Life with the Cayman

Kate, last time we spoke, you were in a 911, now you drive a 718 Cayman. Why do you love the 718 so much?

I love the 718 Cayman so much because I feel that it’s the right sports car for me. I absolutely adore the 911. I live in the inner city with tight streets and small car parks. You need something that is really nimble, sleek and slim-lined that can deal with both the beautiful open roads of the Yarra Valley and the tight streets I find myself on 90 per cent of the time. 

Comparing them both in terms of drivability and design, the 911, while being incredibly beautifully engineered and one of the best cars on the planet, is actually a lot bigger than the Cayman, I feel. When I first jumped in the Cayman, I thought “Ah, this is the Porsche for me!”

How do you feel when you drive your 718 Cayman?

Like a bit of a bad ass to be honest (laughs). When I’m driving my 718 Cayman, I actually feel like I’m in the perfect car for me. It’s sleek and slim-lined, it’s responsive, it’s noisy when it wants to be, but subtle when it wants to be as well. It’s compact and it makes the most of all of the little storage compartments. 

I love the fact that the engine is mid-mounted, because I feel like it’s in the car with me. I don’t need a car that can take kids to and from soccer practice, it’s just my labrador Lily and me cruising around, and I like the fact that it feels like the engine is in the back seat of the car and I can really enjoy the notes that it hits. Every time I put it in Sport mode, it puts a big smile on my face. 

Driven by perfection

What drives your passions and aspirations?

I think I’m mainly driven by perfection. I think it’s probably the best goal you can possibly have. It’s the totally unattainable goal, but it means that you are always going to be striving for something. In every aspect of my life, I apply that goal. Whether that be making the perfect croissant, working in Formula One as an aerodynamicist, how I drive a car, how I straighten my hair in the morning, everything I try to do as well as I possibly can.

What’s life like with the 718?

Bloody great (laughs). I feel since I started driving the 718, I really feel like I’ve found my car. Life in the 718 is pretty excellent; I feel like I found the perfect car for me. It feels like the Cayman and Kate Reid are at exactly the same point in their lives: young, single, having a great time, working really hard, trying to be the best they can possibly be and putting a smile on people’s faces. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also a serious car. It means business. But it still makes people feel really good, and that’s what I aim to do when I get up every day and that’s what the Cayman makes me feel. It feels like the perfect car for me. 

What are your favourite 718 features? 

My absolute favourite feature is that the engine is mid-mounted. I love the fact that there is no back seat, because I don’t need one and I prefer to hear that beautiful engine note in the car with me. I think in terms of performance, apart from the fact that the engine does have a beautiful note, it’s incredibly responsive and I drive mostly in Sport mode, because I really like to feel the difference in power.

It’s not the most usable feature in narrow streets of Fitzroy with speed bumps, but every time I head out to the Yarra Valley for my flying lessons, I really feel like releasing the leash on the car and it really gets to stretch its legs. It feels natural for it to want to zoom out to a windy road to take me to a flying lesson. 

There are also a whole lot of practical things that I really love. When I first started driving the 718, the weather was getting colder and I just love the heated steering wheel. It’s one of those features that makes it more comfortable and nicer to be in when I have to jump in the car early in the morning. I love the auto function for syncing the air conditioner. It’s nice to be able to control the driver and passenger sides separately or use the auto sync.

Loads of storage 

I also love the storage capacity of the 718 – the fact that you have the storage in the bonnet, which is huge. And I can say from experience you can fit many boxes of croissants in it, because I have delivered orders in my Cayman from time to time. But also the bonus of the boot storage, which is also my main source of storage: I keep a picnic blanket in there, I store my yoga mat, if I go to the beach I put a beach bag in the back, so the storage is excellent.

What’s your favourite design feature on the 718 Cayman?

My favourite design feature of the 718 is that I love the rear wing curve that runs over the wheel arch. I think it’s really unique and beautiful to the 718, especially when you are cutting around town. For me, it’s that particular curve that really delineates it from the 911. If I see that line, I know I’m looking at a 718 and it makes me smile.

What are your hidden gems around town?

Some of my hidden gems around town are based in Fitzroy, Melbourne. I live a lot of my life between Fitzroy and the Melbourne CBD; this is based on where the two locations of Lune are. Some of my favourite places are Morning Market, Marion, Tribal Rose and Somebuddy Loves You.

First thing in the morning, Morning Market is Andrew McConnell’s new venture up on Gertrude Street next to Marion and Cuttler and Co. It feels like a real progression on what people have needed over the last months in their lives, which is a grocery store that provides beautiful daily goods that are locally grown, organic and seasonal. It’s an extension of Marion.

“Porsche really understands its customers, particularly women.” 

Kate Reid

Marion for me is a gem: it has always provided a really beautiful polished yet casual wine bar that, like the 718, does everything to the highest standard but still makes you feel comfortable and where you can have fun there. 

I also like to drive to Tribal Rose on Smith Street, which I think is the most beautiful florist in Melbourne. The staff that work there are always happy to help me out, because I’m not known to have a green thumb. So I end up having beautiful flowers in my apartment every week because of them.

In terms of non-produce, I absolutely love Somebuddy Loves You. I probably buy the majority of my clothing there. Lyndsey Spark, the owner, has incredible style and her son loves baking and Lune – so every time I go in there, we have a chat about baking as well as beautiful clothes.

Low flying

What else do you get up to in the 718 Cayman?

The Cayman and I get up to a lot of adventures. One of the weekly things we do together is driving out to the Yarra Valley for flying lessons. I’m currently working on obtaining my private pilot license. It’s a relatively new venture that started earlier this year, and I feel really lucky every Tuesday when I hop in the 718 and we drive out to the Yarra Valley for my flying lesson. It really feels like a true bonus and something that I’ve had to work very hard for in my life that I get to enjoy. It feels like a real achievement to be able to enjoy both of those things in the same day. 

Another thing that I love to do with the 718 Cayman is cut around town with Lily. But it doesn’t just extend to driving around Fitzroy. If it’s a nice evening, we’ll often jump in the car and go down to Brighton dog beach and have a run down there. She is not a massive fan of the water, but she does love playing in the sand. 

On a weekend when we have a little bit more time, we might jump in the car and take the drive down to Mt Martha. She absolutely loves that, as do I. And sometimes we head down in the other direction to Torquay. I particularly love the Great Ocean Road in the 718. It’s a very special way to experience that road.

Why is technology and innovation such an important feature in your 718?

One of the features that I really love about the Cayman is Apple Carplay. I use it a lot to stay in touch with people while I’m driving. I don’t have a lot of free time to do things like respond to calls and text messages, so I find my time in the car is a great opportunity to catch up with people. I also like to listen to a bit of music while driving, but equally, I don’t mind turning off the stereo from time to time and just listen to the notes of the engine. 

Great for the back roads

Do you have a favourite road?

One of my favourite roads to take the 718 on is a little back road that is a sneaky way to get to Lilydale Airport. One of the pilots told me about it. I was just taking the highway, but since finding out about this road, it has exponentially increased the enjoyment of getting to my flying lessons.

What is something we could always expect to see in the glove box of your 718?

You will always find my sunglasses; you never know, Melbourne weather can change quickly. It’s also a fashion factor. Another thing you will always find in my Cayman, perhaps not in the glove box and this is opposed to the beautiful speed and precision, is a yoga mat. Just to keep fit and healthy, I do yoga at least twice a week, and so I keep a mat in the boot in case I want to drop in and do a class – it always means that I can.

The year 2021 celebrates 70 years of Porsche in Australia. Knowing and growing up with the brand, what do you look forward to seeing in the next 70 years?

I think in the next 70 years, I expect to see continued progression of the engineering and the brand. Listening to what people want and need from their car and really understanding their customers. I think one of the strengths of Porsche is truly understanding owners. 

One of the things that I really love about Porsche is that they understand their female customers. I have experienced that first-hand. I think if more women start driving Porsches, I know Porsche will listen to them in what they want out of performance, responsiveness, storage, parkability, connectivity. 

I think Porsche will continue to develop their cars in the direction that their customers want – while still having a really strong focus on perfection, engineering, drivability and performance. I really think that the Cayman is an incredible car for a woman who wants a car with performance. It’s strong and has performance and is a really sexy car. But it has feminine aspects to it, too.

Sum up the 718 Cayman.

For me the 718 is a surprising car. You don’t expect the amount of storage and you don’t expect to hear such a throaty note from the engine from such a beautiful car. Its bark is as big as its bite.