Porsche 718 Cayman T Takes Driving Back to the Basics
It may not make glorious noises, but the Porsche 718 T offers up a truly sublime driving experience.
Performance vehicles, as you’re already fully aware, are getting more and more complicated by the model year. And many would argue that they’re losing their soul in the process. Most are ditching their naturally-aspirated V8s for V6s with forced induction, getting faster yet somehow more boring. And when the Porsche Cayman became the 718 and shed its glorious flat-six for a four-banger, many of us rightfully cried foul.
By all accounts, the Porsche 718 is still a fantastic machine. It’s just, well, not very satisfying to listen to. But you have to credit Porsche for trying to give fans of pure driving experiences something with the new 718 T. In this road test video from Carfection, they sum up this trim level quite nicely. “The T stands for Touring,” our host notes. “Which in Porsche-ease means less power, more toys, and an emphasis on driving experience. This, Porsche reckons, is purity.”
For starters, the T packs a bunch of features that were previously only available on the 718 S. Things like a 20mm lower ride height, 20-inch alloy wheels, Sport Chrono, torque vectoring, auto rev-matching, and a bunch of visual upgrades. This doesn’t really translate to much in terms of performance, with minimal 0-60 improvements and the same 170 mph top speed as the base 718. But they do help in other areas.
It may not sound great, but the 718 T is quite a pleasing thing to drive. “The steering is pure Porsche loveliness,” our host notes. “It’s so direct. As far as the brakes go, you could not want for more. They are so good. Responsive, the pedal’s easy to modulate. This thing is so good to drive. Find yourself a neat little switchback, properly play with it, and you’ll have the time of your life.”
All of this with only “300” horsepower under the hood. But as Porsche has done time and time again, the 718 T proves that sometimes, less weight and brilliant design is all you need to have fun in the twisties.
Join the 6SpeedOnline forums today!
