Discovering roads, Porsche style
Porsche’s World Roadshow returns to Singapore
By Derryn Wong
SELECTED GUESTS AND customers of German sporting marque Porsche, are all glad to know that the Porsche World Roadshow, last seen here in 2007, has returned from 18 to 22 February at the Changi Exhibition Centre.
Participants in the show will not only be able to see the whole model line-up on display, they’ll also get to drive some of the cars too. CarBuyer was on the scene at a special preview event where we got a taste of what participants in the Roadshow will experience.
What makes this years show extra special is the arrival of the newly-improved 911 models which feature, for the first time, direct-injection technology and Porsche’s new double-clutch gearbox, PDK.
On hand to help out participants are a team of driving instructors direct from Germany – the main purpose of the road show is to allow customers and guests to experience the driving performance of Stuttgart’s finest in a safe environment, and to pick up a few driving pointers on the way.
This includes a slalom exercise, controlled braking, the moose test (swerving without braking) and a open run on a handling course. The latter was the highlight of the drive, since it incorporates not only the exhibition grounds but the emergency runway/drag strip leading to the centre too, thus making it perfect to try out more sporting models like the Cayman S and 911.
First impressions: the new 997
The main changes on the updated 911 (codename 997) are engines that now come with direct-injection, for a slight performance and efficiency bump and new LED running lights and tail-lamps.
But the big news is PDK. PDK is short for or Porschedoppelkupplungsgetreibe (say that ten times fast) which means in German, literally, ‘Porsche double clutch gearbox’. Like Volkswagen’s DSG (direct shift gearbox) tech, it uses two clutches to change gears alternately. One clutch will shift odd gears and the other even gears, allowing for extremely quick shifts.
Porsche doesn’t quote any official figures, but typical double-clutch gearboxes are able to perform shifts in the region of less than 400 milliseconds, and it says PDK improves shift times over the old Tiptronic automatic gearboxes by more than 50 percent.
We tried out two new 911s equipped with the PDK gearbox, a 911 Carrera S Cabriolet and a 911 Carrera Targa 4S. The 385bhp 4S Targa (four-wheel drive, S for additional performance and a targa roof) had enough horsepower to jump to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds with the PDK transmission but it was also smooth as silk in normal ‘D’ mode – the shifts were quick and quiet enough as to be almost imperceptible under regular driving conditions.
The Cabriolet was equipped with the optional Sports Chrono Package plus, which adds launch control and a ‘racetrack gearshift strategy’ for even more driving enjoyment. While having the same 3.8-litre flat-six engine as the Targa 4S, the Chrono Package added an edge to the Cabriolet. The package makes the PDK unit shift as quickly as possible with no room for comfort, engaging with a dull clunk in between engine roar - almost like a racing sequential unit!
