Do you remember Rocky IV, where the titular champ has to face off against Drago, the Russian. As far as campy ’80s boxing movies go, it’s great. Drago is this supreme athlete with the best trainers in the world, using all of the most high-tech training equipment known to man in the 1980’s. Rocky, on the other hand, trains in the middle of the Russian tundra, running through snow, chopping wood and doing pushups in a log cabin. That’s sort of what this battle is like, between the BMW M2 and Porsche 718 Cayman S.
The Cayman is sort of like Drago. It uses all of the latest techniques, with an ultra-modern turbocharged flat-four engine, its fancy mid-engine design and all of Porsche’s high-tech cleverness. The BMW M2, though, is far more humble. Its 3.0 liter turbocharged I6 engine isn’t even a proper M engine and can be had in an E92-generation BMW 335i, albeit with less power. Its chassis is based off of BMW’s cheapest car and it’s quite a bit heavier and slower than the Cayman.
So which wins? Well, Piston Heads decided to find out by taking them to the track.
On track, the Porsche 718 Cayman S is the faster car, despite having less power. Its 350 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque pale in comparison to the 365 hp and 343 lb-ft from the BMW M2’s I6. However, what the Porsche lacks in muscle, it makes up for in high-tech. Its mid-engine balance, lighter weight and all of Porsche’s fancy driving gizmos allow it to be a couple of seconds faster around the track than the BMW.
The BMW M2 made it around the track in 1:13.5, as its fastest time. The Porsche did it in 1:11.1, which is significantly faster. So the more advanced athlete is the faster car around the track. However, both drivers pretty much conceded that the M2 was the more fun car to drive. As it wags its tail out all over the place and lights up its rear tires, the M2 is definitely the hooligan of the two cars.
When they both pull over and stop, the Porsche driver tries to make a case for the more expensive, faster Cayman. But the BMW driver isn’t having it, claiming the the M2 is the more fun car to drive, is considerably cheaper and ultimately has more heart. And heart is what Rocky used to take down Drago.