My first impression is of a 911 which has gone wrong (or perhaps right) in some way, the rear end seemingly having been given an extra pinch.
Yet the driving experience in this two-seater, mid-engined motor is certainly more Boxster than it is 911.
Truth be told, there were times when it seemed to run out of power on the Donington Park track, although that might have been something to do with the fact that my first few laps were driven in the firebreathing 911 turbo.
But that means you benefit from the reassuring feel of useable power: instead of limiting the extent to which you push the pedal towards the metal, I found myself being more aware of how much forward propulsion I had left to play with.
Raw appeal
The handling, once again, wasn't quite so smooth and surefooted as the 911. But that might appeal to people who prefer the raw appeal of Lotus track cars to the cosseted comfort of more expensive cars in the range.
The Cayman actually felt more at home on the roads around Donington than on the track itself, perhaps suggesting that Porsche's designers took pains to ensure the noise, performance and handling had country lanes rather than pit lanes in mind.
The Cayman takes the Porsche line-up to four cars: the 911, Cayenne performance soft-roader and Boxster.
It comes with a choice of two engines - 2.7litre and 3.4litre - and 0 to 60mph times of 6.1secs and 5.4secs respectively.
It can be on your drive for between £36,220 and £43,930.
There's nothing British drivers like better than to put the old brain cells into reverse and mull over a little nostalgia.
Whether it's reminiscing about the cars our parents and grandparents drove, or our own first four-wheeled experiences, there's a lot of pleasure to be had from looking back over motoring memories.
There's one place in the UK that can bring those memories vividly to life, and that's the Heritage Motor Centre, which is home to the world's largest collection of British cars.
Situated in Gaydon, Warwickshire, the centre has more than 250 cars, which span the classic, vintage and veteran heydays of British motoring.
Now, a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £997,681 has enabled the Centre to launch a major redevelopment of its museum displays, under the auspices of the the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, which is based there.
The grant will bolster a £1.1m Road Ahead project, which will include the construction of a new mezzanine floor within the museum's exhibition hall, and the creation of two new exhibitions. One, Making British Cars, will tell the story of the British motor industry, and the people who worked to design and build cars from the 1890s to the present.
The other, called Under The Skin, will form an exciting interactive display, showing what goes on under the bonnet of modern cars. Work on the Road Ahead project will start next January 2007, with the two new exhibitions due to open at the end of May 2007.
For further details, visit the website listed below, or telephone 01926 641 188. Admission prices are £8 for adults, and £6 children, or £25 for a family entry.
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