Turbo S or Gen 2

[colloc]

Anyone have any knowledge whether a Turbo S is planned or whether Porsche will go straight to the Gen 2 Turbo with PDK ?

 

[barrysmith]

If they don't make an S it will be the first time ever. they normally make an S with all the left over bits so they can clear out the old model range.

 

[yan]

This one seems to be open to some doubt on the face of it. The currently commissioned PDK box supports only 700Nm (as being launched in the Panamera) - the stock Gen I Turbo is 680Nm so if PDK can not take 700+Nm then what will an 'S' have to offer over standard apart from ceramic brakes thrown in ?
Rumours also abound that the Metzger engine is going to be dropped in favour of the DFI engine - the Metzger allows far more upgrade potential compared with the new engine I understand. Interesting to note that the Gen II GT3 which has launched with an increased capacity 3.8L (or thereabouts) engine continues with its original design.

In my view they are disappointingly slow in upgrading the 997 Turbo. It may be so late that some would rather wait for the 998 incarnation although making an 'S' as said is a way of enticing those last few sales. Especially if they drop the original engine design which has a reputation for being bullet-proof, many could view the 997TT Gen I as a more desirable vehicle.

 

[Alex L]

This is from RC at Rennteam:

[blockquote]Alex_997TT:
Panamera Turbo comes with PDK and 700Nm torque. So let's watch how this does...
--

[/blockquote]
You can't compare the Panamera PDK to the 997 Turbo FL PDK, two different worlds. The 997 Turbo FL introduction was planned for early summer 2009 but apparently Porsche wants to drive customer focus to the Panamera this spring/summer. Another reason seems to be PDK, the choice of engine and...surprise, surprise...engine power. There are rumors that due to the current economic situation, Porsche wants to introduce a 997 Turbo FL with more power (520-530 HP) and abandoned the 997 Turbo S. Again: this is a RUMOR, so please take it with a grain of salt. There are so many rumors right now, it may indicate that even at Porsche, the world financial crisis creates a lot of headache and they want to plan for the future. Interesting times ahead, maybe this also means that customers finally get more value for their money.

 

[yan]

Agree can't compare PDK Panamera with PDK 911TT BUT noted that 700Nm is featuring as an already discussed torque limit.
I take all rumours with a pinch of salt (past experience).

 

[sawood12]

It's only a matter of time before they develop a PDK box that can take more than 700NM of torque. That is not an engineering limit - it will be a limit imposed by other factors, such as unit cost. In the grand scheme of things 700NM is not alot of torque. Helicoptor gas turbine engines are probably not much larger than a PDK gearbox and are transferring in excess of 10 times the torque loadings.

Also how much torque is the Nissan GT-R developing and that has a PDK box?

 

[Alex L]

The GT-R only has 588Nm torque, as compared to the current Turbo figure of 680Nm. And the GT-R's gearbox seemingly is breaking left right and centre on customer cars!!

The only dual clutch that seems to handle high torque is the Veyron's. However that box weighs (and costs) a huge amout so wouldn't work in a 911. So the technology is already there, it just needs to be made lighter and cheaper.