I've owned two 6MT PCARS 997.1/997.1S and they were exhilarating drives. My Panamera S is thrilling in a different way so I can certainly understand how one could prefer one experience over the other. However I'm astonished that a number of 6MT adherents actually bash the PDK.

To offer a minority view I think Porsche is so good at automatic/automated transmissions having one does not negatively effect driving pleasure. These are transmissions for enthusiasts. I would go as far as to say the much maligned tiptronic was sensational! Like the PDK it adapts quickly to spirited driving styles. When driven hard they respond by controlling the gearbox as a skilled driver would. I know many Porsche enthusiasts have developed their driving skills to a high level. But honestly only a small fraction are able to manipulate their 6mt cars well enough to find fault with the way the PDK operates. I'm starting to think vanity plays a big part in these discussions.

 

+1, I understand the manual aspect of it, but at the end of the day it is still automatic.

 

It is indeed an automatic and also a manual. It's a hybrid transmission.

 

All my cars have been manuals in the past, my 991 C4S is a PDK.
I track my cars, and just got back from two days at Watkins Glen...wow does PDK shine out on track. Simply no way you can accomplish what it does out on track, unless you race perhaps a very high level. I still prefer a manual for every day use, but at least now I feel a bit better about ordering PDK.

 

I think you nailed it. I have 7spd MT and the PDK is amazing on the track but I do prefer the MT involvement in everyday driving. Nice to have options-both great!

 

I find myself shifting the pdk stick in daily driving mode :-)
In go for it mode it's the paddles.
I feel I have the best of both worlds like that.

 

ChuckJ

 

The MT is apparently threatened with extinction while the PDK is apparently the future.

Those who prefer the MT may feel a need to defend it perhaps to try and save it.

The PDK needs no such defense.

I don't see any of this as personal.

I have a MT because I enjoy the shifting activity in my daily driving. I enjoy it more than the paddles with the PDK. That it is technically inferior to PDK is irrelevant. Whether it is slower on a track is irrelevant as I have yet to take it to a track. If and when I do it won't matter how fast it shifts up or down as I won't have the nerve to drive it any where near the limit. I suspect most owners would be about the same.

 

It does appear that the days of the MT gearbox are numbered:
http://www.evo.co.uk/features/featur...l_gearbox.html

 

I have the rest of my life to drive PDK. No rush.

 

Congrats brother!!! Nice to see you in this forum. I picked up my 991S a few weeks ago and thank myself for not buying the M5 instead.

 

 

You should be able to push start a MT but not a PDK if your battery dies.

 

Is this still a problem that people face? I hadn't realized.

Well, I guess you could also still put your windows down if you have a crank. (Anyone remember those?)

And those little things that you used to have to push down to lock your doors? Ah, I remember back in the day when they pushed themselves down when you hit a certain speed to prevent someone from falling out of the car by accident.

Life used to be good before the days of electricity.