Planet 9

Here is one of the most exiting afternoons I've spent in Dubai so far. And oh yes, there is some Cayman action in their.

Please note that the conditions were extremely safe and there was absolutely no one there but us. None of us are careless drivers and would have not gone through with it if their was even the slightest hint of bystanders.

It was a sunny (as usual) afternoon. Me and a group of around 7 people were at the Palm Jumierah beach resort at a friends place sipping on juices, and enjoying the blazing sun.

The time came to around 4:00 p.m and out of no where the discussion of sport cars came up. After several comparison's and discussions we each started asking each other what we all drove. Now their were 7 of us, 4 guys and 3 women.

It came down to this: 1 Audi S5 (DSG), 1 Porsche CaymanS (PDK), 1 AUDI R8 (DSG), and 1 Ferrari F430 (F1 paddles). The talks became more and more intense and at the end we decide we would go for a little drag race (i know thats not what caymans are for) between the cars in a remote area that one of the guys (S5 owner) worked at. It supposedly had a long straight that was deserted during the weekends as their was no workforce their during weekends.

So we packed up our stuff and headed there. Now I know living in dubai, seeing cars like the convoy we were in was a normal day to day thing. But that still didn't stop the onlookers from pointing and snapping pics and giving us all the thumbs up as they drove by. Its as if they knew we were heading to have a little battle of our own in some deserted area.

Finally we got there(IT WAS REALLY DESERTED OR I WOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT) and decided that we would do 5 launches from one end to the other. Suddenly the F430 guy decided he wanted nothing of the racing and just wanted to watch. Now even though I was disappointed as I wanted to see how much faster that car is in real life, this meant that It wasn't going to be a blowout.

Now even though I'm not the kind of guy who likes drag races, hence the reason I bought the cayman, I wanted to do this too see just how I compare to an R8 and S5. The other reason was that we hadn't reserved a day at the track so their was no way we could compare these cars there. This will be the next event though.

We dropped of the ladies at the finish line and they waited with the F430 owner on the side.

It was time for the first run. we lined up and switched off our air conditions.
You could see every driver was a bit nervous and we each took to setting our controls to maximum power and sportiness.

I decided I would not go for LC the first time, just to see what happens. I set the Sport Plus button on and kept PSM on. I didn't use the paddle shifters and instead decided to let the car do the shifting for me the first time out.

The middle car( S5) honked 3 times and we were off!!

The sound of all 3 cars was intoxicating and couldn't help but put a smile on all our faces. But wait..... who was in the lead........ I WAS...... and as the car shifted through the 1st gear into 2nd I realized that the S5 was just no match and started to fall back more and more... The R8 however was right up my tail. This is where things got interesting. Having a big V8 I would notice that during revving of the gears the R8 would very slowly but truly gain on me, but the minute it was time to change up a gear you would see me suddenly Jolt ahead again.

Conclusion: The PDK is absolutely fantastic and puts Audi's gearbox to shame( even though it is one of the best out there). The first run came to an end and I was at the finishing line with the nose of the R8 at my boot. So yes it was close... very close... but in the end the caymans was faster. The look of disbelief on his face after the race was priceless... he just couldn't believe it, and to be honest... neither could I, nor the S5 owner or the F430 owner!!!

This was repeated 4 more times and each time the result was the same. The S5 came in 3rd with me and the R8 biting at each other. I however beat it every single time. Keep in note that I did not once use LC... as I just didn't need to. And he knew it.

I predict that had I used it, the difference would have been even greater.

Here are some points that you should take into consideration:

1. The conditions were HOT, very hot.
2. Their was sand on the tarmac.... its dubai... there is sand everywhere.
3. We would get to around 180 to 200 Km/h before having to slow down as we would have reached the end of the straight.
4. I believe that had there been more room the R8 would have won due to the V8 eventually taking over.
5. Windows were kept open in all cars for the purpose of hearing the engines.
6. I do not believe had my car been a manual the same results would have occurred.

That being said... he is now looking into the R8 V10..... I'm happy with my Cayman thank you very much

Next time will be at the track.. and hopefully the F430 will join. I will also get some videos for proof incase anyone wants to criticize and say NO WAY!

All in all it was fun afternoon and to be honest I did not think the results would turn up like that.

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2009 Cayman S

PDK, Meteor Grey Metallic, Leather interior in special color Terracotta, 19 inch Carrera S II wheels, Floor mats (terracotta), PASM, Bi-xenon lighting sytem with dynamic cornering lights(include LED's), Sport Seats, LSD, Sport chrono Package, PCM with navigation

I knew it, I just knew it...

I always told my friends the new PDK CS would kill a R8 and no one believes me..

Thank you for proving that and play it safe bro

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2010 Porsche Cayman S PDK

Now that would put a smile on my face ... Thx for sharing! And I do hope its as safe as you said it is.

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"Sir! We're surrounded!" - "Excellent! We can shoot in any direction!"