Porsche Buyers Go Semi-Automatic

Either Porsche drivers are getting lazy or automatic transmissions have achieved parity with manual transmissions in the eyes of persnickety performance-car drivers.

Porsche Cars North America says the installation rate of its Tiptronic S 5-speed automatic transmission for 911 models sold in North America is running at nearly 25%, which is a marked increase from the 18% rate when Tiptronic was introduced in North America in 1992.

For all 911s, a 6-speed manual remains standard. For 2002, Porsche's Tiptronic S is a $3,430 option for the 911.

Porsche officials attribute the higher take rate to the increasingly refined 911's ability as a “daily driver.” They say more buyers also are attracted to the automatic because it is much-improved over earlier versions, incorporating more than 250 distinct shift “patterns” that tailor shift characteristics according to a variety of inputs. The Tiptronic S also offers the option of manual, sequential selection of gears.

The installation rate on the high-horsepower 911 Turbo is even higher, 33%, than for the normally aspirated 911 variants. This seems to prove out Porsche officials' contention that more 911s than ever before are being used for common daily driving.

But the trend also may point out — though Porsche officials don't suggest it — that the higher-priced Turbo, and all 911s in general, may be affordable only to an older customer less inclined to assume the level of driving involvement required by a manual transmission.