Porsche 911 Carrera 4: Reviewed!

Bartek S. · Jul 16, 2009

When it comes to German performance, engineering and quality Porsche is one automaker that will never disappoint - so it’s no surprise that Porsche held the No.1 spot on J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study for three consecutive years until Lexus took the title in 2009. Porsche has something else to be proud of this year though; the “Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe” (try pronouncing that one), otherwise known as the Porsche double-clutch (PDK). The new transmission delivers quicker acceleration than a standard manual gearbox while maximizing fuel-economy.

When Porsche called us to come out to Atlanta to check out the PDK, we quickly packed our bags, created our driving-music playlist and headed down south. Upon arrival in Atlanta, Porsche gave us a PDK equipped 2009 Porsche model to drive from its headquarters to Birmingham, Alabama. We then strapped ourselves into a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 and began our journey to Barbar Motorsports track where we were allowed to let lose after 4-hours of city/highway driving.

Exterior:
‘Why fix something that isn’t broken?’ That seems to be Porsche’s philosophy when it comes to redesigning each generation. The 2009 911 did see a few subtle changes to the exterior however, that did add a touch of elegance to the car. On the 2009 design, Porsche said “Knowing full well that Porsche owners prize the classic shape of the 911 Carrera, and that wanton and radical redesigns simply for the sake of change undermine a marquee’s value, Porsche’s designers and engineers allowed only minor refinements to the appearance of the model range for 2009.”
The most notable differences on the front of the car are the new horizontal covers for the BI-XENON headlights and the LED daytime running headlamps, which now extend to over the air inlets. Look closely though, and you’ll notice that the center radiator is missing on models equipped with the PDK. On the back of the car, all of the lighting elements, save for the reversing lamp, have been equipped with LED lighting, and there are now two single oval exhaust pipes.
One of the biggest change though, is that the 911 Carrera 4 models are 1.73 inch (44mm) wider than their two-wheel-drive siblings (something you’ll hardly notice).

Full article: egmcartech

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Porsche 911 Carrera 4: Reviewed!

Bartek S. Contributing Member

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Porsche 911 Carrera 4: Reviewed!

Bartek S. Contributing Member

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