Iceman

Would whe see a Cayman 4S 4WD in the near future. ?

Hans.

Centurion

Naaw man, it's a Porsche, not an Audi. AWD would only come to use in slippery conditions. The Cayman doesn't need any more electronic assistance, it's handling is 100% perfect.

I also don't think that there is a high demand for a AWD Cayman. Therefor I don't think we will see one. The only reason there is four wheel drive 911s is to prevent unexperienced people from getting into trouble because of the engine configuration.

martinbo

No, the key reason as to why Porsche offer an AWD 911 is because the technical layout (where the engine is mounted aft of the rear axle) allows them to. Because the gearbox in a Cayman is located behind the mid-mounted flat six, getting a propshaft back to the front axle would be practically impossible.

I think that Porsche intrinsically understand the benefits and compromises of RWD vs AWD, and the reason that AWD is offered in 911s is to increase their everyday useability - especially in changeable conditions - and not necessarily as a nanny to unskilled drivers. PASM is for that.

Imhotep Evil

>



^ AWD is for me more of a nanny then PASM.
A Cayman 4S would still be possible tough modifications would be necessary.

In F1 when AWD came along in the late 1960s one of the solutions was to put the gearbox in front of the engine and therefor to spin/rotate/reverse the engine.

But the compromises (to handling, feeling, driveability) meant such cars were despised by drivers, who protested against driving them, and some say Graham Hill went as far as to intentionally crash the AWD Lotus 63 so as not to drive it.


Still some of the great cars were mid engine AWD, like the Group B Lancia 037
and "Delta" S4, the Peugeot "205" T16 Evo2.

And now we have the teriffic Audi R8 and Gallardo twins.

martinbo

When I say practically, I mean it in the literal sense of the word.

Cars like the Veyron, Gallardo and R8 use engines of the V configuration, so it’s quite simple to route the propshaft for the front wheels past the crank casing because there’s enough space on either side.
I don’t quite know how you’d like to route the propshaft around a horizontally opposed boxer engine… You can’t route it around the block, you can’t send it over either. And because the whole idea of a boxer engine is to keep the centre of gravity low then passing the propshaft below the engine would result in a) having to mount the engine higher up in the bay (negating the whole idea behind the boxer application) or b) having the propshaft perilously close to the road.

No practical, mechanically elegant or economically viable way of doing it in my opinion.

Your historical reference is irrelevant and superfluous in this discussion.

Imhotep Evil

But the Cayman ain't exactly practical.

If it would have been an old Bettle I would have understood you point, but I was just day dreaming of a Porsche WRC monster.

[ And call it, the "even more impracticable" Cayman limited edition. ]

Besides the reason for the Cayman/Boxter using a boxer has more to do with financial and marketing reasons than anything else.

Dumping the boxer would not bring tear to my eyes, as I'm not a fan of such an architecture (never really worked with the ground effects undertrays/underbody; and downforce rules ).

Now chill dude.

drronh

The real problem for Porsche with an AWD Cayman is that it would push the base price frimly into 911 territory and that ain't gonna happen.

martinbo

Yes, I agree but the same could be said for doing a turbocharged version of the Cayman and that would be far simpler to package than a mid-mounted flat-six / AWD installation.

In my opinion, the mid-mounted flat-six layout of the Boxster and Cayman is simply not condusive (from a mechanical engineering perspective) to be combined with an AWD drivetrain.

SDNR

Thanks for your excellent technical knowledge Martin ....I always learn a lot from you.

Mr. Chigga_Chan

Wow, this five-minute study break taught me more than all the hours I've been spending today. Props martinbo

Leave the Cayman the way it is, perfect