Yesterday we saw the BMW M2 put up against the Porsche Cayman GTS in a fair comparison on some public roads. However, the guys from Autocar went just a bit further and tried to compare the cars on a track, to see which one would be perfect for a person more into track time. This time, though, the Cayman S was used instead of the GTS version.
From the specs point of view, things are rather close. The Porsche Cayman S 718 is the latest iteration of the iconic model from Stuttgart. It uses a new 2.5-liter turbocharged engine good for 350 HP and 420 Nm (310 lb-ft) of torque. When fitted with the automatic dual-clutch 7-speed PDK gearbox, it will do 100 km/h (62 mph) from standstill in 4.4 seconds in S guise. The normal Cayman will do the same in 4.9 seconds due to its missing 50 HP.
On the other hand, the BMW M2 uses a reworked N55 3-liter straight six turbocharged engine good for 370 HP and up to 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque. The figure goes up to its maximum potential only for short, 20-second bursts, also known as overboost. Accelerating to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes 4.3 seconds when using the 7-speed DCT gearbox or 4.5 seconds when using the manual.
As you can see, the two are very closely matched and that showed on the track as well. However, the Porsche, as expected, handled corners better and was slower on the straight. That may also be due to the carbon ceramic brakes you can get on the Cayman as well as the adaptive dampers, things that are out of reach for BMW M2 customers. Nevertheless, the contest was extremely close.
They admit that there’s a only really small difference between the two and we have a sneaking suspicion that on a track with a different layout, the M2 might’ve even taken the win. Then there’s the price difference to take into consideration as well. The BMW M2 starts at $51,700 while the Cayman S has a starting price tag of $64,100.
