The Porsche Cayman S was announced as Car of the Year at a gala dinner in Johannesburg on 19 February 2014, winning the coveted Wesbank / South African Guild of Motoring Journalists Car of the Year (COTY) competition for the second year in a row.
And the good news is that the Porsche Cayman S and the full range of Porsche products, will be on display at the OverDrive motoring extravaganza to be held in Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as part of The Herald’s World of Wheels Motor Fair.
The event, hosted by the Eastern Province Veteran’s Car Club, will be held at the end of September.
Having scooped the 2013 COTY title with Boxster, Porsche is the second manufacturer, since inception of the competition in 1986, to score successive wins. It is also only the second year that Porsche has been nominated as a COTY finalist.
Accepting the trophy from Chris de Kock, Chief Executive of headline sponsor Wesbank and Christo Valentyn, Chairman of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists, a delighted Toby Venter, Chief Executive of Porsche Centre South Africa, said:
“This is a memorable day for Porsche customers and staff in South Africa. Thank you all for being an integral part of the Porsche family. I also commend the tireless efforts of engineers and designers at Porsche; these dedicated people create cars with leading technology and styling, not just in a clinical way, but with passion and magic. I also wish to thank the Guild of Motoring Journalists for the courage of their convictions by bestowing this honour on Porsche.”
In January this year, a 28-strong guild-member jury put the nine finalists for the 2014 competition through their paces at the Gerotek testing facility outside Pretoria. Scoring was carefully considered and each finalist was assessed against competitors within the segment they represent.
Porsche engineers placed high priority on the chassis tuning of the Cayman, not only with the goal of enhancing driving performance and agility, but also to simultaneously improve comfort and everyday practicality.
Setting new standards in its class for driving performance, the current Cayman generation features a longer wheelbase, new chassis and lower weight than its predecessor. Driven through the rear wheels by a 3.4 litre flat-six, normally aspirated engine (positioned in front of the rear axle) developing 239 kW, the Cayman S accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds when equipped with Sport Chrono package.
Previous winners of the WesBank / SAGMJ Car of the Year competition:
- 1986 Toyota Corolla Twin Cam
- 1987 Mercedes-Benz 260E
- 1988 BMW 735i
- 1989 Toyota Corolla GLi Executive
- 1990 BMW 525i
- 1991 Opel Monza 160 GSi
- 1992 Nissan Maxima 300 SE
- 1993 BMW 316i
- 1994 Opel Kadett 140
- 1995 Opel Astra 160iS
- 1996 Audi A4 1.8
- 1997 BMW 528i
- 1998 Ford Fiesta Fun
- 1999 Alfa Romeo 156 T-Spark
- 2000 Renault Clio 1.4 RT
- 2001 BMW 320d
- 2002 Audi A4 1.9 TDI
- 2003 Volkswagen Polo TDI
- 2004 Renault Mégane 1.9 dCi
- 2005 Volvo S40 2.4i
- 2006 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0T
- 2007 Honda Civic 1.8 VXi Sedan
- 2008 Mazda2 1.5 Individual
- 2009 Honda Accord 2.4 Executive
- 2010 Volkswagen Golf 6 1.4 TSI
- 2011 BMW 530d and
- Volkswagen Polo 1.6 TDI
- 2012 Hyundai Elantra 1.8 GLS Executive
- 2013 Porsche Boxster
- 2014 Porsche Cayman S
Alan Straton
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