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WHICH porsche gets the vote?

Bruce Fraser

Bruce Fraser

Today marks another significant milestone for South Africa.

For only the fourth time in a turbulent history everyone who is 18 and older and a South African citizen can place an X for the candidate or party of their choice .

Many youngsters today take for granted their right to choose who to vote for, choose where to live, choose whom to marry - often forgetting their parents and grandparents were denied these most basic of human rights.

Which brings me to the difficult choice I had to make on Monday: cover today's elections in the bright lights of Tweebuffelsmeteenskootfontein in the Eastern Cape or sneak off to KwaZulu-Natal for the day to attend the launch of the new generation Porsche Boxster and Cayman.

Tough choice I know, but the Porsche somehow won! There will always be another election in four years time but an invitation to a sports car launch these days is scarcer than a sighting of Schabir Shaik at a cigar lounge.

Let's start with the slightly more expensive Cayman.

Now I wouldn't recommend you try this but if you tickle a lion on its tummy it will purr like a big kitten. Give it a kick in the ribs and the chances are it will bite your head off. The Cayman is pretty much like this as well.

Keep it under 3000rpm and it behaves remarkably well, rattle its cage and the tiger under the bonnet is awoken. Very angry!

At the launch we had the chance to drive the new Cayman (R650000) and the Cayman S (R795000). Although there is a big difference in price between the two I would be extremely happy with either parked in my garage.

The Cayman is a full-on, no-holds barred sports car that produces 195kW from its 2.9litre engine.

The team at Porsche obviously don't believe in this nonsense of placing a 250kmh speed limit as do most other makers, so keep your foot on the floor and 265kmh soon appears.

Believe me this car is fast. With the KZN traffic authorities having a no-nonsense approach to speedsters we had to pick and choose our time when to let rip.

In a car like the Cayman, braking is as important as acceleration and the twin-circuit brake system will stop you in your tracks quicker than a WWE wrestler's drop-kick.

Next up was the Boxster (R595000) and Boxster S (R695000). Both take on a complete new look from its previous generation which, somehow, got stuck with the label of a "hairdresser's car". In other words it had found favour within the gay community. The new generation is a lot more aggressive, dare I say butch! Slightly wider and lower it leaves its predecessor for dead in looks.

Drop the clutch and floor the accelerator and the G-forces rearrange your lower back regions like a slam-dunk by John Cena.

The Boxster range have stuck with the true roadster style of a cloth roof and with it either up or down it looks stunning.

Unfortunately, the weather turned nasty for us on Monday, so, not much posing with the roof down was possible. But with the roof firmly in place it did prove very quiet.

Handling on all the models was typically Porsche - impeccable. Try as we might to get the back sliding in some particularly tight corners, we failed. The tyres bite into the surface and the grip is tighter than the undertaker's headlock.

So who's going to buy one of these beauties? Well with the recession the way it is and the motor industry in cardiacarrest, probably not so many. That aside, though, both the Boxster and Cayman are highly impressive vehicles and the pricing pretty competitive in the value-for-money department.

What's it to be . the Boxster or the Cayman? Difficult choice I know . let's just say they both get my vote!

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