Just got back from dropping my Turbo off for it's 1st service at my OPC.

Sitting on the forecourt was a fully optioned black PDK Turbo demo car (with flappy paddle shifters), so I asked for a quick test drive.

First off the sales guy warned me this gen Turbo was MUCH more tail happy than the gen 1 version. He wasn't wrong! PSM wasn't even flashing and we were getting the back out around little roundabouts. So THIS is why the motoring press like the car a lot more!

Change up between gears is VERY impressive, you just feel a momentary blip and then you are off again. You can get up to very high speed very quickly because of this. For me, a manual gear change acts as separators between speed bands. Hard acceleration in 4th for example and you know you are doing very illegal speeds. With PDK in auto mode there isn't this mental barrier distinction to keep your license in tact. I would be very worried about court appearances in this car!

Compared to my modified gen 1 Turbo, the new car is still noticeably slower, quieter, and feels less tight. I think I need more time at Silverstone though next week to form a complete opinion of the new suspension. Plus I am yet to play on the launch control which I am very sure will be mightily impressive. So for me, this is wouldn't be a 'trade up'. I think for stock gen 1 Turbo owners (especially those that have Tiptronic and old PCM) then yes it's a 10% better car all round and worthy of consideration.

More to come when I do my free track experience day at Silverstone in a PDK Turbo next week....

 

thank you for your detailed test drive, its a nice car alright but It needs lowering it sits too high.

 

Hi Alex,

What OPC was this at ?

I'm hoping to drive the white one at Silverstone OPC any day soon.

Is it fair to compare a modded Gen 1 to a standard Gen 2 ?, even though you say the moded gen 1 feels quicker, i bet you'd be surprised if you had data running, as the PDK gearbox is so deceptively quick, and there's no lag between gearchanges, so you have no feel of power/nothing/power like on a manual.

Have you modded your Turbo for track use ?, wouldn't it be better to do that to a GT3 ?

 

OPC Reading

I am there on the 1st Dec

Yes, Porsche evolution vs my aftermarket evolution. Gen1 Stage II + Suspension upgrades seem to be winning by a large margin from my albeit brief test drive. Gen 2 cars may not be able to have these changes (due to power limits through the new engine and gearbox), so it's very relevant.

Performance numbers are already in. The Gen2 is quicker to 60mph (due to PDK and launch control) but after that a Stage II gen1 car blitzes it. eg. 0-300kph in the gen 2 Turbo is about 40s, in my car it's about 30s. You can feel the g-force difference just from a brief test drive.

Nope, I have mod'ed it for bumpy UK b-road use. My car now gets +30mph on the same bumpy back roads compared to a GT3, and is stiffer lower and has less understeer than a stock Turbo. It's pure perfection for what I use the car for.

 

OK, seems like you are happy with your lot.

I'd be amazed if there isn't an array of upgrades available for the Gen II, just 6 months after it's been out, including ECU-Re-maps suspension revisions etc etc, then the Gen II will deffo be the quicker car.


Can't wait for mine.

 

I am sure there will be too, however they will probably be x10 the cost of the equivalent gen1 upgrades as the PDK box torque tolerance is lower than a Stage II generates and given rumours of Porsche struggling to put more than 550BHP in the new engine without it blowing up, you will probably need to strengthen internal components too. Not cheap...

 

Very interesting, thanks for the review!

 

Alex thanks for the info, much appreciated.
How did you like the fit and feel of the new "paddles" as compared to say the paddles on the 430 and being a TT owner now would you consider going PDK if you had to upgrade your Turbo today?

 

I haven't driven an F430 but I did like the new PDK paddles, felt very solid. Not that I used them much as Sport and SportPlus auto modes are more than adequate. I am like this with my RS6; I just use the paddles for down-shifting a few gears when I get to a tight corner, the rest of the time I just leave in sport auto mode.

As I am a latest gadget junkie I probably would change to the PDK if I was to buy a new Turbo. There is something missing in the experience though that a manual gives you. I think cars like the GT3/GT2 should be only manual myself. It does suit the Turbo rather well though. The sales guy also said the PDK on the Turbo is the the most advanced version of PDK compared to any other car Porsche make so there shouldn't be any issues like those seen on the Carrera.

 

Great to know thanks as always Alex.