| Significant model update | 2009 Porsche 911 |
Porsche is honing the evergreen 911 once again and this time the big changes are more power, less emissions and a new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Changes to the exterior are much less dramatic and amount to daytime running lights and the option of headlights that help the driver see further round corners in the dark.
The major engine change is the adoption of direct injection. The 3.6-litre engine grows in power by 20bhp to 345bhp, while the 3.8-litre unit's output swells to 385bhp. Fuel economy increases to 28.8mpg and 25.7mpg in the smaller and larger motors respectively. For both, emissions are improved by 15%.
A new option is the PDK (Porsche-Doppelkupplung) seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which does away with the clutch pedal and uses paddle shifters behind the steering wheel to change gear. It replaces the Tiptronic S automatic gearbox on both the new Coupe and Cabriolet models.
With the new gearbox, the Carrera Coupe sees off 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds, which is 0.2 seconds faster than with the standard six-speed manual gearbox. Go for the optional Sport Chrono Plus with Launch Control and this drops to 4.3 seconds. Top speed increases to 186mph.
The new 911 is on sale in the UK towards the end of June and prices increase slightly over the current models'.
Alisdair Suttie - 6 Jun 2008