Carrera Killer
Porsche won't build it - No Problem By Mac Morrison
Autoweek August 6, 2007 18
Think GT3 RSR flat out down Sebring's front straight, and you're not far off from the Cayman GTR.
2007 FARNBACHER LOLES PORSCHE CAYMAN GTR
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE:$118,500 (complete car); $56,450 (conversion only)
DRIVETRAIN: 3.8-liter, 390-hp, 338-lb-ft H6; rwd, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 3035 lb (est)
0-60 MPH: 4.1 sec (est)
FUEL ECONOMY (AW): 16.2 mpg
By
MAC MORRISON
Suggest to Porsche officials that perhaps a more powerful Cayman would be at least mildly interesting to drive. Go ahead, try it. Don’t know any Porsche officials? That’s okay, we’ve already put forth the idea. “No,” they say, “vee vill not put a 911 engine in zee Cayman. No, 911 buyers are not Cayman buyers. Yes, you should stop asking about zis.”
Or ask someone else—at, say,
Farnbacher Loles Motorsports. Danbury, Connecticut-based FLM specializes in Porsche racing and road-car performance, with loads of professional sports-car experience. The team won the 2005 24 Hours of Daytona and the 2006 IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge and has recorded strong finishes in American Le Mans Series competition. With the Cayman S as a starting point for its Cayman GTR, FLM swaps the stock 3.4-liter, 295-hp flat-six for the 911 Carrera S 3.8-liter engine with factory “X-51” power upgrade. FLM will either modify your car or provide a brand-new turnkey example. Either way, it says it will build just 20 GTRs in order to peg the exclusivity meter. Custom headers, cold-air intake, exhaust and engine-management systems yield 390 hp on premium pump gasoline, 410 hp on 100-octane racing fuel. Torque jumps from 251 lb-ft to 338.
Kip Harris,
Farnbacher’s managing director and the mind behind the GTR, says he wanted to engineer a Cayman suitable as a daily driver and track terror, hence the engine software’s allowance for racing gas. He also added a Cross 15-way adjustable suspension, limited-slip differential (not a factory option), Sachs heavy-duty pressure plate and clutch and beefier front and rear antiroll bars. The 19-inch tires are larger than the optional factory rubber, with 245/35s in front, 285/30s in back. A 911 GT3 enthusiast will envy the Euro-spec GT3 bucket seats with five-point racing harnesses in addition to the standard belts. And yes, that’s a GT3 front end, adding yet more 911 parts to the Cayman/Carrera hybrid.
Fire the engine, and Porsche’s signature exhaust note barks enthusiastically, only now it seems the sound is routed through a subwoofer with the bass cranked well into the Nigel Tufnel zone.
Indeed, the engine—hell, the entire car—goes to 11. And far beyond. Dig deep into the throttle, or dip just halfway, and it is clear why Porsche’s marketers don’t want this engine in this car and certainly wouldn’t like it if they knew we were behind the wheel. Zero to 60 mph happens in just over four seconds, with response so instantaneous it feels as though your Achilles tendon is grafted directly to the throttle as the sound morphs into a frenetic gonzo scream above 6000 rpm. Think GT3 RSR flat out down Sebring’s front straight, and you aren’t far off.
Or think—likely to Porsche’s chagrin—better-balanced, mid-engined 911 with its race-car soul unleashed. The chassis and suspension, with noticeable negative camber dialed in, allows the GTR to arc through corners with prodigal neutral balance or in full-on opposite-lock drifts, if that’s your preferred method.
Turn-in is immediate, with no discernible body roll to speak of, giving the car a reflexive response to inputs that makes factory-stock Porsches feel almost purposely detuned.
Not that Porsche mouthpieces would admit to such a thing. But as they say, “No, zee Cayman will not cannibalize Carrera sales.”
Well, yeah—if you never feed it 911s.
Response
Actually, there are two of us Casey@TischerPorsche. 
