yea I have heard the 2.7 is well overgeared.. I suspect having lived with the 330d's 420 lb ft of torque and 8 speed ZF box which is, frankly, the best engine / gearbox combination I think I have ever had in terms of a match made in heaven (every gear drops you in max torque zone around 2000 rpm), driving a low torque stretched gearing cayman might be frustrating !
Still I am looking forward to driving the 718 in September. I get the nay sayers about the engine but it will be more drivable and there is a considerable spec increase on the new cars (brakes from the old cayman S etc) to the point £4k or so is all I need in options, and with 4-5% maybe off, I can see it landing around £42k which isn't that bad.