What is it?
What you’re looking at here is likely to be the best-selling version of what is arguably the highlight of the Boxster and Cayman line-ups: the GTS 4.0.
Until now, this sublime six-cylinder has only been mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, which gives it spot-on sports car credentials but is less of a draw in the showroom, where PDK tends to be king. So here we have a GTS with the familiar seven-speed version of the always snappily titled Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe transmission.
At £2303, this dual-clutch automatic upgrade doesn’t come cheap, but you do get a small, 7lb ft uplift in torque, which brings the total to 317lb ft, while the claimed 0-62mph time tumbles by a half a second compared with the manual, taking a scant 4.0sec. That said, the top speed of the PDK car is 179mph, a 3mph drop over its three-pedal twin. One to remember for the autobahn perhaps.
You will save a little on running costs, though. The PDK stretches a gallon of super-unleaded over 28 miles, compared with the 25.9mpg promised by the manual. CO2 emissions are reduced, too, from 247g/km to 230g/km.
Otherwise, it’s the same as the manual car, which means you get that same sonorous 395bhp 4.0-litre flat six that’s lifted largely unchanged from the Motorsport-flavoured GT4 and Spyder models, plus the same GTS chassis upgrades that brilliantly tread the line between edge-of-the-seat driving excitement and everyday usability.
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Had the previous PDK GTS, felt I missed out on driving - Have the 718 Manual now as I want to drive a car (no commuting). The i3/Nissan Leaf gets the jump on any PDK equipped car at an island as you just cannot gauge it correctly. 718 GTS will run at 30 MPH in 6th and not struggle all the way up the rev range for cruising ability. Also manged 32.9MPG over 180 mile route around wales (no motorways) but busy traffic.
In the world of EVs automatics/PDKs are dead as they are irrelivant - EVs for commuting ICE for fun!