There is little justification for owning a $90,000-plus sports car, except for unyielding automotive desire – and that doesn’t wash with most spouses. Still, we know a guy who convinced his wife that a Porsche 911 Carrera was a good family vehicle and actually wedged a Graco child seat into the tiny rear bucket. Hats off; that took some brass. But, unless you’re a similarly gifted charmer or can afford to park a Honda Odyssey in the garage next to the 911, you’ll have to settle for the Honda (like us) and your Porsche lust will continue to go unrequited.

Porsche feels your pain. For 2006, the company is building a new sports car that leaves room for the mortgage and the minivan. The new 2006 Porsche Cayman S straddles the asphalt between the smaller and somewhat effeminate Boxster and the costly, high-powered 911 Carrera. And, with a starting price of less than 60 grand, it just might be the best Porsche ever for the money.

No, the Cayman S is not the most beautiful, nor the fastest, or even the most affordable Porsche in the stable, but in our measured opinion it is the most fun. Depress the accelerator when engine revs are up around 5,000 and the Cayman’s cabin is filled with the sweet music of Porsche’s tuned flat six, producing a surge of power that flattens your shoulders hard against the leather sport seats. You can take it all the way to 7,000 rpm before reaching redline, and all the while the Cayman is rocketing forward as composed as a Radio Flyer wagon on a freshly blacktopped driveway. It’s not all about spine-tingling speed, though. The 2006 Porsche Cayman S is equally happy rolling along city streets, soliciting jealous stares from other automotive junkies who assume you’re either rich or really creative.