Porsche GT3 - Analog versus Digital

[twobone]

The other night over a few pints, a friend and I extolled the virtues of analog versus digital world. The carb versus FI. Tube versus transistor.

Then today I see that the Porsche GT3 only comes with an automatic! WTF.

I know it is to compete with all of the paddle shift super cars. I think this is a step in the wrong direction.

Where is the connection to the past? GT3 owners should be thinking 917 not Bugatti Veyron.

Where is the recognition of the manly joys of getting a down shift right. The challenge of learning heel and toe?

I'm so sad by this change. I appreciate that technology makes it faster. 470 normally aspirated HP is incredible. However the driver interface needs to stay "analog". What's next, automated steering? Are we going to end up fat slobs riding around checking our text while Porsche drives us around in a fully autonomous 2020 GT3?

[Jim Richards]

Yes, you're absolutely right. All new Porsche's should be like this in style and technology.

[oldE]

This has come up more than once.

The word that comes to mind for all those folks saying, "Porsches should have manual transmissions!" is pretentious.

If you see a Ferrari with paddle shifters, is there really anyone who says, "Aw gee! It would be a much better car with a third pedal."?

I think its because people who get to drive new Porsches around here (North America) don't really have the opportunity to do much more than briefly play with the capability of the car. The act of shifting gears manually gives them a sense of involvement. In an environment where you need to really focus upon the traffic and handling dynamic, I suspect many of those same people would take the PDK and run, because it makes driving easier.
Maybe that's why the sale of the computer shifted transmission is greater in Europe and lesser in North America.

Really, if the sense of involvement was what drivers craved, we would be driving cars with manually adjusted spark and mixture, no power steering, no boost for the brakes and a hand-crank to start.

I realize there is a strong nostalgia for the basic 911. That is part of what I enjoyed about my old 911E. To suggest Porsche should build anachronisms is unrealistic.

If you want a slower Porsche, buy an older Porsche.

Best
Les

[BReif61]

I'd be hesitant to lump PDK in to the general "automatic transmission" category.

[stealthn]

If I wanted flappy paddles, I'd buy a Ferrari...

[GH85Carrera]

I own a 85 Carrera and love the no electronic helpers. No Traction control, no ABS it is all me driving. But I don't care about being the fastest at the autocross.

At the last autocross a new driver that had never ever driven an autocross came out in a new 991. I was his instructor. By the last lap he was faster than my best time. It was not the driver, it was the car. The 991 does everything faster than my antique car. The shift is done instantly unlike my 915 shifts.

I bet just one of his rear tires costs more than all four of my tires. It is a nice car.

[Tervuren]

Dr. Porsche wanted his racing cars and road cars to share their tech. 917's had Synchro's even though drivers asked for lighter faster revving non synchro boxes.

SO your 917 argument is in favor of moving away from the traditional synchromesh manual gearbox, when you consider Porsche didn't keep using non synchro gearboxes forever... Yeah those little synchro cones take some of the "manly" driving out of 917's...

Just buy a used car....Porsches advance. PDK is not a slush box. For a boxster I'd like to still get a manual, but a GT3 no way.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by twobone

What's next, automated steering? Are we going to end up fat slobs riding around checking our text while Porsche drives us around in a fully autonomous 2020 GT3?

Self-driving cars are supposedly all the rage on the liberal 'net: "Cool, you can toke and surf on the way to work"
However, the paranoid in me suspects many of these are A.I. shill posts.

It's amazing what loss of personal control some people are willing to accept, all in the name of convenience.

[speeder]

The first thing you need to do is talk to someone who is actually a car guy to explain this new-fangled technology to you. The PDK transmission in the newest GT3 is not an automatic.

[redstrosekNic]

Originally Posted by speeder

The first thing you need to do is talk to someone who is actually a car guy to explain this new-fangled technology to you. The PDK transmission in the newest GT3 is not an automatic.

+1. It is a fascinating piece of engineering, IMO. I probably would always want a manual, however.

[onewhippedpuppy]

It's the fastest solution, hence why it's all the rage. For those of us that actually drive cars on the street, the criteria are far different. I put fun above fast because I'm not trying to set record lap times, I'm trying to enjoy my commute or a Sunday drive. I drove my RX8 far more than my Maserati Coupe primarily because of the gearbox, the F1 box in the Maserati wasn't involving or fun except when really hammering on the car which put me at risk for jail time. Different strokes for different folks, but I prefer to have fun while driving a bit slower. And I'll have to be content to lust over previous models of GT3....

[Ronbo]

In the next GT3 in addition to automating the manual transmission maybe they can automate the steering, throttle, and brakes. It would be even faster on the track by eliminating all that pesky and flawed driver input!

[ZLP]

911's have been digital since the 996. I'm not sure what all this crying is about. You have a car that has electric everything, abs, traction/stability control, etc. and just because it comes with a PDK it's a no-go? If you want a pure driving experience, buy an old 911. If you want the latest tech buy the new one. I don't see this as anything different from the 996/997 GT3's besides a big tranny upgrade. This will be the best selling GT3 yet.

[Schumi]

We should all be wonderfully happy that a new generation GT3 is out regardless of what it is... as the rich folk who buy these things new sell their old ones off at prices closer to what us normal people can afford....

[Dan J]

I've been doing some track prep on a 991 S with PDK. It's a new deal. The degree of integration of the electronics is pretty amazing. I think this car is as different from a 997 as a 997 is from a 3.2 Carrera. Ok maybe a 964 but anyway it is some fast on the track. Because of the PASM helping with the handling it goes through a set of pads (fr and rr) in 3 sessions of a DE

[slow&rusty]

Nothing wrong with well programmed paddle shifters, they shift great. Having said that I do prefer a proper manual

[stealthn]

You didn't even talk about rear wheel steering, what modern sports car has that?

[oldE]

Originally Posted by stealthn

You didn't even talk about rear wheel steering, what modern sports car has that?

A GD fast one that could use a little help with fast transitions.
Perfect use of the technology.

Best
Les

[porsche4life]

There is an old saying I find applicable here...

If you always do, what you've always done, you'll always get where you've always gotten.

In other words, if we don't start thinks outside the box, technology won't advance, cars won't get better, or faster, and we start to become stagnant. I don't know of anyone who has ever called stagnation good...

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by stealthn

You didn't even talk about rear wheel steering, what modern sports car has that?

does Honda still use that system they had? SuperHICAS or something?

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The real issue here is "involvement" vs. performance. I find my old 911 to represent a good balance of both. It is modern enuff but a 356 isn't...