Images Source: Joshua Murray

The Porsche Cayman is a special type of German car. It’s a car that from the factor, always needed more power to be more fun. And when Joshua Murray purchased this ’07 Cayman with a blown engine, he knew exactly how to make it more fun, a 6.2 liter LS3 swap.

When you consider the car, the Cayman really is a great choice to house the new LS3 powerplant. It’s rear-wheel-drive from the factory with a rear-mounted engine, and it has a manual transaxle. The idea of the swap is enticing to say the least, and because Murray has a strong background in custom fabrication, he knew the swap would be a trial and error process.

Murray chose the LS3 crate engine, simply because more power is better. This particular LS3 was equipped with a GM LS Hot Cam camshaft, pushing the output of the engine to 480 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque. Not a bad way to start things off. Murray also equipped the new LS3 with an air conditioning delete accessory drive kit from GM, saving weight and space.

In terms of mounting the engine, Murray decided to take another path by mounting the engine more in the center of the Cayman, creating a mid-engine mounted car. This is because Murray knew the factory location wasn’t ideal for the balance of the car. To accomplish this, Murray had to accommodate some changes to the Cayman.

The engine is now housed by a custom-fabricated crossmember and cradle fabricated by Murray, which allows him to utilize the factory water pump . Murray was also able to utilize the factory Porsche transaxle by adapting a Kennedy Engineering LS adapter plate to the engine. Modifications such as a Quarter Master 7.25-inch twin-disc clutch, LS3 button flywheel, and custom-fabricated flywheel spacer were necessary as well, and the transmission mounts were modified 1.5-inches, allowing for the transmission to sit further back.

The sheer size difference between the original Cayman engine and the new LS3 power-plant is absolutely monumental.

The Cayman currently uses a digital dash from Murray’s company, ArcFlash LLC. The digital dash is currently in the development stages, and is geared towards track day enthusiasts. This particular unit that Murray is currently testing, is installed on a plug-and-play LSx harness the company offers, which plugs into a GM 10-pin connector. Like the factory component, this system offers all of the OBD II CAN data. Another added benefit is that the system will be offered and compatible with other OBD II equipped engines.

We’re excited to see what’s next for this German-bodied American-powered beast in the future, as Murray has plans to build the LS3-powered Cayman into a full-blown racecar. For now, we can only imagine what this Cayman would look like with a mean raked-stance, wide sticky tires, and a full caged interior.

If you’re interested in following the build further, check out Murray’s Facebook and YouTube page.

Check out the clean RSR decal provided by Specialty Motorsports on this Cayman!