Autoblog

At the New York Auto Show in early April we'll find out which auto has won the coveted World Car of the Year award. We do know, however, it will be either the Audi TT, Lexus LS 460 or new MINI Cooper. The three finalists were recently culled from the list of semi-finalists we brought you back in January. Those ten cars have been pared down to these three, and on April 5th only one will remain.

The Germans (and German-owned) were not only well represented in the list of finalists for World Car of the Year, but also in three other categories for which awards will be given. The finalists for World Performance Car are the Audi RS4, BMW 335i and Porsche 911 Turbo (all German brands). The finalists for 2007 World Green Car are the BMW Hydrogen 7, Mercedes-Benz E320 BLUETEC and Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion (again, all German brands). Lastly, the finalists for the World Car Design of the Year are the Audi TT, Citroen C4 Picasso and Fiat Grande Punto (only one German brand this time, but still). Clearly, German or German-owned brands are the odds on favorite for flying home with some trophy metal.

[Source: WCOTY.com via Winding Road]

With the Cayman S (right) solidly established in the Porsche lineup after its October 2005 launch, Porsche announced Monday that it will launch a less expensive version of the coupe in July, dubbed simply the Cayman.

The 3.4-liter six that helped propel the Cayman S to "2006 World Performance Car" honors is replaced in the Cayman by the Boxster's 2.7-liter version. Putting out 50 hp less than than its bigger sibling, the Cayman's 2.7-liter engine still provides satisfying performance, with a 0-100 km/h time of 6.1 seconds. Interestingly, the Cayman's 2.7-liter offers 5 hp more than the Boxster's, giving the coupe a tenth of a second advantage in the 0-100 km/h sprint.

A five-speed manual is standard, along with the Porsche Stability Management system. An option package offers a six-speed combined with the Porsche Active Stability Management system, while a third version will be available with the Tiptronic S five-speed automatic.

The Cayman will sticker at $49,400 in the U.S., vs. $58,900 for the Cayman S.

Reuters speculates that flagging sales of the Boxster may have driven Porsche to a quick launch of the Cayman, in an effort to freshen up the lower end of its model range.

[Sources: Porsche, Reuters]