Hi all. I have been a lurker for a while, as I am a fan of Porsche and other performance cars. No, I don't own a Porsche, and the fastest car I own is a C55 AMG. Someday when the kids are older and I don't need a usable rear seat, I may get a Porsche....(although I think 2 car seats can still fit in the back of a 911.... )

Anyways, like many people here, I was fascinated by the specs of the new 997 Turbo in that the tipronic S version is going to be faster than the manual version. I started to surf Porsche forums (including this one) to see what people thought and to look for some more "inside" information about this. I've read in more than one post on this forum that the automatic tiptronic gearbox of the 996 TT and upcoming 997 TT is actually made by Mercedes Benz. I had not known about this before and was quite surprised to read this.

Of course, Porsche will not formally publish this, but can I assume that the people who made these claims on this forum are actually correct?

Assuming that I get a "yes" to the above question, I have some further opinions/insights about this. According to a post on Rennlist Discussion Forums, one of the reasons that the new tiptronic S is faster than the manual is the reduced shift and reaction times of the new 5 speed automatic transmission.

As many of you know, Mercedes' 5 speed automatic transmission with "Touchshift" has been used now for many years for almost every car since 2000. Since 2002/2003, AMG models have a modified version of the standard 5 speed box with various features such as torque converter lockup in all forward gears (which eliminates the powerloss typically asociated with slush boxes), increased shift speeds (35% faster than the standard box), and automatic holding of a gear or even downshifting when braking/cornering.

If Mercedes is manufacturing an automatic transmission for use in the 911 Turbo, I think it would be highly unilkely they would design a whole new transmission. My guess is that the older 996TT tiptronic used a variation of the established Mercedes 5-speed automatic transmission, while the new 997TT tiptronic S is actually the AMG "Speedshift" enhanced unit (currently in the C55, E55, CLK55, E55, CLS55, S55/65, SL55/65, CL55/65), which explains the faster shift times and superior performance. Anybody know whether this may be true?

Of course, Mercedes is phasing out the 5 speed gearbox and replacing it with the new 7G-tronic gearbox (with 7 forward gears), which is already in many of the current cars (with the exception of the 4-matic cars and the AMG models with very high torque).

 

Interesting thread. I'd like to know as well. I thought the 996 tip are made by ZF but I'm not certain on it. Does MB make their own tranny or get it from ZF or someone else as well. I'm less impressed with the MB auto. Comparing my 996 tip to e320, the e320 tranny seems too relaxed.

 

your right , ZF gear does MB and porsche

 

all I know is my CLS had tremendous problems

 

The 996TT Tip transmission is made by MBZ. It even has tri-star logo stamp on the casing.

 

interesting read, but to be honest I always thought the mercedes transmissions were terrible for spirited driving, even the AMG upgraded ones.

 

Mercedes always made their own trannies. Porsche buys them from Mercedes but they are built to Porsche specs. Intersting re-997 turbo. No idea if the tiptronic is a different unit than what the 996 had. Might be the same but a bit more enhanced.

 

I think the shifting programs were always designed by porsche i.e. the software even though the actual componets were built by mercedes.

 

The 996/997 Tiptronics are made by Mercedes.

The main reason why the 997TT is faster on straight line than the manual version (it applies to any turbo automatic car), is that you can hit the brakes, then hit the gas fully to preload the Turbos and engine, and release the brakes. That's a typical drag racer practice. The same can't be done with the manual.

However, once rolling the manual should be faster.

 

Does anyone know yet how we will change gears in the new tip? I always hated the steering wheel mounted rocker switches of the 996. I think it is about time they replaced them with a paddle change...

 

well monkey.... the 997tt is similar to the 996tt as far as controlling the gears go (either on steering wheel or on gear shifter +/-) .... they are saving the paddles for the PDK