I’m not a Porschephiliac, but that’s only because I don’t have the money.
Eighteen years ago, I might have said “what’s the big deal” about a Porsche. But in 1992, the universe and a Herald manager — working independently, I hope — gifted me with the stupendous gig of doing car reviews. Soon after, I drove my first Porsche.
And I immediately got the whole Porsche thing.
The reason people buy sports cars is for the driving experience, and the Porsche driving experience really is a benchmark.
For 2009, the 911 Carrera Coupe has a new six-cylinder engine that boosts power as well as fuel economy, a seven-speed double-clutch PDK transmission (replacing the previous Tiptronic S), monster brakes, and an updated communication system with Bluetooth capability and available voice commands.
Interior design keeps Carrera’s signature classic look, with a nod to modernity to accommodate today’s technology. Exterior design has been freshened, and bi-xenon headlights and LED rear lighting are added.
The 3.6-liter engine realizes a 6.2-percent power increase over last year’s, providing 345 horsepower and 288 lb-ft of torque. It has a 0-to-60 time of 4.7 seconds — unless, like my tester, you opt for the PDK for $4,080. Then it’s 4.5 seconds. All this with an impressive fuel economy rating of 19 mpg city, 27 highway.
PDK is short for the unpronounceable “Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe” or Porsche double-clutch transmission. It can be driven in fully automatic mode like a conventional automatic, or manually shifted using steering-wheel-mounted paddles or a console-mounted lever. Typical of new Porsche technology, the PDK is phenomenal.
Given its performance stats, racers will be lured. But on public roads, at times I felt like a big baby for not having the manual gearbox. Plus, shifting Porsche’s manual transmission is one of driving’s greatest pleasures.
My tester had Speed Yellow exterior paint, a color bright enough to be seen from space. I loved it and it upped the attention-getting factor seismically.
I got a good dose of what the new brakes are capable of during a drive to Portland and back, on I-5. Traffic was light in lots of places, and drivers took full advantage of the situation by creating a flow even Montanans would consider imprudent. Every so often this pack would suddenly come up on unexpected stop-and-go situations, requiring immediate action vis-a-vis the brake pedal. In a Carrera, where you can’t see very far ahead in traffic because you’re at eye level with the pavement markers, disaster could easily ensue. But the ’09 Carrera’s brakes are as impressive in their stopping power as the engine is in its acceleration. Maybe even more so. All four rotors are cross-drilled, inner vented and 12.99 inches in diameter. The monobloc, four-piston calipers are the same as those used on the screaming 911 Turbo. The brake pre-filling feature previously found only on Porsche’s all-wheel-drive models is also on the new Carrera Coupe. It senses when the driver’s foot leaves the gas pedal suddenly, assumes a hard brake will come next, and automatically sets the caliper pistons against the rotors, decreasing reaction time and braking distance.
We’re at the end of this review. A perfect place to mention Carrera’s exhaust note. It’s more thrilling than ever.
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