Weekend Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: Like a bolt from the blue
Buying a Porsche was a dream come true. Buying one before they go fully electric was even better. Driving on Indian roads never felt so good
Last year, I went and did something I thought I never would. I bought a car! You see, when you have the best job in the world, which is to drive the best cars in the world, it makes no sense to own a car. Every week, there is something new and interesting in my driveway. The last time I bought a car was 12 years ago. It was an E-class that did all of 10,000km in four years and blocked valuable space in my garage otherwise used by the steady stream of test cars that I bring home.
But sense doesn’t always prevail. Sharp pangs of YOLO or FOMO made my 60-year-old heart behave as irrationally as the pleasure-seeking Gen-Z kids who popularised these new-fangled acronyms. With the ever-advancing wave of electric cars threatening to make internal combustion extinct, I had this gnawing fear that I might miss out on something special.
It doesn’t get more special than the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS, the last of a breed powered by Porsche’s iconic naturally aspirated flat-six engine. I had been eyeing the GTS (and saving up) for a while. Time was running out. The Cayman is going all-electric by 2025, and this was my last chance to get one before internal combustion is snuffed out. So I took the plunge, forked out a ludicrous (for me) sum of money, pulled some serious strings to get an allocation and then waited nine months for my Shark Blue Cayman to come. A year on, after a customary drive to Mahabaleshwar for one last blast of the Ambenali ghat before the monsoons, I can say the Cayman GTS was the best decision I’ve ever made.
Turbocharged engines and electrified powertrains almost entirely replace the good old naturally aspirated engine. It makes the 718 Cayman GTS like the last chapter of a brilliant novel with the 400hp 4-litre flat-six engine as the hero. It loves to be revved and rewards you with a spine-tingling soundtrack. The way the revs ebb and peak, the precise way you can control the accelerator and the sheer spread of power across the rev band makes wringing this six-cylinder engine a visceral experience.
With its mid-engine layout and perfect balance, the Cayman’s handling is on another level. Light, nimble and small, the Cayman has the basic fundamentals of a great sports car and builds on top of that with precise steering, fantastic grip and unflappable poise. Porsche has managed to give the Cayman a remarkably pliant ride, which makes it utterly useable on Indian roads.
The subliminal driving experience makes you forgive the outdated cabin, which is shockingly ill-equipped. A Maruti Baleno has a better touchscreen than the tiny seven-inch unit in the Cayman. And you can forget about basics such as wireless charging or a push-button start. You still need to slot in a key to fire the engine. But who cares? The dials are all analogue but crystal clear, and quite frankly an intrinsic part of the Cayman’s appeal. This is a car that’s the epitome of old-school perfection. And in years to come, it will be a happy reminder of the long gone golden age of sports cars, every time I drive it.
From HT Brunch, June 22, 2024
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