Refreshed Porsche 911 (997.5) Finally Gets Proper Paddle Shift

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Our spies tell us that the 911 is finally slated to receive the killer app: a sublime dual-sequential gearbox (DSG) or similar (don't ask). The paddle-shifted Porsche should hit dealer showrooms by the end of the summer. [The delay's due to horsepower and installation issues.] From there, the world's best paddle shifter will trickle down into its rightful place on planet Earth: the Boxster/Cayman. And upwards onto the Cayenne (the mind boggles). And over to the forthcoming Panamera (due in '09 as a '10). And all Audis. Meanwhile, the 911 gets all the e-toys it lacks: Bluetooth, touch screen (death to Chicklet buttons!) and iPod integration. It remains to be seen whether the refreshed 911 will get a displacement bump or find a few more hp through the usual Stuttgartian black magic. And whether the 911's stick-intensive clientele (60% plus) will abandon their purist predilictions for paddles. As anyone who's driven the DSG GTI will tell you, especially a TTAC writer who owns one and lets his designated girlfriend drive it after a couple of few bourbons, there's really only one good reason not to make the switch: most car thieves can't drive stick.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Cyril Sneer Cyril Sneer on Apr 23, 2008

    blau, maybe not Porsche, and maybe not now, but we are heading in the direction where your 'manual' option will be a DSG or similar. Manufacturers benefit hugely from this. Consumers, not so much...

  • CarShark CarShark on Apr 23, 2008

    Who cares? It's all going to end up being DSG-only in the future. A person driving a stick, with the ridiculous usage of all the arms and legs, strikes me as Rube Goldbergian. You can do it faster and easier, but you don't because you need by all the motion to feel like something's being done. It's like being impressed that someone can rub their tummy and pat their head at the same time. Utterly useless.

  • Ricky Spanish Ricky Spanish on Apr 24, 2008

    CarShark - let me know when you find a DSG that can skip-shift or allow creep and hill balance like slipping a clutch. Oh - also, there's this thing called driveline loss - manuals lose less power to the wheels through their transmission - thus manuals put more power to the pavement. And finally, I've driven the VW DSG and I've raced the VW DSG - I can shift faster than it can, given the proper stick (S2000/Civic SI).

  • LA Boy LA Boy on May 09, 2008

    Quite possibly the reason it has taken Porsche so long to give us DSG is that they wanted to deliver one that doesn't self destruct every few years. Here's what gets my goat: we know most folks who buy Porsches want manuals, they want to feel connected, drive the car themselves. So, that is what Porsche has delivered their cars with for so long. Now that the Nissan GT-R is out with it's uber-fast DSG shifter, Porsche is criticized for being backward, old-fashioned and behind the times. My guess is, when we do finally see the Porsche DSG, it will be bullit-proof, most likely the best you can get. Question is, will Porsche constituents want to buy their car with DSG. I think I read somewhere that most folks who have bought the Ferrari 599 stop using the paddles after a short time.

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