Silver Bullet

If I were a werewolf, I’d sure be afraid of this silver bullet.

I mean, outrunning this 2006 Porsche Cayman S, owned and modified by Orange, CA native Shawn Bennett, would be downright impossible.

Bennett is no stranger to building hard-core rides such as these, as we featured his 1998 Toyota 4Runner sporting a 152.5dB Audiobahn sound system, high-rise suspension ready to tackle the Baja race and a supercharged and nitrous-fed engine way back in Vol. 4 Issue 3. More recently, he created a low-rider Chevy Silverado truck, again sporting a blown, nitrous-fed motor and a full Sony entertainment system set-up. We featured that vehicle on the cover of our RearView section back in Volume 6, Issue 5. We ran into his latest, this drop-dead gorgeous Boxster-with-a-tin-top in Sony Xplōd’s booth at the 2006 edition of the SEMA show.

We’ve no doubt Bennett sees more than his fair share of nice rides, what with being in tuner heaven Cali and owning Image Auto Detailing and Image Audio Designs. We also figure he knows a thing or two about making cars look good, and his Cayman is no exception. Granted, making the tightbodied two-seater look good is done by leaving it alone; it’s screwing it up by changing it that’s the challenge you need to look out for.

That flowing shape is reinforced thanks to a TechArt (a name synonymous with individualized Porsches since 1987) Aerodynamic Kit I comprised of a front spoiler and side skirts and mirror covers. The orange driving lights on the edges of the front wheel wells were swapped out with clear pieces for a cleaner, mono-chromatic appearance. All body-enhancing work was entrusted to Spectrum Collision Center in Irvine, CA.

But the real attention getters that give you a sense this isn’t your average Porsche are the wheels, as not many of Ferry’s inventions roll on dubs. The effect is even more pronounced on such a small and shapely car. The wheels are Boyd Coddington Style 322s, sized at a hefty 20 by 8.5 inches up front and 20 by 11 out back. Yokohama’s Advan Sport rubber measuring a healthy 245/30-20 in the front and a downright elephantine 305/25-20 in the rear provides the points of interaction with the road.

Spinning up those hoops is the S’s 3.4L, 295hp engine boosted by a VF Engineering supercharger set-up good for about 450hp, or just over 380 at the wheels along with 2751b/ft of torque. The newfound power, combined with the Cayman’s meagre size and weight, make for a car that gives its big brother 911 a run for its money. The top speed of the S is now improved from the factory limited 171 mph to well beyond, as is the engine’s rev-limit.

VF custom-made this kit for the Cayman, and at the time of writing, doesn’t even offer it for sale, so Bennett’s was the guinea pig. The kit came together as a collaboration of three companies, namely Vortech Engineering for the main hardware, GIAC for the software and engine management and VF with overall execution and many of the ancillary parts. Vortech’s oil-less V9 blower sucks in the atmosphere through a K&N intake to the tune of 6psi through to VF replacement intake plenums. There are twin air-to-water intercoolers in place as well, fed from a VF-made plastic 2.5-gallon water reservoir the contents of which are moved around by a high-flow Bosch water pump. VF also made a bespoke crankcase breather system and, in conjunction with Bosch, engineered a boost overrun system. On the fuelling side, high-flow injectors come from Bosch. GIAC reprogrammed the ECU to complement the hardware upgrades. Exhaust duties are handled by a beautifully-crafted stainless steel AWE Tuning cat-back exhaust.

The install of this prototype kit must have been a mechanical challenge in itself, as the mid-engine chassis doesn’t offer much access to the flat-six motor. It’s no wonder then that the polished hardware and all the hard work is now in full view thanks to a custom Plexiglas engine cover in place of the carpeted one.

The added contact patch from the generous rollers is taken full advantage of when it comes to bringing this German bruiser down from supra-legal speeds thanks to the huge 14-inch, two-piece Performance Friction rotors squeezed by 4-piston callipers from the same company. Bennett informs us these brakes are one-off examples specifically built for his car. The all-important stance has been set thanks to KW Suspension’s Variant 3 coil-overstrut suspension. Hidden from view by plastic trim under the front trunk-lid and stiffening the body structure is a Rennline strut tower brace.

The Cayman wasn’t done being poked and prodded just yet, as both of its trunks were stuffed with sponsor Sony Xplōd gear that gets heard at the shows the car attends. Bennett’s own Image Audio Designs shop handled most of the non-intrusive and smooth install. The doors themselves reportedly have over 100 hours of labour in them, housing neon lights, Plexiglas, alcantara suede and Sony’s XS-HF167 component set. The dash needed custom trim in order to properly house Sony’s XAV-A1 7-inch flip-out touch screen head unit.

The subwoofers and their amplifiers are on opposite ends of the car, with two D-class XM-D9001 GTRs in a custom fiberglass amp rack and covered with half-inch Plexiglas, while being lit up by blue neon lights from behind metal mesh. In the rear cargo area, under the hatch, is a vinyl-covered subwoofer enclosure that hides an Odyssey 925 battery, another Sony amplifier, the XM-2002GTR to run the components, and the distribution hardware. The two 1 O-inch XS-LD1 07P5 Sony subwoofers sit in either side of the enclosure, roughly aimed at each other. All wiring and distribution hardware come from Brisbane, CA-based Monster Cable.

Stitchcraft Interiors handled the re-upholstering of the doors in alcantara and headliner in a combination of vinyl and alcantara, as well as installing those huge perches. Originally bolted into the track-ready GT3, they look like they belong in Darth Vader’s TIE fighter from the Star Wars series of blockbuster films.

Evidently, Bennett is no stranger to building some mouth-watering rides, and his latest effort doesn’t disappoint. When staring at and drooling over this provocative Porsche, it’s nice to know your heavy breathing is matched by its.

Text by Paul Rachwal II Photos by RCH Designs

Reprinted with permission by Performance Auto & Sound Magazine