Airbag997

I always owned a manual until my PDK. I thought I would miss the manual, but I don't. The scary part is I am optioning out a new P car and I clicked the PDK check box....which I never thought I would do with a manual option available...it's that good.

squid42

It might also be a more strategic move.

Porsche will have no future selling cars simply on being faster. Porsches and the competing sports cars are already unreasonably fast for most buyers. The other makers will beat Porsche badly in performance/price, especially as electric motors support speed (as in the new NSX). As the 718 buyers showed us people also really like advanced non-driving electronics in their cars. The competitors will have little problem undercutting Porsche's price for that.

Flexibility and choice is one thing where Porsche can outshine such competition. It will be hard for the cheaper Asian competitors to offer manual transmissions.

Another one is to disengage from the "go faster" sales argument and make cars that are more about the driving itself.

Surfer2001

I've owned both a 964 & 993 both manual Trans. Loved those cars so much. I now have a 997.2 and its just as fun to drive. But with the automatic I have to share it with the wife. Should have gotten a stick.....lol

Swede_Matt

Die hard manual driver here. I've driven manual since the day I started driving. I have an 86 911 which I love to drive and just purchased a beautiful 2012 GTS.

I really wanted to try out the PDK and finally found the right one for me. I have to say I'm blown away by the PDK and I do not miss the manual at all. It's a blast to drive! The PDK is amazing and I love the rev matching as you break hard. Yes, in the beginning it was weird to be in a 911 without a stick and a few time I pressed the non-existing clutch as I was coming to a stop :-) Now, I do have my old 911 when I need my manual fix but so far I do not miss the manual at all and actually look forward to playing with the PDK shifting....it IS that good.

goofballdeluxe

Some prefer doing the shifting, some prefer to let the car/computer do it for you.

Personally, on a sports car, for me, there will only ever be a manual. I'm not competing for tenths of a second on a race track, and rev matching perfectly with a stick takes a bit of skill and practice and the driver involvement in rowing one's gears is very rewarding in a sports car.

Automatics on SUVs, luxo-barges and minivans etc. make sense to me, but on a sports car, not so much. I like to control a sports car, not the computer.

Either way, both are great. Different strokes for different folks

07CarreraS

Don't regret going to PDK in my 991.2 but I went ahead and just picked up this 05 C2S (24,500 miles) with a manual gearbox. I must say, the PDK is so efficient but it's nice to jump in shift the gears in the other car. Cheers!

Seneca035

One of my gripes with the TTS was the 1st gen PDK. I was able to see the difference with a 2nd gen PDK car back to back and it's night and day; the 2nd gen PDK shifts are lightning fast.

However, I am at peace again shifting the gears in my GTS, and not worrying about PDK replacement costs out of warranty.

ZCPSnob

Wow, the 991 looks HUGE compared to the 997.

DC911S

Lets not start that again, big boned girls need love too.

ianstewartshouse

qikqbn

A FEW TONGUE IN CHEEK REPLIES IN CAPS AS I COULDNT WORK OUT HOW TO COLOUR IT ON PHONE SCREEN

For fun I made up some reasons for either choice...

Reasons for PDK:
-if ya commute with your porsche and sit in traffic a lot... pdk hands down.
-if you want the quickest 0-60 mph and 1/4 mile times... pdk with launch control.
-if you want to drive without thinking too much... WHEN YOU WANT TO
-if you want your grandma to be able to drive just as fast as you can.. LOL IF YOUR GRANDMA CAN DRIVE AS FAST AS YOU WITH PDK YOU'R DOING IT WRONG
-if you want your grandma to drive your car period.. LOTS OF GRANDMAS IN UK DRIVE STICK
-if you have just reached that time in your life where you have given up on being the ultimate driver with multiple skills and no longer enjoys the feel of an amazing heel and toe rev matching down shift before a tight corner... PRETTY SURE MOST OF THE ULTIMATE DRIVERS IN MOTORSPORT NOW ARE USING THIS TYPE OF TRANSMISSION
-if your too tired and can't be bothered any more with that dumb old clutch and stick shift in one of the greatest sports cars in the world called Porsche.. OR WANT TO ENJOY PORCHES LATEST TECHNOLOGY WHICH MAKES IT ONE OF THE GREATEST SPORTS CAR IN THE WORLD
-If you like to eat triple decker cheeseburgers or giant chilli dogs while driving... I DO BUT GET THE WIFE TO FEED THEM TO ME SO I DONT GET THE STEERING WHEEL ALL STICKY
-if you like drinking your 3 pump, sugar free vanilla latte with foam milk only while driving through the canyons... DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS IS
-if you only like to use 50% of your body while driving.. LOL
-if being in total control scares you... pdk YOUR MAYBE TIRED OF LOOKING AT THE BACK OF PDK CARS


Reasons for Manual Stick Shift:
- If your old school James Dean manly, full of testosterone and like to be in total control of everything all the time.... DRIVE A 50s MUSCLE CAR
-you like the sound and feel of blipping the throttle any time you want to. any way you want to.... THIS IS DEFO A MANUAL ADVANTAGE!
-enjoy honing all of your diving skills and using all four limbs while rapping off quick shifts and awesome heal toe down shifts... SLOWER THAN A PDK CAN......
-get excited about using your whole body to immerse yourself into the driving experience while feeling one with your Porsche.. OR LIKE TO GO SLOWER AND PUT MORE EFFORT IN
-get a thrill out of man handling your stick shifter... haha I'M WITH YOU HERE!
-love wearing race shoes...on both feet! NEVER HEARD OF LEFT FOOT BRAKING.....
-25 years of practicing heal and toe down shifts never gets old. AGREE LIKE RIDING A BIKE
-take pride in shifting so fast on your own... "pdk's got nothing on me" ;^) INSERT 'SLOWER THAN PDK AND NOT' AFTER SHIFTING.....
-OR if you just get bored driving cars that shift for themselves. OR LIKE TECHNOLOGY

Manual gear box for me please

PDK FOR ME THANKS!

qikqbn

I am glad you enjoyed reading and responding to my list. It's all in fun . Nice ride and Hope all is well in Northern Ireland, Happy New Year!

qikqbn

Congrats on both cars! Love the slate gray colors! Best of both worlds!

ianstewartshouse

Qikqbn, its good to have a bit of craic as we say here!

fbfisher

Reading about PDK and sport plus being the way to drive it reminded me that one of the things I didn't like about my GTS was that there were too many buttons to push to have the experience I wanted. Want more exhaust noise, push a button. Want more throttle response, push a button. Want the car to hold its gear, push a button. Want the car to launch faster, push a button and the brake pedal and gas pedal.

Too many steps necessary to have the driving experience I wanted, and began to feel gimmicky. I love my 997 MT in part because it's simple. Turn the key and go have all the fun you can.

ianstewartshouse

I think pressing 1 button does everything you mention not a number of buttons. With the exception of launch control which as you know only PDK cars with Sport mode or chrono + have but I doubt it's used much by most of us