The New Cayman S Porsche was officially unveiled Friday evening at a special party launch at Boatswain’s Beach in West Bay.
The 2006 Porsche Cayman S sports coupe was launched by Autohaus, the official Porsche dealer here.
Dr. Sook Yin checks out the new car. |
Along with this striking car, a special new resident was also welcomed to Boatswain’s Beach on Friday in the form of a Caiman (a reptile from the crocodile family), from which the car takes its name.
The new two-seat fixed-roof coupe is a high-performance sports car – the ‘S’ representing the fact that this car has a very powerful engine (291-hp). The regular Porsche Cayman is to come out in the second half of this year.
Priced at around CI$70,000 the new Cayman S is named after the Caiman reptile. Historically there were two species of crocodile native to the Cayman Islands (Crocodylus Rhombifer and Crocodylus Acutus), which are now extinct in Cayman and critically endangered in other parts of their range.
The Porsche is named after the Caiman reptile because it reflects the same attributes, explained President of Autohaus, Christian van der Bol.
‘It is called after the crocodile because it is small, agile, fast, and a little bit aggressive,’ he said.
Mr. van der Bol also commented that he was blown away by the fact that this car carries the name of the Cayman Islands around the world with it. ‘There is a lot of power in this name from Porsche, and we (the Cayman Islands) look forward to getting some international publicity from it. Our tourism needs it,’ he said.
Commenting on the product, Mr. van der Bol said, ‘Porsche are very special at what they do and the cars have such good handling and brakes they blow you away. They’ve got the technology and experience and they only get better with evolution.’
Meanwhile the Spectacled Caiman which was sponsored by Autohaus as a new exhibit at Boatswain’s Beach was shy and she did not make herself available for visitors to view on Friday night. She was happier to lie under the water and rehydrate herself following a long journey from Trinidad, where she came from a conservation breeding facility.
Curator Terrestrial and Education Programmes at Boatswain’s Beach Geddes Hislop explained that the Spectacled Caiman (Caiman Crocodilus) is native throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean, but not Cayman. This species is not endangered. Caimans can be found in rivers, fresh and saltwater wetlands and are generally harmless to humans unless provoked.
Although Columbus sighted the Cayman Islands in 1503 and named them Las Tortugas after seeing so many turtles in the sea, the name was later changed to Cayman, referring to the caiman crocodiles that roamed the islands.
This six-year-old female has bred twice and probably weighs a little less than 40lbs. She is to be known as Cassidy.
Following a wonderful dance presentation from Dance Unlimited, Mr. van der Bol, before unveiling the new car, announced that local businesswoman Betty Baraud had purchased the first Cayman S on the island, a beautiful, greyish/silver model. This was unveiled along with another dramatic red one while band Ratskyn belted out some rock ‘n’ roll numbers. Invitees to the event were excited to get the chance to sit into the cars, look in the engine and the trunk.
A review in Canadian Driver magazine says of the Porsche Cayman S, ‘There is no question that it’s a spectacular driver’s car, a fast (faster than a base Carrera around the Nurburgring fast), stable, incredible-handling machine that, with every inch-precise turn and every perfectly executed shift, makes you look like a far better driver than you really are.’
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