2010 Porsche Cayman and Cayman S

Stoddard is Cleveland Cayman and Cleveland Cayman S Dealer in Northeastern Ohio

Doppelkupplungsgetriebe?What is PDK!

This dual-clutch automated manual transmission, on the 2010 Cayman and Cayman S, typically supplants a conventional automatic, and it delivers the convenient action of an automatic with the fuel-efficiency and drivetrain response of a manual. It is two gearboxes packaged into one box - one shaft full of gears is connected to clutch A, and the other shaft of gears is connected to clutch B. The magic comes from the way those two clutches swap drive power between them. The PDK can be set to either manual or automatic mode. To shift gears, you use the lever on the center console or the buttons on the spokes of the steering wheel.

A PDK-equipped Cayman S is the quickest Cayman of them all. It's quicker from zero to 60 mph by a full second than the 2008 Cayman S equipped with the old Tiptronic automatic (4.8 vs. 5.8 seconds). In fact, the 2009 Cayman S PDK is fractionally quicker to 60 mph than either the 2008 or 2010 Cayman S equipped with a manual transmission.

The 2009 Cayman and Cayman S camshafts are driven directly from the timing chain for less weight, the bucket-style tappets save 10 grams each and the oil pump varies output with load to reduce pumping losses.

The Cayman's horizontally opposed six-cylinder increases its displacement from 2.7 liters to 2.9, and it pumps out 265 horsepower at 7,200 rpm (up 20 hp) and 221 pound-feet of torque at 4,400-6,000 rpm.

The 3.4-liter flat-6 in the Cayman S gets a direct-injection system, and this helps raise peak power to 320 hp at 7,200 rpm (up 25 hp from last year), while peak torque increases to 273 lb-ft. An immensely capable and comfortable machine from a company that explores, defines and surpasses limits on a regular basis.