It has been a busy year for David and, wife, Sayuri G. After having their TPC Racing Cayman S Turbo featured on the automotive news website, Autoblog(Quick Spin: TPCRacing Cayman S Turbo picks up where Porsche left off), they share this very capable car to each dominate their respective classes in the PCA Golden Gate Region’s annual autocross series.

Sayuri, an autocross regular, is no slouch behind the wheel of her TPC Racing Cayman S Turbo.

Equipped with the TPC Racing Turbo Kit and the TPC Racing Stage 4 suspension system, their Cayman S Turbo ran flawlessly all season and consistantly outperforming the competition, often winning by 2+ seconds! The competition includes GT3s, TTs, and many other modified Porsches with experienced racers behind the wheels. David and Sayuri drove supremely well all season, each wining the regional championship for their class!

During the off season, David and Sayuri will be brainstorming on making their Cayman S Turbo even more stellar, so that next season, they will be ready for even faster competition.

When Porsche introduced the Cayman in 2006, one thing was abundantly clear: Porsche had muzzled its midship coupe to prevent cannibalizing 911 sales. Despite a more favorable weight distribution and an unflappable chassis, the Cayman lacked the power to exploit its excellent underpinnings, even in “S” guise. So like its Boxster sibling, the Cayman was destined to play second fiddle to Porsche’s iconic rear-engine flagship. From a business perspective, Porsche’s decision made sense. For enthusiasts, it was yet another bitter pill from Zuffenhausen.

When the Cayman underwent a refresh, there was always hope that a turbocharged variant would be included in the line-up. Predictably, that never happened. So the Cayman continued to stand on the lower/middle rung of the Porsche ladder, offering less power and a lower price than the 911. The Cayman could dance. It just needed an extra bit of oomph.

That’s where Mike Levitas comes in. Mike is the brains behind TPCRacing of Jessup, MD. Born of a family of automotive tinkerers, Mike spent most of his formative years learning about turbos and turning that knowledge to race cars – fast, reliable race cars that won championships. Like most other Porsche enthusiasts, Mike thought the Cayman could use more power. Turbocharged power. But unlike most of the marque’s devotees, Mike made it happen.

Levitas began producing race cars back in the late Eightes, and over the course of the next decade and a half he managed the turbocharger programs for the Nissan 300ZX, Mazda RX7, Lotus Esprit and Consulier GTPs in the IMSA Supercar Series. Mike’s background and advanced aeronautical training eventually led him to build some of the best Porsche race cars around. Porsche Club racing, Motorola Cup action, and a brief dip into Mercedes sedans eventually led him to the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series.

In 2000, TPCRacing began racing under its own banner, racking up more than 20 class wins (including one at Daytona in 2006) and an unprecedented 1-2-3-4 sweep of the driver’s championship. The team was so dominant that the lead car during that championship season never missed a podium. With all of that race history as a test bed, TPC thought it was time to offer some of its accumulated wisdom to the masses.

TPCRacing is now known as one of the premier outlets for readying your Porsche for track duty. Turbochargers, suspension upgrades and computer reflashing are all available to professional and club racers. And for those who’d like a little more performance out of their daily drivers, TPCRacing has you covered in spades. While most of the company’s work is devoted to 911s, TPC thought the Cayman needed a little something extra as well. They picked up a Guards Red 2006 Porsche Cayman S a couple of years ago and went to work. The result is the TPCRacing Cayman S Turbo Kit. Producing around 485 horsepower, it’s packing more ponies than – until recently – nearly any vehicle in Porsche’s lineup, save the GT2. And that’s only with 5.5-pounds of boost. With such a low amount of pressure, the turbo kit puts barely any additional stress on the stock internals of the 3.4-liter flat-six.

TPCRacing sells its Cayman Turbo Kit (with intercooler) for a buck less than ten grand. It includes nearly everything needed for installation: a cat-back exhaust, turbocharger, liquid-to-air intercooler, new intake plenum, all brackets/plumbing/fitting/hardware/clamps, upgraded injectors and custom silicone piping. The ECU needs to be shipped to TPC for reprogramming, but anyone with a fair amount of mechanical aptitude can do the installation. The total tab for our tester was about $12,000 according to the owner. Of course, he also went nuts with suspension, brakes, wheels, tires and body mods that more than doubled that figure.

A few extra bits are recommended by TPC, although they’re not included in the kit. Pop for a set of GT3 spark plugs as well as the factory Porsche front-center radiator and associated ducting and brackets, and it will add around $750 to the tab. Tiptronic cars can skip that last item, as they’re already equipped with the front-center radiator. The downside for Tiptronic owners is that the installation requires modifications to the transmission mounting brackets as well as relocating the transmission oil cooler.

TPC is also working on a non-intercooled Turbo Kit that eliminates the need for the liquid-to-air intercooler as well as the front center radiator and all the additional plumbing and water pump. Boost levels are a bit lower, but so is the price – an estimated $7,490.

We got a chance to sample the full-on intercooled turbo kit and, needless to say, it’s like no Cayman we’ve met before. It’s a mid-engine Jekyll and Hyde. In normal commuter duty the TPC drives exactly like any other Cayman on the road. That’s to say it has near perfect handling, with some of the best brakes and most precise steering ever engineered into a road-going vehicle. But dip into that throttle a bit deeper and… whoosh! As if a giant hand dropped down from the sky and gave you a gentle shove, you’re hurtled along into extra-legal speeds in seconds.

There’s no drama, only a throatier roar from the exhaust that fades as the RPMs drop. Although not quite as transparent as the factory turbo setup in the 997 Turbo, it feels just as fast. The power is available at seemingly any RPM too. There’s a progressive feel rather than the expected lag and burst of traditional tuner turbos – further proof that Mike and his crew know more than a thing or two about balancing linear performance and potent thrust.

Our seat time was all too brief, but it was more than enlightening. Levitas is a manic bit of energy, equal parts mad scientist and grassroots racer. Two of his customers, David and Kevin, happened to be computer engineers and even they were hard pressed to keep up with Mike’s constant stream of technical babbling. The one thing they definitely picked up is Mike’s passion for his work and ability to build an impeccably well-thought out and professional turbo kit.

Our sentiments and disappointments were echoed by several of Mike’s customers. While most would prefer a factory Cayman Turbo, Porsche didn’t build one. That left the door wide open for tuners and TPC happily stepped in to fill the void. For around $12,000 over the price of a Cayman, customers can have a unique, track-friendly daily-driver that’s ready to trounce its rear-engine grandfather, while still costing less and retaining its reliability. That’s a 400-hp formula we can get behind. Now we just need to start trolling Craigslist for used Caymans…

Story and Photos by: Frank Filipponio

Get the full Autoblog story here.

Check out the TPCRacing Cayman Turbo Kit here.

As a child, I owned something called the Lego “Expert Builder Car”. It was a fascinating product. From one box of a thousand or so Lego pieces, it was possible to build many different kinds of cars, up to and including a two-seat roadster with a working transmission. Top-notch fun, and if Lego eventually took it off the market in favor of less advanced kits focusing on Star Wars, Disneyworld, and (possibly) Twilight then we have only the abject failure of the American educational system to blame.

Porsche has a Lego set as well. The same basic set of components is used to create everything from a $45,000 Boxster to a $230,000 GT2. If you think it costs five times as much to make a GT2 as it does a Boxster, you’re probably an outstanding candidate for one of those $11,000 Hublot watches that uses an el-cheapo ETA mechanism to actually tell time. Nope, it’s mostly additional profit at the top of the pyramid. Porsche protects their oh-so-exclusive product ladder by refusing to assemble their Legos into toys like, say, a turbocharged Cayman.

If one listens to Porsche spokespeople, they have many reasons why a turbo Cayman wouldn’t be possible, feasible, or reasonable. These reasons are quite convincing, and they are repeated ad infinitum. Eventually the strong impression is created that a turbo Cayman would be a feat equal to, say, the Manhattan Project. Which makes it all the more interesting that there’s a guy in a shed who builds them for ten grand.

Well, TPC’s Mike Levitas isn’t exactly a guy in a shed. He’s a former Rolex-GT-at-Daytona winner with an extensive engineering background, and he’s devoted a lot of thought to his pressurized Caymans. For $9,995 plus installation, he will put nearly five hundred horsepower behind the seats of Porsche’s factory-crippled hardtop Boxster.

I recently had the opportunity to drive a rather well-sorted TPC Cayman S Turbo at the company’s headquarters outside Washington, DC. In the name of “balance” — something Levitas can wax rather poetic about, given the opportunity — this car was set up for approximately 380 horsepower at 5psi or so of boost and modified with a variety of JRZ and TPC suspension items.

Outside of a racetrack, it’s difficult to get even a standard Cayman 2.7 to its limits, but I was able to verify in a few short triple-digit blasts that TPC’s power numbers seem very legit. This car has pull to match a GT3 and shame a 997S, delivered across a very broad torque curve. If anything, it feels stronger than a GT3 until the very end of the rev range. Naturally, TPC will happily reprofile your boost curve if you want that top-end hit for road course work or midnight street racing.

The rest of the TPC mods also seem reasonably successful. It’s not difficult to imagine that this car would run in nearly a dead heat with a brand-new GT3 around most road courses. Ride quality is no worse than what you would find in said GT3 and pothole compliance appears to be excellent. The (anonymous by request) owner of this particular example uses it as a daily driver and a stealthy, confusion-causing trackday toy. You could do the same.

And you could do it cheaply, relatively speaking. Early 3.4-liter Caymans are now crossing auction blocks for forty grand. A $25,000 check to TPC would nearly duplicate our tester, so it is perfectly possible to obtain Z06-matching performance for the price of a lightly-used Z06. Or you could look it as GT3 lap times for half price. Porsche Cars North America would no doubt prefer you didn’t.

Which brings us to one tiny problem with this lovely mid-engined coupe. The watercooled Porsche engines produced from 1997 to 2008 are famously fragile, even without turbocharging. Porsche kept its split-case race-style engine for the Turbo, GT3, and GT2 until the recent arrival of its completely re-engineered waterboxer. There is no way that this particular Lego set will be as durable as, say, a 2001 996 Turbo. Perhaps this was the reason Porsche never turbocharged the car, although it doesn’t explain why there’s no new-generation Cayman Turbo. Oh well. TPC states that they have yet to experience a turbo Cayman or turbo Boxster failure, which may be reassuring enough for most buyers.

As the price of Porsche’s 911 Carrera sneaks ever closer to $100,000 in even mildly-equipped form, it might be time for the German fiscal adventurists to admit that their core product is becoming rather irrelevant. A factory Cayman Turbo would offer performance just shy of the Nissan GT-R and Z06 Corvette for similar money. That’s a formula that has worked for Porsche in the past (see: 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo) and it could work again. Heck, it might just create a new generation of Porsche fans. If the men from Weissach want some help assembling their Legos, I suspect TPC would be happy to take their call.

By: Jack Baruth

See the TTAC article here

We were halfway across the Nevada desert when the brakes began to take hold. The cabin filled with the rush of cool desert morning air as owner Larry Dye put his Cayman through its paces. Although we weren’t equipped with timing gear, the run from 0 to 100 went by in around the time it takes to read this sentence. Getting up to the nasty side of 120 wouldn’t have taken much longer had our high-speed antics not been immediately taken down to speed after a nasty grating sound erupted on the rear underside of the car.

We originally spotted this incredibly savage Cayman at the SEMA show only a day earlier. While the minor glitches in this monumental (or maybe just mental) project have since been sorted out, that wasn’t the case right before the show. Like many cars featured in the hallowed halls of the Las Vegas Convention center, it was completed under a fairly suffocating schedule. Various glitches in the buildup ensured that turbo and suspension installers TPC in Baltimore, Md., only had one day to tune it before Dye had to get the car on a trailer and haul it cross country.

When he originally acquired the car in May 2007, he had no idea that the project would grow to this magnitude. “I originally tried just upgrading the exhaust, headers and suspension,” he says. “But I was left wanting more power. Lots more.”

While the Cayman S is no slouch, especially compared to its older hairdresser sister the Boxster, Dye had to wonder what the mid-engine track attacker could do with 911 power. To make his vision a reality, he took the car to Stephen Kaspar at Imagine Auto in Kansas to swap in a 3.8-liter X51 Carrera S crate motor with the intent of putting a supercharger on it later. The engine actually had to be installed lower in the bay than normal using a hodgepodge of Porsche parts–mounts, bushings, and so on–to accommodate the new powerplant’s higher intake profile.

Like a father expecting octuplets, with more power on the way Dye knew he would need more room–for wider tires, that is. So he began scouting around for a widebody conversion. The search led him first to TechArt, then to Atlanta, Ga., where Patrick Patritti has acquired a reputation for making widebody conversions to 996 911s and 986 Boxsters. Dye convinced Patritti to fabricate a completely new kit based on the Cayman in carbon and Kevlar.

With the bodywork complete, every exterior panel except the aluminum bonnet has been modified or replaced entirely. Overall, the dimensions are approximately 7 inches wider in the rear and 3 inches wider up front. The front bumper was modeled after that of the 997 GT2, the rear modeled after that of the 997 GT3. Patritti also included a custom carbon undertray and rear diffuser to reduce turbulence beneath the car and reduce lift at speed.

“After the body conversion, I took it to Michael Levitas at TPC in Baltimore to have their 987 turbo kit installed,” Dye says. “Right now, TPC is getting roughly 545 hp from one of their 987 3.4s running just 6.6 psi of boost. I’m looking forward to what they come up with from the 3.8. I’ve been very lucky to have chosen what seems to be just the right mix of extremely talented people to work with.”

When Larry Dye wanted a mid-engine Porsche, and all the inherent capabilities that come along with it but bigger power, he went and acquired just that. And while the impromptu test and tune from a ride along with an ec contributor caused a ripped-off diffuser, it resulted in a superior replacement design that represents this entire widebody phenomenon.

You should have seen his face,’ exclaims the owner of our featured Cayman. ‘There we were behind this fully wrung-out RS4; he pulled to the left, and we just blew past him. Poor guy couldn’t understand what was going on…’

You’re looking at a small, orange menace to the Porsche establishment’s pecking order. What Mr Audi driver had no way of knowing is that beneath the oh-so-subtle body modifications to this Cayman lies the best part of 500 turbocharged horses.

Developed for the UK market by renowned Porsche road and racing specialists Parr, this series 1 Cayman Sport is the first recipient of their turbo conversion. It’s a light pressure set-up, with a large, single turbine boosting at around 0.35 bar and fed air via a water-to-air intercooler, which itself is cooled with the aid of a third central radiator in the nose.

There are also larger fuel injectors to squirt in the higher volumes required, a new intake plenum and air filter and a redesigned air box, plus a different exhaust from the headers back. What there isn’t, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, is any change to the internals. Eyebrows may well be raised, but Parr claims that converted examples overseas have clocked up over 30,000 miles without mishap.

Part of their confidence also stems from the less stressed, light pressure nature of the conversion. This car has been rolling roaded at 480bhp at 7400rpm with a little more still to come, a figure entirely comparable with a 997 Turbo. But whereas the 911 makes 501lb ft of torque, this Cayman makes do with 370lb ft, and with a far more conventional torque curve than the 997T’s freakishly flat plateau from 2100 all the way to 4000rpm.

So, as the figures suggest, in reality this engine has a completely different character from the boosted 911. No, there isn’t the same ferocious kick of torque, but then the lighter weight of the Cayman negates some of that disadvantage. Once the blower is spinning past 2500rpm you’re very much aware of its assistance, and it goes on providing that storming urge all the way to the newly raised 7800rpm cut-off, whereas a 997T is running out of puff far earlier. In effect, it’s similar to the standard Cayman S in delivery, and you can revel in revs just as you would in that car, albeit with the added option to surf almost ridiculous levels of mid-range grunt that make overtaking an easy and less gear-dependent task.

And you need to know about the sublime noise it makes. At about 3000rpm it starts to howl with a savage intensity and the sound when you lift briskly off the throttle is of air being slashed with a giant meat cleaver.

This car also has a load of Car Graphic tuning parts fitted, including the front splitter and rear diffuser, plus the ducktail wing on the rear lid, 20mm lower progressive-rate springs, larger anti-roll bars and larger cross-drilled and grooved discs. There’s also a Quaife LSD, GT3 nose vent and Parr’s own geometry settings. The result is no discernable loss of comfort compared with the standard car, and a Cayman that feels supremely well balanced and alert. Even on wet roads, the diff and the easily modulated power delivery mean it’s very exploitable.

Right from the start, the guys at Parr were keen that the costs involved didn’t place the car in direct competition with a 911 Turbo, and at £11,240 fully fitted for the engine mods they have to a large part succeeded. Factoring in the current market value of a used Cayman S, you could be holding the keys to a turbocharged near-500bhp mid-engined Porsche for around £35,000. This car is as outrageously exciting as that prospect sounds.

Adam Fowler

I know there’s a wide array of feelings in regard to naming one’s car and/or applying a gender to it. Personally I’ve never been able to find a suitable name for mine. It just seems weird to me, to personify a machine with a name. But I do imagine my Cayman S is female. Considering the amazing curves and sexy hips that Porsche has provided, it’s hard for me to imagine it any other way. A feminine identity also matches the personality of the car. The Cayman is strong, but not brutal. It’s flexible and capable of carving turns the way a skilled ballerina works a dance floor. It’s light on its feet with agility, stamina and endurance. It’s undeniable to me. The Cayman is definitely female. My Cayman S has always been a docile and easy going female. This weekend I met one that was bipolar. I rode in a Cayman S that was equipped with a TPC Turbo kit, and believe me when I tell you, that car was seriously pissed off.

At the controls was none other than Mike Levitas, owner of TPC Racing and winning Grand Am race team owner/driver. At first he showed me how normal and docile the TPC Cayman S could be. We proceeded up a small incline as though we were driving to work or running an errand. He showed me how quiet the exhaust note was, how normal the car felt when driven easily. From the passenger seat it didn’t feel any different than any other Cayman except for the fact that it sounded a little different. The tone was deep and muted. As the car’s creator, Mike knew just how to push her buttons. He dropped the go pedal and the car instantly bursts into a rage and lost its temper. It screamed out loud and protested by lighting up the rear wheels. Mike held on as the powertrain tried to rip its way through the rest of the car. The tail hung out 5 degrees or so and I could feel the back tires delivering a perfectly smooth power slide. The pavement was screaming for mercy as the tires abused it into submission, but Mike didn’t back off. He taunted her for a few seconds longer, which results in some rather stunning acelleration.

I’ve been in a few very powerful cars, and I expected the Turbo charged CS to be strong. I didn’t expect 5 psi of boost to do that….! The car was as fast as some late model 996/997 Turbos I’d been in, but far more raw and visceral. Where a modern day 911 Turbo delivers a smooth rush of torque without drama, the TPC Turbo Cayman S reminded me more of a mid 80’s 911 Turbo, only with a lot more power. At some point the car crosses a line that would make most drivers suddenly doubt their abilities. It delivers brute force acceleration that forces you to pay real close attention to gear selection and steering angle.

I asked Mike if the car had an LSD inside, and he told me that he did in fact install a custom Guard Transmission LSD. He began telling me all about clutch packs, acceleration/deceleration ratios, foot pounds, and so on. He went super geek on me, which I love, and which also confirmed to me that Mike knows the Cayman platform like few people I’ve met.

We also had a chance to speak about suspension. That’s when Mike’s Race experience becomes really clear. I haven’t met anyone who’s displayed more knowledge about the Cayman’s suspension and how it should be setup. In a few short minutes he spit out all sorts of knowledge about alignment, differentials, spring rates, roll bars, and so on. This guy instantly earned my respect. I wish I lived closer to TPC because I’d love to pick his brain more. If you live close by, consider yourself lucky and do yourself a favor; stop by and meet Mike for yourself. I think you’ll come to a similar conclusion.

You guys know I’m a skeptic. I put a lot of thought into every mod I try, and I’d be the first to tell you that every mod brings drawbacks. In regard to Turbo kits, I’ve always worried about reliability and longevity. There’s a lot of added heat and mechanical stress to deal with when you boost an engine’s torque output by 50%. Mike told me they’ve delivered more than a few Turbo kits (I was actually stunned by the number). Many of these cars are used extensively on the track, which is the ultimate proving ground because of the frequent long durations of full throttle. That suggests to me that the Cayman engine is stronger than I had previously thought. Perhaps more time is needed to convince guys like me. But let me tell you this. If you’d like to have one bad *** Cayman, if you’d like a Cayman that’s bipolar and has a short temper, if you appreciate being scared when the pedal meets the carpet, then you might like a TPC Turbo Cayman S. But proceed with caution and bring a permission slip from your wife. My visit to TPC ended up costing me a $1,000.

TPCRacing would like to give our CONGRATULATIONS to MARK SOTOMAYOR. Last weekend at the Loring Land Speed Race, Mark made a pass of 184.660MPH in his TPCRacing Cayman Turbo. The Loring Land Speed event was run on Loring Airbase, a former heavy-bomber airbase. This made for the perfect scene for this high speed challenge. Drivers were given a 1.5mile distance to make their top speed with a 1mile slow down. The event saw several cars and motorcycles surpassed 200mph. It seems that the speed bug has bitten Mark. Plans are already being made for the next event in which Mark hopes to break the 200mph barrier! GREAT JOB MARK! AND GOOD LUCK WITH 200MPH!!!!

Here it is, a 2009 3.4DFI Cayman S.

Stripper with just a few options. Get ready for big power

In our never-ending quest to produce more power with better products, TPC Racing has developed the TPC Racing Cayman Turbo Kit Version 2.

The purpose for developing this VERSION2 package is to open the door for even greater power levels than those offered by the base Cayman Turbo Kit. The VERSION1 Turbo Kit was designed using a 2 stage fueling system much like the Lexus IS-F. In this application 2 secondary injectors came into operation when the car was pushed into boost. These secondary injectors were run using a piggy-back ECU. In addition the piggy-back ECU allowed the OEM injectors to be run at a higher duty cycle. This allowed us to make good, reliable power, while maintaining stock day-to-day driving characterisics.

The problem with the V1 fueling system is that it simply cannot move enough fuel to achieve the power levels we desire. Months of R&D were spent trying to develope a better fueling and tuning system, while still providing the excellent streetability that TPC products are famous for. We are now thrilled to announce the release of the TPC Racing Cayman Turbo Kit VERSION2.

VERSION2 completely removes the secondary fueling system and replaces the OEM Cayman injectors. The OEM Cayman injectors are replaced with a set of high-flow injectors capable of delivering the additional fuel necassary to produce huge HP/TQ numbers. To drive these larger injectors, TPC Racing has developed flash for the factory ECU. This is not your ordinary flash though. Where most tuners only modify and tune a few of the base fueling tables in the OEM ECU; TPC has spents thousands of hours engineering thousands of lines of code to provide one of the most complete ECU flashes around. What does this mean for the customer? It means that when this kit is properly installed, it will run as if it came from the factory as an OEM Porsche Cayman Turbo.

The TPC Racing Cayman Turbo Kit VERSION2 has allowed us to produce 485HP to tear up the track, while maintaining perfect streetability for everyday driving. This update for the TPC Racing Cayman Turbo Kit has now opened the door for us achieve power levels unheard-of for a Porsche Cayman or Boxster. Interested in more power? Look out for the release of the TPC Racing Cayman Turbo Kit Stage 2 and Stage 3.