The superb carbon buckets can be folded but not adjusted. You have to compose with the sliding rails and the steering column angle and reach adjustments. They hold you firmly from legs to shoulders, but my lower back was left wanting for a little more lumbar support on longer journeys. These seats are however perfect for the business end of driving, keeping your butt low and your upper body nicely straight to work the wheel. Downside is insertion and extraction which will prove tiresome to most in daily usage. Fortunately, today’s program has little to do with a daily commute. After a long wait, the nose of the Cayman is in pole at the Erstfeld hold up light. Red, yellow, green, a vigorous acceleration leaves camping cars and diesels behind for a nearly deserted stretch till the Amsteg exit.

The sport chassis of the Cayman R is firmly sprung and suspended, but not to an extreme, striking a very good compromise for spirited road use. Strangely and unlike the Cayman S, PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) is not available on the R model, but primary and secondary roide are never found at fault. Harsh expansion joints, wobbly asphalt, the car never loses composure, nor becomes uncomfortable.

Morning sun bathes the hairpins and faster sweepers of the western side of the Oberalp Pass, this is what we came here for. Handling traits surfrace with sharper pace, and I am surprised by the delicate balance of the chassis, worlds apart from a 911. Front end grip is a solid ally from entry to exit, while the rear clearly calls for some respect. In Sport Mode, the Porsche Stability Management  (PSM) allows rear end play that feels entertaining enough for these open road conditions. Moving the engine ahead of the rear wheels benefits agility by reducing polar inertia, but rear traction lost a little in the transaction and it feels. The Cayman R wiggles its slim rear end under throttle adjustments in a way that a 911 wouldn’t, with fatter rubber glued to the tarmac by weight overhang. Entering a bit hot on the brakes into a hairpin will generate predictable and perceivable understeer, but the throttle lift and readjustment that follow can easily unsettle the back. Entertaining, lively, interesting within the confines of road regulations.

True to Porsche’s reputation, the steering wheel, gear lever and pedal controls are weighted to perfection. Precision, delicacy, feedback, all of the ingredients for a gourmet sports driving recipe are there, with special mention to the short shift option (a 940 CHF must-have) which feathers perfection. With such a gear command in such a car, forking out another 5180 CHF for the PDK gearbox would be an unforgiveable mistake. As I zoom back and forth on this heavenly stretch of alpine asphalt under the direction of our photo-videographer, the Cayman R package appears more than adept for such terrain: it is very compelling.