New 911 gets dual-clutch gearbox and direct-injection

Porsche has announced details of its latest 911 -- on the eve of the marque's 60th anniversary.
 
Set to go on sale locally in September of this year, the new 911 range may not look significantly different (hey, it's a 911 after all!) but under the skin there are revised direct-injection engines and, for the first time in a road-going Porsche, a DSG-style "double-clutch" gearbox.
 
Dubbed Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK), the seven-speed gearbox will be optional on the latest rear-drive 911 models.
 
So far two Coupe and two Cabriolet variants of the new model are confirmed. Expect the all-wheel drive models to be announced in due course.
 
The latest 911's new 3.6 and 3.8-litre engines feature direct fuel-injection and boast increased power, though not at the expense of higher fuel consumption, claims Porsche.
 
Maximum output of the new generation 911 Carrera's 3.6-litre engine is up 15kW to 254kW, with the Carrera S's 3.8-litre boxer six now pumping out 283kW -- up 22kW. Says Porsche, the 3.6-litre engine now registers a combined fuel economy of 9.8L/100km. Carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by 15 per cent, the company claims.
 
The new PDK gearbox [Ed: Pretty Damn Kwik, perhaps?] replaces the Tiptronic S automatic transmission previously offered on 911 models. Like most other DSG-style boxes, it offers a fully automatic mode as well as manual gear selection via shifter and paddles.
 
Porsche says it first pioneered on the gearbox on the racetrack 25 years ago. It claims PDK shaves 0.2sec off the manual models 0-100km/h sprint time -- in the case of the cooking model Carrera (4.5sec). Combined with Porsche's optional Sport Chrono Plus pack, which includes launch control, there's another 0.2sec up for grabs.
 
No figures are available for the more powerful Carrera S. Yet!
 
Porsche celebrates its 60th birthday this weekend. On June 8, 1948 the company's first prototype (with the vehicle identification number 356-001) received its official approval for road use.
 
The 911 first surfaced in 1962 as a design wearing a designation '901'. Porsche thereafter unveiled road-ready prototypes of the 901 at the International Automobile Exhibition in Frankfurt on September 12, 1963 and in September 14, 1964, the first mass-produced 901 rolled off the production line.
 
In October of that year, the production-ready model was shown at the Paris Motor Show. After it became apparent French manufacturer Peugeot owned the rights to the 901 model name, the 911 name was settled on and the badge was struck.
 
The Carsales Network will attend the international launch of the new 911 in Germany next weekend. Look out for full details and our launch review soon.

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