The Hindu : Metro Plus Coimbatore / Wheels : Porsche Spice

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 06, 2008

Metro Plus Coimbatore

Published on Mondays & Thursdays

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Porsche Spice

There are enough reasons to flaunt the Porsche 911 Carrera S — classic shape, timeless design and blistering performance, says Hormazd Sorabjee

Owners’ pride What makes the new 911 truly special is the addition of the long-awaited PDK, seven-speed gearbox

Porsche, as if to prove a point that it doesn’t need to resort to cosmetic makeovers to keep its timeless 911 as fresh as ever, has kept the exterior changes on the latest iteration of its iconic sports car to a bare minimum. In fact, unless you’re a committed 911 spotter or park the old car alongside the new one, you will be hard-pressed to notice the changes. The giveaway is the pair of daytime driving lights or LED strips in the bumper that can be seen (that’s the whole point) from miles. Bi-xenon lights are standard and the rear tail lamps get an LED strip as well. That apart, the only other visual differences are larger front air intakes, re-designed door mirrors and new wheel designs.

All the action is tucked away under the new 911 Carerra’s skin and at its heart is a range of brand new engines which feature, for the first time, direct fuel injection (DFI) that boosts not only power but fuel efficiency as well. In fact, it’s the latter that Porsche is more concerned about in this increasingly enviro-conscious age where it’s cooler to be green than red hot.

The base 3.6-litre flat-six motor spews out 15 per cent less CO2 than the previous engine and produces an extra 20bhp, taking the power output up to 341bhp. The bigger 3.8 litre belts out a massive 385bhp and can be visually distinguished by the pair of round tailpipes made of brushed stainless steel.

But if there is one component that’s responsible for taking the 911’s engines to a different level, it’s the DFI system. The benefits of direct fuel injection are obvious. There is no loss of fuel on the walls of the fuel supply system that you encounter with conventional indirect injection. Also, the cooler air/fuel mixture allows a higher compression ratio of a staggering 12.5:1. A high compression ratio translates into better power and economy but it also makes the engine sensitive to octane rating, which in India is a serious problem. Owners would need to run their 911s on nothing less than 97 octane which is only available in a handful of pumps in the big metros.

Auto transmission

What makes the new 911 truly special is the addition of the long-awaited PDK, seven-speed gearbox. The PDK auto transmission is particularly relevant to us because Porsche as a policy has been discouraging the use of manual transmissions for the Indian market — to avoid the headache of worn-out clutches in our stop-start driving conditions. As a result, we’ve had to make do with the slow-witted Tiptronic gearchange that all Porsches until now came with.

The PDK gearbox is as complex as its full name (Porsche Dppelkupplungsgetriebe or double clutch) and is essentially a sophisticated version of the DSG box pioneered by VW. Porsche’s PDK gearbox has been a long time coming. It was first used in sports car racing in the 1980s but Porsche hadn’t perfected it for road use until now.

And perfect it is. The shift action is so fast and smooth that you can fly through all seven ratios in one seamless blur. Shifts are delivered in less than 200 milliseconds with no break in power and hence it comes as no surprise that the PDK-equipped 911 accelerates fractionally quicker than the manual model. Downshifts too are velvety with subtle throttle blips to perfectly match revs to the cog you go down to. What’s amazing is the Jekyll and Hyde character of the PDK. Leave it in D and it works leisurely just like any auto in a luxury saloon. There is none of the jerkiness you find in a Ferrari or Lambo as the gears slur from one ratio to another. Press the optional Sport Plus button and you can feel the ‘box hunker down to keep the engine on the boil by staying in a gear or two that is lower than necessary. Drive it in pure manual mode and it’s an absolute delight. It feels just like a conventional gearbox but only faster. Response in any gear is instant and the perfectly matched ratios only serve to optimise the 911’s shattering performance.

Odd design

If there is a fly in this Teutonic ointment, it’s the odd design of the gearshift buttons that follow a layout that’s similar to Porsche’s longstanding Tiptronic auto system. The upshift buttons are on either side of the front wheel while the downshift buttons are behind, which is contrary to the ‘right for up, left for down’ configuration that has been universally adopted by others for paddle-shift operation. Even the gear lever, which has a pull-for-up and push-for-down configuration, is the wrong way around and hence counter-intuitive. Eventually, it’s all a matter of getting used to and once the shift operations become second nature, it will be hard to drive anything else.

The wizardry of the PDK transmission almost makes you forget that it’s the engines as well that contribute to the new 911 Carrera’s blistering performance. It’s not just the additional power that makes the Carrera more thrilling to drive but the super-sharp throttle response as well. Flex your right foot in a low gear and the manner in which the Carrera leaps takes you by surprise at first. There’s instant power available at any speed, in any gear and it never seems to tail off. The PDK 911 Carrera S will blast to 100kph from a standstill in 4.5 seconds and go on to hit a max speed of 300kph.

The handling is more refined as well and this is a good thing. The optional Porsche Active Management System or PASM has been tweaked to give a smoother ride. The handling is tamer in the sense that it’s less tail-happy than before but you still can’t get away from that rear-heavy feeling. Floor the throttle hard in corner, the front end goes instantly light and the 911 understeers before settling down. Lift-off mid-corner and the 911 aggressively tightens its line. It’s hard work to get used to this abrupt characteristic but if you master this car, the phenomenal agility and body control makes the 911 hugely rewarding to drive.

Driving pleasure, however, will be hard to find in India and most 911 owners won’t step beyond city limits.

It’s the classical shape, the timeless design of this iconic sports car that they will be more keen to flaunt.

And that in itself makes it worth every rupee.

Technical data Porsche 911 carrera S (pdk)

Price Rs 86.05 lakh*

0-100kph 4.5 sec (claimed)

Top speed 300kph (claimed)

L/W/H4435/1808/1300mm

Wheelbase 2350mm

Kerb weight 1425kg

Engine Flat six, 3800cc, petrol

Installation Rear, longitudinal, rear-wheel drive