Don't let the minor facelift fool you into thinking little has changed. The major work is reserved for the bits under the skin and in this car, they are nothing less than revolutionary.The 1st one is to the engine. While the rest of the world is enamoured with turbocharges and monster diesels, Porsche continues to develop the normally aspirated boxer-six to meet mordern emission and delivering enough power and torque to keep the 911 a premier league sports car. This time around , they've added a Bosch direct injection system, which swells power and torque to 345bhp at 6500rpm and 390Nm at 4400rpm for the standard 3.6-litre engine. Opt for the 3.8-litre in the S models and the numbers are 385bhp and 420Nm.
Of course direct injection alone isn't the only improvement. The block is an incredible 22% stiffer and the whole engines is 5kg lighter. Combined with other engineering solutions like an electronically controlled oil pump that pumps on demand and you ger a 14.3% improvement in fuel consumption, which now stands at 10.4km/l. That is impressive for a family car and mind blowing for something with this much performance potential.
Speaking of that, it's now much easier to access the raw speed and chassis ability of a 911. All Malaysian market cars come standard with Porsche's long-awaited PDK 7 speed gearbox and it, more than any other development, has changed the way you drive the car. We won't get into the details here but the gist of it that PDK is to Porsche what DSG is to Volkswagen. It also means that Porsche finally has a 2 petrol 911 that will appeal toenthusiats and casual buyers alike.
To understand why, you need to barrel towards a tight corneer that requires at least 2 sownshifts and heavy breaking. In the old car, a manual would have required you to heel and tow and time your shifts perfectly while an automatic would be slow with no throttle blis to smooth out the changes. With PDK, all you need to do is haul on the anchors and tap the paddles as gearbox and its fancy electronics will shed gears far faster than you ever could and blip the throttle to match engine revs woth road speed.It's as simple as that.
PDK alsoworks very well when going up through the gears. It is so smooth and quickthat acceleration runs feel almost seamless, with the delicious and distinctive wail of the engine spurring you on. You can even replicate the claimed performance figures without shifting a single gear. Just press the Sport Plus button, put your left foot on the brake and floor the acceleration. The electronic will hold the revs at 6000rpm and the car when you release the brakes. Keep your foot in and the gearbox will do all the work by shifting up at 7400rpm. Porsche claims 0-100km/h in 4.7 sec with a 287km/h top speed and we have no reason to doubt them.
Such pace needs to be matched to a chassis that can harness it safely and Porsche rightfully felt that the old car was already up to the job. Little has changed, aside from a PASM upgrade, so you still get the same direct steering feeland heavy rear end that is a trademark of every 911 ever made. Explore the limits and the handling settles into mild understeer with lurid tail slides available to the very brave. Such antics should never be tried on public roads through and it's better torevel in the point-to-point pace that can be generated. Driven well,few cars have a hope of keeping up.
Even fewer sports cars will end up being driven on a daily basis. Leave the gearbox in automatic and PASM in comfort and it's refined enough to drive to work or to the shops. It helps that the build quality imparts a sense of solidity, as the lack of creaks and squeaks is very reassuring. Ride qualitty us firm but surprisingly supple with only Sport Plus proving to be too harsh for regular use.
Carrera is one of the best sports cars in the would today.It's so good that it questions the logic of buying the more powerful and expensive versions. That is the mark of a true great.