mathfuzzy

It's an interesting question about why they bother with the 911, Boxster and Cayman. My take is that Porsche ceases to be Porsche without the 911 series plus at least one more good sports car line. And I believe they know and embrace this. Plus it's gotta be fun.

Valkuri

Hey, I hope they DO stop making sports cars.
...after I secure another two of them, to keep for myself. And watch them appreciate.

I suspect that by 2030, sports cars will be not only far less common, but may be required by insurers to have self-drive features for coverage.
Because we have to be protected from ourselves and our unreliable, human frailties.

DNorby

I just traded my 2011 base Panamera for a 2013 S manual. The automatic in the Panamera made the car very fast around town. Just stepping on the gas lightly would seem to leave everybody way behind me at the last stop light. I can only afford one Porsche and sometimes I do get tired of shifting ( I also have a 2005 350Z roadster with manual transmission but I do have a pickup with automatic ) but I cannot imagine having a 911 with an automatic transmission. I know the PDK is fast and wonderful but an automatic transmission on a 911 is just plain silly, but then again, some guys like women with "bolt on" breasts. David

mgflyfish

Ditto that--

Archimedes

Again, you do know the PDK is a sequential manual transmission that can be operated fully manually, right?

I guess the Cup race cars are silly…and the soon to come GT4 Club Sport is silly…and the 919…and...

After driving manuals my whole life and now switching over to PDK and driving this car hard, there is no way I'd go back to a manual in a sports car. I'd love it in a sporty run around daily driver for fun, but not in a sports car. The PDK is epic when you're driving it hard.

Archimedes

Totally agree. Without the sports cars, they lose the brand panache that's a huge draw in terms of sales of everything else. Plus they lose a lot of the chassis and power train R&D that trickles over into the SUV/sedan products. Porsche ceases to become Porsche if they don't sell sports cars. And trust me, they don't lose money on their sports cars.

997s07

Yeah the PDK is a manual. I'll drink whatever you're drinking.

You like the PDK? Makes you smile? Great. But see it for what it is. Or not.

strumbringer

Umm... Archimedes is right, 997s07

The PDK is not a torque-coupling transmission (aka slushbox), it's a dual *clutch* transmission, which makes it an automated *manual* transmission. It can also be shifted completely manually.

Now, I get that you prefer a pedal and a stick. It's definitely the more connected way to drive a car, and also a good way to acquire the highly desirable "strong left leg". But operated fully manually, the PDK is also quite engaging (not quite the same, agreed), and it's definitely faster than a stick.

But let's not let facts get in the way of opinions.

997s07

Agreed. My MT definition is based on using my left leg not just my fingers or right arm.

Noah Fect

So just stomp on the dead pedal before you shift. What's the problem?

There is no spoon. Well, OK, there is a spoon, but you don't need it to eat an ice-cream cone.

Green_Hornet

I just bought my car about 2 months ago. I fully planned to get a manual. Someone asked me about the pdk and I couldn't answer because I had never driven one. So I drove a GTS with a pdk and it was amazing. When think about my decision it occurred to me that my bicycle has electric shifters for God's sake. Why was I so hesitant about newer can be better.

Since then I have been driving with pdk. I miss the stick at times but overall the pdk is the better choice. If you put the thing in sport plus and get a bit rowdy the car is always pushing you to go harder. FUN

Amazing...

maxpowers

JD Powers survey would disagree with you. One of the 1st questions was "Is your car automatic (2 pedals) or manual (3 pedals).

No one cares how the automatic works behind the scenes. You can shift a conventional automatic with paddles too. 99.9% of people can't tell the difference between the types of automatics, so it doesn't really matter. Just like I don't care if the car has electric or hydraulic power steering. If they took away my steering wheel I'd be just as upset as with them taking away my clutch and gearshift. The PDK is a different kind of automatic, but it's an automatic by any definition.

Porsche_nuts

Porsche spent big bucks perfecting the PDK. If it shifted like a Ford automatic, don't you think millions of Porsche owners would be driving a manual Porsche. Fact is it is a great transmission with many many happy converts and I am sure many of those converts are long time Porsche enthusiasts. And I have never heard PDK referred to as automatic, only as PDK or dual clutch.

maxpowers

They had conventional automatic Porsche 911s for years and I didn't hear the people buying them complaining. For whatever reason there are a lot of people who don't care about having the fun of a manual, whether because they never learned, are just buying the car as a trophy, or legitimate reasons like physical limitations or having to sit in traffic most of the time. Just don't try to call an apple an orange. A 2 pedal car is an automatic.

997s07

You are smart. Most Porsche clutch pedals feel like dead pedals anyway, no? Now I can eat ice cream in my PDK manual car and shift like a pro.