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Porsche have significantly upgraded the drivetrain of their 911 Carrera models with direct fuel injection and the new Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK) DSG gearbox.
The latest incarnation of the evergreen 911 features LED daytime driving lights and bi-xenon headlights as standard on all models.
The rear light clusters are also LED embedded, and with their response time of only 0.1 milliseconds - compared to 100 milliseconds for incandescent bulbs.
This enables a three meter reaction time gain at 100km/h between hitting the brakes and rear-brake light illumination.
Continuing the current fad of illumination fetishism in German auto design 'Dynamic Bending Lights' are available too.
More performance, less fuel
Beyond the LED lights and subtlety revised interior, the key changes have happened around the rear-axle, where the venerable water-cooled flat-six engine resides.
Both the standard 3.6-litre Carrera and 3.8-litre 'S' models benefit from now being the first 911s to feature direct injection.
Power increases from 239kW to 254kW on the Carrera and by 22kW from 261kW to 283kW in the 'S' version.
Feeling the environmental and fuel-price pressures which have permeated the global auto market this year, Porsche has responded by making their new 911s more powerful and efficient.
Both 3.6- and 3.8-litre engines are now Euro 5 emission compliant with fuel consumption down by an aggregate 7.1% whilst power increases have been 7.35%.
Finally, a Porsche 911 with DSG
An exciting new feature which should add dynamic verve to the 911 range is the Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK) gearbox. It's Porsche's double-clutch, direct-shift gearbox.
A seven-speed unit, the new gearbox combines the driving comfort of a converter automatic transmission with the dynamic gearshift of a sequential racing gearbox, and replaces the tiptronic gearbox in the entry level 911 range.
Utilising two wet clutches in a radial arrangement, it uses oil for both cooling and lubrication, with one clutch responsible for managing even gears (2,4,6) and the other uneven gears (1,3,5,7) and reverse.
Hydraulically actuated, the PDK transmission weighs 10kg less than a conventional tiptronic transmission.
It also represents the return of Porsche as the preeminent contemporary transmission innovator, much in the same vein as when their tiptronic transmission was introduced in 1989 on the Carrera 2.
Equipped with seven-speed PDK, the Carrera 'S' accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, 0.2 seconds faster than the six-speed manual. Porsche's optional Sport Chrono Plus including Launch Control gets you there even faster, in only 4.3 seconds.
The new 911 Carrera and Carrera S models - both soft- and hard-top - are expected locally by September.
