monetary support and guarantees at least 100 walkers each year for the event. This year, with the help of all MileOne employees, friends and family, nearly $18,000 was raised to support the foundation.
In order to reach the donation and participation goals set forth by the American Cancer Society, MIileOne depends on 11 team leaders from the various dealership locations to collect donations and recruit walkers. They sold everything from danglers to bracelets to gift baskets, car maintenance packages and candles while also holding luncheons and “Power Pink Thursdays” to surround everyone with the feeling of hope during the month of October.
In addition to those funds raised by the support of great flagship sponsors like MileOne, many other volunteers contributed to a combined total of over $450,000 raised in the 2008 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative. The donations will support life-saving breast cancer research, education, and advocacy and patient services to those lives which have been affected by this disease.
MileOne has already agreed to be a flagship sponsor again in 2009 and will begin planning for the 2009 Relay for Life event next spring. With the partnership MileOne will donate a New Saturn Aura to the American Cancer Society to be raffled off at the last Relay for Life event in the Baltimore area. Tickets will begin selling shortly after the new year. Check online to see how you can get involved in your area and possibly become the next lucky winner of a brand new 2009 Saturn Aura from MileOne Baltimore Area Saturn Retailers.
Special thanks go to all the 2008 MileOne Making Strides captains: Candice Lloyd (Allstate Auto Rentals), Barbara Bentley (Heritage Volkswagen Subaru Owings Mills), Louise Fisher and Linda Cromwell (Heritage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Chevy Buick Mazda Owings Mills), Pete Martin (Heritage Honda Westminster), Jackie Huber and Susanne Mackenzie (Heritage Cadillac Mazda Jeep Bel Air), Brianna Hickey (Mercedes-Benz Annapolis), Paul Amick and Marie Cavey (Herb Gordon Subaru, Volvo, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Tischer Audi BMW Porsche), Valerie Mettee (Baltimore Area Saturn Retailers), Erica Frey (Heritage Chrysler Jeep Volkswagen Parkville), Penny Novak (Heritage Honda Parkville and Towson Service Center), Robyn Schuerholz (Corporate offices) and Jeannetta McGettigan (overall team leader and event manager).
My Garage, With Jay Leno
Ken Gross
Jay Leno, popular host of The Tonight Show, may be one of America's funniest comedians, but he is also a serious car enthusiast. His three garages near Burbank are packed with sports and special-interest cars, antiques and classics, old motorcycles, oil company signs and "automobilia." He hasn't counted everything up recently, but he owns more than 50 cars and about as many vintage and modern bikes.
When you walk in, you don't know whether to dive for the bright yellow 1913 Mercer Raceabout, complete with monocle windshield, or ogle his five stunning Duesenberg Js, parked together in a row. Further on, there's a rare 1915 shovel-nosed Franklin with a California-built body by Earl (as in Harley Earl and his father, before the younger Earl headed to Detroit to start GM's Art and Color department).
Is there a theme in his collection? "If there is a theme," Leno says, "it's probably a car that's ahead of its time. Everything here does a hundred with a few exceptions. There are no Model Ts. I like a reasonable level of performance."
Among other vehicles, the Leno garage houses a 1939 Lagonda V-12, a brace of Bentleys, including a handsome Speed Six, a dignified 8-liter sedan and a 1926 roadster with a twin-turbocharged eight-liter Bentley engine. Built especially for Leno by a team of British craftsmen, it'll light up its skinny rear tires in any gear. Ask Leno what the horsepower is and he just grins: "Probably over 500," he says.
No car or bike in Leno's collection is a museum piece; he drives everything and nearly everything runs at all times. Blessed with an assigned parking space at NBC Studios, Leno takes a different vehicle to work every day.
Two full-time mechanics help keep things in shape, although Leno (who once worked at Foreign Motors of Boston, near his hometown of North Andover, Mass., before his comedy career took off), likes to do things himself. He's capable of starting and running even the ancient machinery, like his two Stanley Steamers, which require a delicate combination of priming, heating and lighting--like starting up an old-fashioned furnace.
While Leno isn't averse to modern cars, he doesn't own many. There's a Turbo R Bentley and a pair of mildly modified Dodge Vipers, plus a stealth car--a souped-up Renault LeCar with a Ford Taurus SHO motor and a nitrous setup.
Leno likes horsepower, lots of it. While he'd never admit to being a hot rodder, there are vehicles here that could only be called hot rods. Take his Cobra replica. It started life with a pushrod 427 side-oiler. Now it has a gleaming 429 SOHC Ford V-8 under its hood.
"Yep, that's the cammer-motor," he says, lifting the hood, with a knowing leer. "It pulls like a train. I got this engine out of a powerboat. It's a much better engine than the 427. And it runs a lot cooler. You ever heard one-a these things go to eight grand? Oh geez... 'Whee, whee, wheeeeeeeeee!'" Leno expertly imitates the noise. "It's a frightening sound," he says.
Although Leno's a stickler for originality on his Pebble Beach Concours-winning Duesenbergs and his two real Bugattis, he also owns two replica Bugattis: a Type 37A that's all Bugatti parts but they didn't all come from the factory at the same time, and a stunning Type 57SC Atlantic that you couldn't tell from Ralph Lauren's Pebble Beach prize winner, except for the paint color. And who really cares? The real thing (they only made three) is arguably too valuable to drive.
If you want to see Leno get really enthusiastic, just ask him for a ride in his 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II with its 1,000-horsepower Merlin V-12. His eyes light up like Mr. Toad's in The Wind in the Willows: "I mean it's so stupid!" With Leno, stupid is sometimes a compliment. "It's got 1,806 pounds of torque. There's nothing like it. That's real power."
Does it have some sort of tank transmission to handle all that torque? We're surprised to learn it's a Moss four-speed, just like on a 1950s Jag XK120. "It's pretty strong," says Leno, "But you're not dumping the clutch. Once you're rolling, you put your foot down and Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!; it just keeps pulling like a train."
Leno would rather hang out in the garage than do almost anything else--except write and tell jokes. So his spare time is spent tinkering with his cars, or riding his bikes. He turns up at local car shows, rides one of his bikes up to the Rock Store on Sundays and often invites friends over to look at new acquisitions.
Leno's passionate about his cars, but ask him which one is his favorite and he gives you that sideways look familiar to so many fans of The Tonight Show. "Which one of your children is your favorite?" he retorts.
However, Leno is partial to Duesenbergs. "This car is not a myth," he insists, pointing to a J. "Any 70-year-old car that can keep up with modern traffic in L.A. and drive like a normal car is pretty amazing. At a time when the speed limit was 45 mph, a Duesenberg could go 120 mph."
How does he decide what to buy next? "I just see something. If it catches my eye, it's like a pretty girl...But I'm quite happy with everything I have. I don't lust for new things. But, if I do see one and think, 'Oh, that's nice...' Well, that's cool, too."
And his wife, Mavis, is tolerant of this passion? "Yes. It's cheaper than hookers and cocaine," he jokes. "Most guys in Hollywood have 20 girlfriends and one car and I have 20 cars and one girlfriend. She always knows where I am. I'm here in the garage.
"'What's that fragrance?'" Leno says in a fake falsetto voice? "'It's gasoline, honey. It's not cheap perfume.'"
"Having these cars is great fun," Leno says. "And there's a sense of history to all this stuff. We don't really own these cars, we just keep them for the next owners."
What is the Maryland state fish?
- Flounder
- Rockfish
- Salmon
- Swordfish
See answer under Car Doctor.
