Top 911 moves to industry-standard shift controls
With the release this autumn of the top-performing Turbo version of its iconic 911 Carrera,
Porsche is to provide the option of its seven-speed PDK dual clutch transmission
along with a new three-spoke steering wheel incorporating gearshift paddles.
This is a significant move for the company as it represents a response to sustained media criticism of its present method of controlling sequential transmissions via rocker switches mounted on the steering wheel spokes. Magazines and other media outlets had commented that the Porsche shift button system lacked the clarity and intuitive simplicity of other manufacturers' paddle shift systems. With the current Porsche system the buttons set into the top of each spoke have identical functions and are pushed towards the front of the car for an upshift and towards the driver for a downshift. This system, say journalists, is different to almost every other automaker's.
Now, with the paddle-shift option on the 911 Turbo, Porsche is acknowledging that some of its customers may prefer the system that is fast becoming the standard for the industry - a large shift paddle behind the wheel rim each side.
"Models equipped with PDK are also available with a new, optional three-spoke steering wheel with gearshift paddles as an alternative to the standard steering wheel with its proven shift buttons," says Porsche's press release.
"Fitted firmly on the steering wheel, the right paddle is for shifting up, the left paddle for shifting down. In conjunction with the optional Sport Chrono Package Turbo both the gearshift paddle and the PDK steering wheel with its shift buttons come with integrated displays for Launch Control and the Sport/Sport Plus mode."
The 911 Turbo, with its engine capacity boosted to 3.8 liters, now gives a power output of 500hp, allowing it to reach 100km/h (62mph) in 3.4 seconds and attain a top speed of 312km/h (194mph). Equally impressive is the 18 percent reduction on CO2 emissions compared with the predecessor, something which, says Porsche, allows the new car to "remain even further below the crucial level for gas-guzzler tax in the USA".
These performance figures put the 911 Turbo fractionally ahead of the Nissan GT-R, which was benchmarked against the previous 911 Turbo during its development. The GT-R is front-engined and uses a rear transaxle-mounted six-speed DCT co-developed with Borg Warner.
This is the first time the Porsche 911 Turbo engine has been combined with the company's ZF-supplied dual clutch transmission. A further innovation is also promised as an option: the new Porsche Torque Vectoring system (PTV) linked to an enhanced Porsche Traction Management-controlled four wheel drive system and the Porsche Stability Management ESP system. No details of PTV have yet been released.
Porsche has not said whether its other models available with PDK transmission – the Boxster, Cayman and 911 Carrera -- will follow the 911 Turbo and also offer the paddle-shift gearchange option.
In a separate development, the track-focused high-performance version of the 911, the GTR, will remain with a six-speed manual transmission for 2010.
Before taxes, the 911 Turbo will cost 122,400 euros (~ 178,000 USD) as a coupé and 131,800 (~ 192,000 USD) as a convertible, equating to on-the-road prices in Germany of €145,871 and €157,057 respectively.
Story Filed: 9/24/2009
By Tony Lewin, managing editor DCTfacts.com