33 Votes

Boost it!

2009 Porsche 911 to get HP Increase and a 7-speed Dual-Clutch Transmission

TurboSpyder submitted on 4/25/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 3:01:07 PM

44 user comments | Category: Misc News | Source: | SOURCE: www.caranddriver.com

For some car companies, evolution involves making radical changes at regular intervals to their products in order to maintain their appeal.

However, that's not the way it works at Porsche, whose notoriously fast cars get updated at a notoriously glacial pace, at least in terms of style, even while sometimes major advancements occur under the skin.

Even so, the slight changes that will find their way to the iconic Carrera within the next year or so are not so insignificant as to make it past the watchful eye of our European spy photographers, one of whom exasperated a Porsche test driver (who was stupid enough to venture onto Germany's public roads in a future Carrera) by following him about while snapping away.


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About the Author

TurboSpyder

Bilstein "DampTronic" traitors! http://www.oobject.com/category/top-10-soviet-technology-ripoffs/

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)


User Comments

AutoEng

No, but it will undoubtedly look like a 911. Changing the style of such an iconic car to please internet hooligans who can't actually buy the car would be stupid of Porsche. Porsche caters directly to its small but highly dedicated fanbase who are adamant about not messing with the general shape and layout of the 911. If Porsche were to change the 911 to dramatically, these hardcore fans (who actually have the means to purchase the cars and support the company) will be up in arms.

It doesn't make sense to piss off your main client base to please random people who can't afford the cars anyways.

— AutoEng (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 3:42:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 17   

KZ258

"Changing the style of such an iconic car to please internet hooligans who can't actually buy the car would be stupid of Porsche."

LOL

— KZ258 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 5:41:06 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 7   

S4cabriofoxone

Sweet!

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 3:38:26 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

mini22

It will be interesting how much the 7 speed dual clutch gearbox affects the 911's performance.

— mini22 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 4:28:56 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

528i

Thank you GT-R.

— 528i (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 4:35:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

gsh23

thats why other sites such as autoblog are not only better in that respect, but the journalism is alot better too.

— gsh23 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 4:46:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Agent001

LOL!

You should check out their HOT test of the PONTIAC VIBE today!

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/25/in-the-autoblog-garage-2009-pontiac-vibe/

Make sure you use AOL though to access it!

LOLOL!!!!!!

— Agent001 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 10:41:30 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

abcd

"7-speed Dual-Clutch PDK Transmission"

PDK - i think VW(borg warner) DSG rather .

— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 4:45:57 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

TurboSpyder

Porsche used "Porsche Doppler Kupplings" transmissions in their 956 race cars over twenty years ago and development of Borg Warner's version was centered at their European Advanced Transmission Development Center in Ketsch, Germany.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sports/112_0606_2007_porsche_911_turbo

http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=96189

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 6:12:08 PM | | Votes: 2   

abcd

TurboSpyder:
(http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=96189
"Development of the system for VW was the result of collaboration between engineers throughout BorgWarner's network of technology centers")

You don`t get me right . will PDK be in VW/Audi future cars with high power engines only named DSG ?

— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 3:44:42 AM | | Votes: 0   

TurboSpyder

"Development of the system for VW was the result of collaboration between engineers throughout BorgWarner's network of technology centers, **and centered at the BorgWarner European Advanced Transmission Development Center in Ketsch, Germany.**"

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 4/27/2008 12:18:06 AM | | Votes: 1   

bclemans

The photos show a "shark-fin" antenna on the roof, so maybe some of the hightech stuff will materialize.

— bclemans (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 4:50:27 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

TurboSpyder

You know Porsche win the GT2 Class at Le Mans most every year with this design, right?

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 6:14:44 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

abcd

I think dual clutch transmission will do substantial progress in acceleration-->track times . when they will put dual clutch to porsche 911 turbo it could do even slightly better time on nurburgring than nissan GT-R 7:38 .

— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 4:42:16 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

abcd

especially 7-speed .

— abcd (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 4:43:08 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

SixxFive

Two thumbs up for Porsche!

— SixxFive (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 5:08:14 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Chaos29

heading for extinction. Atleast it'll be a classic.

— Chaos29 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 5:40:02 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -6   

S4cabriofoxone

How stupid can you be?

There will, as far as I can see, always be a market for the Porsche 911. How do you think it's survived for over forty years?

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 12:57:04 AM | | Votes: 3   

BozzorTheGreat

There is no doubt that despite the Nissan GT-R, which by any objective measure hammers a Carrera S into oblivion, the 911 is a winner for Porsche and so many people. It is just a pure driver's car, which by virtue of its low weight, just maanges to connect a driver to the road better than anything else. Indeed, people who crticise it are not the people who buy it, and Porsche does wlel to follow the legion of 911 owners who know what they want. Porsche tried with the 928 many years ago, but that brought in a new crowd: the 911 people ignored it.

— BozzorTheGreat (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 6:14:21 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

weaponX

The Carrera S most probably will hit 60 mph in less than 4 sec now. And likely the turbo version may be under 3 sec.

The iconic 911 franchise may have taken it on the chin with the release of the incredible GT-R, but with the inevitable power bump and the release of the awesome dual clutch tranny, the reign of Godzilla may be short-lived.

Maybe there really is no substitute.

— weaponX (View Profile)

Posted on 4/25/2008 8:40:56 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Htay7500

I'm sure this will make the 911 alot quicker, but I'll still take a clutch anyday.

— Htay7500 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 12:23:39 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Designer1

Oh oh, someone is feeling the pain from the GT-R, they're trying to copy the GT-R's spec.

— Designer1 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 1:29:35 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Heyhuub

Nissan are the ones who copied the 997 Turbo specs with the GT-R

— Heyhuub (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 10:04:27 AM | | Votes: 2   

DasAuto

GTR's spec? Regarding what? The Dual-clutch transmission? They already were in partnership with VW when the GTR came out, so they had access to the DSG for a long time but only now put it in. I don't think Porsche is in pain becuase of the GTR, they will still have people to buy their cars so i do see your point. There's more to a car then just performance figures.

— DasAuto (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 3:09:14 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Matthew1

Designer1 just lives in a one-dimensional world based within his computer screen.

— Matthew1 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 5:11:27 AM | | Votes: 3   

pcar4evr

Porsche invented/patented the double clutch transmission - they have used it for years in their racing cars. The reason why DSG (VW/AUDI's version) appeared first is that it was designed and proven reliable for lower hp/torque vehicles. Notice that the R8 doesn't use the VW DSG system but rather the lambo system. Porsche has taken the time to ensure that PDK can reliably handle the hp/torque of its street cars for the extended periods of time that us Porsche lovers enjoy their cars.

Porsche copy the GT-R specs? Seems to me it is the other way around. BTW, it would be really interesting to know what the product cost is on a GT-R - my guess is that Nissan is doing the old Japanese car trick of "dumping cars" (making no profit or even taking a loss on a given vehicle model)to get a foothold in the U.S. highend market. They'll leave it up to their dealers to screw the customers with "market value" pricing. Can't wait to read the boo-hoo stories from all the GT-R purchasers who were promised the car at MSRP.

— pcar4evr (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 7:53:24 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

TurboSpyder

"my guess is that Nissan is doing the old Japanese car trick of 'dumping cars' (making no profit or even taking a loss on a given vehicle model)to get a foothold in the U.S. highend market."



That's what Lexus did when they first entered the US market and they got a bunch of good press about how good their cars are especially for the price - but then they steadily increased their prices.

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 4/27/2008 12:26:22 AM | | Votes: 1   

LexusLion

So they're going back to the original design of the headlights? Interesting.

— LexusLion (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 7:24:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

S4cabriofoxone

It's been like that since the 997 came out in 2005.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 4/27/2008 2:26:00 PM | | Votes: 2   

MookGmbH

Anyone remember that Ricardo makes the 7sp DSG in the Veyron.?

— MookGmbH (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 7:28:07 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

investor27

I wasn't aware that the R8 has a DSG box. I'm pretty sure it doesn't yet.

— investor27 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/26/2008 9:02:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

pcar4evr

Isn't that what I said:

"Notice that the R8 doesn't use the VW DSG system but rather the lambo system."

r8's are offered with either a manual or a manumatic (the R-Tronic system from lambo)

— pcar4evr (View Profile)

Posted on 4/27/2008 8:39:50 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

S4cabriofoxone

I wouldn't be surprised if an upcoming R8 variant, whether it be the V12 TDI or V10 petrol, uses the new seven-speed BorgWarner DSG. Audi would be stupid not to implement it across the lineup and just kill the six-speed auto.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 4/27/2008 2:27:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

richardp996

I am not sure if you guys realize this but so far paddle shifters on the steering column has yet to be seen. All of the prototypes are running on small shifter buttons on the steering wheel very similar to the Tiptronic shifters. As cool as the 7 speed PDK sounds, the system doesn't seem all that well thought out. That alone I would chose the updated manual gearbox.

— richardp996 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/27/2008 3:56:43 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

richardp996

On top of that the facelift sounds more GT than sports car with the various creature comforts including heated steering wheels.

I am looking more forward to the 997 GT3 MKII more than anything. With the horsepower bumps in the Carrera and Carrera S models, the GT3 should be devastatingly quick and as if the GT3 wasn't already quick enough.

— richardp996 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/27/2008 4:05:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

S2000VS911

i still choose Manual even 7 speed PDK shift faster.

— S2000VS911 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/27/2008 8:16:37 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

kager911

I think the pdk will become a favorite transmission choice. can't wait

— kager911 (View Profile)

Posted on 4/28/2008 2:27:57 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

avanti64

Running scared from the GT-R. LOL
Horrors - it will even have a slushbox like the GT-R.

— avanti64 (View Profile)

Posted on 5/1/2008 11:34:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

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