2009 Carrera PDK Test Drive by Richard Docken > Ohio Valley Region Porsche Club of America

Monday, November 03, 2008

2009 Carrera PDK Test Drive by Richard Docken
By OVRPCA Webmaster @ 6:36 PM :: 1279 Views :: 0 Comments ::

On September 20th, I had a unique opportunity to test drive a Porsche 997 equipped with the new PDK transmission, as part of the OVR PCA meeting at White-Allen Imports in Dayton Ohio. The PDK transmission is the latest engineering innovation brought from the racetrack to the enthusiast’s drive-way by the Weissach gang, joining other such pioneering efforts as aerodynamics (duck tail, whale fin, and tea tray spoilers) and of course the venerable turbocharger.

Unlike the turbo and aero innovations which “transit-ioned” quite quickly from track to road, transition of the PDK to road use has taken almost 20 years. And, unlike aero and the turbo which race drivers to a person eagerly welcomed, the PDK was as welcomed as cold fish for dinner.

In its original form, the PDK added overall weight (about 5 %) and suffered from unreliability, although it had the promise of quicker gear shifts leading to faster lap times. The faster lap times were the result of the PDK transmission’s ability to both change gears more quickly and do so without interrupting full throttle operation.

By 1987/1988, the Porsche 962 PDK had matured into a highly reliable, lighter weight unit. Even though the basic racecar had grown long in the tooth, the use of the PDK was the key enabler that allowed Porsche to press newcomers and rivals Jaguar and Mercedes to the limit in the chase for the European championship.

PDK-Equipped 962C
Celebrated Porsche author Paul Frere, unknowingly and unfortunately wrote this “epitaph” on the PDK: “It (the PDK) cannot fail to become THE sports car transmission of the future…” Sadly, almost as Paul’s words went to print, Porsche suspended active development of the PDK. Termination and redirection of Porsche’s racing program, and commercial economic concerns intervened to put PDK development into long-term storage.

Fast-forwarding twenty years, I completely missed Porsche’s announcement this past spring that they would (finally) introduce the PDK transmission on the 2009 997. It didn’t really connect until the announcement of the OVR/PCA’s Dr. Porsche birth-day event that would include two PDK-equipped 911’s-a green coupe and a cobalt-blue cabriolet-available for brief test drives.

2009 Porsche with PDK Transmission
I was fortunate to be able to drive the cabriolet. After driving my old Targa for many years, I appreciate the feel and sensation of open air driving. As I slid behind the cabriolet’s driving wheel, I did a quick visual familiarization of the key mechanicals-wheel, gear lever, and pedals. They were as they should be. It was time to go!

I pulled smoothly onto US 741 and headed as directly as possible to the interstate highway where I would be able to stretch the legs of this powerful, sophisti-cated piece of fine German engineering. I chose to use the floor-mounted shifter to command gear changes in lieu of the wheel-mounted shifter buttons. Gear upshifts required a flick forward and, obviously, downshifting was via a flick backwards. I’ve always been puzzled by this shifting protocol ever since Porsche introduced the Tipo—it seems to me that the more natural motion is upshift-back and downshift-forwards, but that’s just me.

Anyway, the shifts were smooth and lightning-quick! I would say the shifting was “bang-bang” but that would be an insult to the PDK’s sophisticated manners. It was more like a “schup-schup” that I could barely hear if the conditions were just right.
The PDK’s coupling (kuppling?) of the massive horsepower of the 911’s engine to the huge, mega-grip tires made the car leap forward as fast as a mad dog bursting out of a cage! Because of the respon-siveness of the mechanical package, along with the car’s smallish road footprint, I could confidently put this car anyplace on the road, at any time. I’ve driven other performance cars but none have given me such a high level of confidence. Wow! I think that all those who were able to drive the PDK cars would share these impressions.

At one time during the test drive, I found myself briefly behind a Toyota Prius. I noted that the Prius’ left rear tire was low, and I wondered to myself how much the great mileage of this battery-laden car was suffering because of excessive tire drag. Also, I can’t say for sure but I think that the car was appreciably above its speed for best mileage. Is it just me or are many of the “greens” in this country more interested in simply looking green as opposed to being and living green? That’s something worth remembering as the debate on the environment and cars continue.

Many thanks to White-Allen Imports for making the PDK cars available and for hosting the Porsche birthday event, and many thanks, too, to Tim B. for coordinating the test drives.

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