Introduced in 2006 as the Cayman S, a 295-hp hardtop based on the Boxster roadster, and followed with the Cayman in 2007, Porsche’s more affordable sports coupe is making its legendary sportscar feel available to a wider demographic. The formula is succeeding, and progressing. Last year, the Cayman was redesigned, but, aside from the new bumpers, it’s difficult to tell just by looking.

The Cayman’s 2.9-liter six-cylinder engine got a raise of 20 hp, to 265 hp, over the previous 2.7-liter, and the more powerful Cayman S’s 3.4-liter six-cylinder is now tuned to make 320 hp. Even though the Boxster roadster engines are of the same displacement, the Cayman engines have a higher maximum output speed of 7,200 rpm, and are rated at 10 hp more. Cayman’s six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmissions have been replaced by the sophisticated, seven-speed twin-clutch, automatically operated manual gearbox known as the PDK (roughly Porsche “Double Klutch”), and a limited-slip differential is available, too. With the PDK automatic, the driver can shift the car manually using the shifter on the center console, or using the upper spokes of the steering wheel by either pushing to upshift or pulling to downshift. The PDK transmission is so efficient that the cars accelerate faster with it than with a manual transmission. Normally, just the opposite is the case in most cars.

Though based on the Boxster soft-top, the Cayman has a trunk in the rear where the Boxster’s top would normally fold and occupy. So, like Porsche’s lamented 914 from the 1970s, the mid-engine Cayman has two trunks, one front and one rear.

The Cayman, starting with an MSRP of $51,400, comes standard with power windows, locks and mirrors, cruise control, an anti-theft system and leather steering wheel and shiftknob, as well as front and side-curtain airbags, a stability system, brakeforce distribution and traction control. There is a rear spoiler on the back of the Cayman, and it rises at 75 mph to keep wind pressure on the body balanced at higher speeds.

Like all other Porsches, the ignition switch is on the left side of the steering wheel, a convention that Porsche has kept from its racing days at LeMans, when the race began with the cars turned off, and drivers had to start the car and shift into first gear at the same time. Being a two-seater doesn’t make the Cayman small inside; the form-fitting sportscar buckets will easily accept tall folks without making them feel cramped.

On the road, the Cayman’s controls feel light but precise, from the throttle to the shifter to the clutch on manual transmission cars. The brakes and steering are likewise light and direct, and the feel of the car is more like that of a delicate instrument. The standard brakes stop the Cayman very quickly, although the same ceramic-composite optional brakes available on other Porsche models can also be added to the Cayman. For about an extra $4,000, Porsche will match a paint color sample and paint the car to a customer’s sample, and the company has been known to match paint color with the nail polish of some customers’ wives.

There is almost no performance option that isn’t available for the quick, light mid-engine 2010 Porsche Cayman or Cayman S. When it comes to performance, the newest Cayman stands alone.