22,902 miles on a 2016 Cayman S is enough to make me want a closer look. What made me want this one for Vertex was finding a car that felt every bit as carefully kept as the mileage suggested. She’s been cherished and kept indoors, and you can see the difference as soon as you sit in her. The black sports seats, the leather on the wheel and the freshness of the whole cabin tell you something about the time between those miles. Agate Grey Metallic is a colour you need to walk around. In the shade it’s almost charcoal. Move into the light and it traces the curve over the front wheels before catching those broad rear haunches. The silver 19 inch Cayman S wheels show off the red calipers and leave a lovely amount of tyre beneath those arches. Stand back and you can see how little there is to interrupt the shape, from the low nose to the roofline falling away into the tail. I’d have chosen those wheels with this colour myself. The SportDesign steering wheel is the option I’d miss first. You sit low, looking at that big central rev counter, and your fingers fall straight onto the paddles. Left to go down, right to go up. The heated sports seats and dual zone climate control are exactly what I’d have wanted for a Porsche I could use in any season. Whoever chose the specification remembered the rear wiper and even ticked the factory fire extinguisher. I rather like that. Turn the key and the sound comes from just behind your seat. The 3.4 litre naturally aspirated flat six makes 325 PS at 7,400 rpm, but the bit I love comes well before that. There’s a low mechanical note at first, then a harder edge as the revs rise and the engine gets into its stride. A small movement of your right foot makes a difference you can hear as well as feel. The Cayman S that followed it went to a turbocharged four cylinder. This is a late example from the flat six years, and that sound is a big part of why I’d go looking for one. Leave the seven speed PDK in Drive and it goes about a quiet journey without drawing attention to itself. Pull the left paddle and the change is over almost before you’ve had time to think about it. Then there’s that little rise in pitch behind you. It’s such a satisfying thing to do that you start looking for another reason to do it. What I love most about the 981 is the way it seems to change direction from underneath you. You place the nose and the rest of the car comes with you in one movement. A good bend in Somerset usually has a lump somewhere in the middle of it, which is where the standard Porsche suspension and the 19s make sense to me. There’s a little give in the car, and you can feel its balance at ordinary road speeds. I’d happily clear a Sunday morning for that. A late 981 Cayman S is worth seeking out in its own right. Finding one with 22,902 miles, a cabin this fresh and a stamped book with an invoice file alongside it is the hard part. Those are the reasons this particular Cayman belongs here. I admire the restraint it took to keep the miles that low. I’m fairly sure I’d have found a few more reasons to go out. , followed by a second visit there and then Porsche Centre Portsmouth. From there the book follows her to Brookspeed Porsche & Performance and on to Whiteparish Garage. The first impression holds when you get close. Look at the driver’s seat bolster, the rim of the wheel and the trim around the PDK selector, the places you see and touch every time you drive the car. The cabin has a remarkable freshness to it. Outside, there’s a lovely clarity to the Agate Grey down the doors and over the rear quarters. When a car arrives having been kept like this, our job is to carry that care forward. We’ve serviced and inspected her, and she comes with her stamped maintenance book and invoice file.