TEST DRIVE: Porsche 718 Cayman Style Edition

Change can be good or bad depending on how much you embrace it, and I for one am having a hard time accepting the fact that some of our most beloved sports cars may go away completely or morph into electric models only.

In case you haven’t heard, what is possibly the best all-around sports car of the last 20 years is now in its last year of production.

The venerable Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster are soon to be replaced by an all-electric 718 EV that will likely debut for the 2027 model year.

We’re pretty confident that Porsche will build a proper electric sports car, but it certainly won’t deliver the same experience that has made the 718 so great.

The 718 Cayman has had a lot of variations over the years, and they’ve all been fantastic to drive.

Buyers can currently choose from several different models, from the base model to the hardcore 718 Cayman GT4 RS. One of the newest variants of the 718 Cayman is the Style Edition, which provided a fun week of driving in what may be my last test of a gas-powered Cayman model.

The 718 Cayman Style Edition is essentially the base model 718 with some added cosmetic and styling updates. As such, it uses the same two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as the base model, which puts out a nice round 300 hp and 280 lb.-ft of torque.

The Cayman comes standard with a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission, but a six-speed manual is also available. There’s a lot of options available, but the car only comes in rear-wheel drive.

Paying an extra $6,400 for the Style Edition ($72,200 vs. $72,800 for the stock 718 Cayman) will get you cosmetic changes that include black stainless steel sport tailpipes, 20-inch 718 Spyder wheel in white or black, and a Porsche decal along the side and striping down the hood that give a bit of a retro look to the car.

There are also new paint colors and contrasting stitching inside the cockpit.

Our test car was painted in Ruby Star Nero, which I’m told would make an excellent nail polish color.

Longtime Porsche fans may remember a very similar color in the 964 generation 911. There are six “special” paint colors that will set you back $2,580, but buyers can also choose from four standard colors at no extra charge or a choice of six metallic colors that cost an additional $650.

If I were ordering one, I’d be inclined to go with the standard Guards Red paint with the black wheels.

Cosmetic appearance aside, the 718 Cayman delivers one of the best sports car driving experiences that you can get today.

The car is athletic and agile and almost intuitively responds to driving inputs through the steering wheel and pedals. There’s good feel and communication to the driver through the steering wheel and the seat, and the ride quality is on the firm side but well-damped to handle road imperfections.

The PDK transmission works well with the four-cylinder motor and almost always seems to be in the right gear, and there’s good feedback through the firm but easily modulated brake pedal.

If there’s any element of the 718 Cayman that doesn’t feel up to the rest of the package, it’s the engine.

The two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder is quick enough (0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds) but there’s some turbo lag from a start and it doesn’t excite the way the six-cylinder models do.

To get a six-cylinder 718, you have to jump up to the 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, which is twenty grand more than the 718 Cayman Style Edition.

Whether it has a four or six-cylinder under the hood, the 718 Cayman will go down as one of the great sports cars of all time, in both Cayman and Boxster form.

It’s the kind of car that you form a relationship with and could keep for many years without getting tired of it.

Like the Porsche 356 that still has such a strong following today, I expect that we’ll still see enthusiasts driving 718’s in sixty years.