Just came back from Toronto's 2013 Porsche world roadshow and it was a blast. Thanks Porsche for the invite.

Got to track the entire current Porsche lineups at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which is an excellent track. All cars are PDK. Too bad there is no GT3.

Since there is track driving and PDK involved, I thought you guys may be interested:

1. PDK cars are fast and easy to track, there is no question about this. I drove them in full automatic mode, paddles mode and the thumb shifting buttons mode.
Without a doubt, the full auto mode in Sport plus will be the fastest. The computer shifting is very fast and no manual or paddle shifting can beat that. The boring factor will be there after some lappings, but this is totally subjective. I definitely prefer a manual car for tracking myself.
There is no differences in performance between paddle or button mode, and I don't like either of them. More than a few times I have to look at the gauge to check what gear I am in. That means taking my eyes off the track and this is not good. In manual car I always know what gear I'm in. Maybe I need more time with PDK on track, but with pressing something to change gears, there is no way for me to keep up with what gear I'm still in.

2. Cayennes and Panameras in the right form can make good track cars. I am very impressed.
In particular, I found the Cayenne GTS without PDCC a better track performer than the Cayenne turbo S with PDCC. I cannot explain this. Maybe because it is a normally aspirated car, or maybe Porsche has done something different for GTS suspension.
This means I do not think PDCC has done anything to me in enhancing track performance. The Cayenne GTS is the best in the Cayenne lineup to buy.
Cayenne S hybrid is deficient in straight line acceleration.

3. Panamera GTS, despite very similar to 4S in spec and pricing, is better to track than the 4S. Also, the instructor driving a Panamera 4 in V6 engine was fast and very capable on the track.

4. Cayman S is a good track performer, whereas the base Cayman is seriously deficient in power.
Did a hot lap with race instructor driving a Cayman S and he showed me that the car is very capable. I can do nowhere close to what the instructor can do with the same car.
This confirms my belief that it is always the driver, not the car, that is important.

5. I won a small prize by getting third place in autocross slalom competition.
Attached Images

 

Very nice. We didn't have an autocross slalom competition at the World Roadshow in SF. How did they run this?

 

everyone drives the same Boxster S at the same course.

instructor sitting at passenger seat to do the timing.

one practise run and then 2 trials for each driver.

 

Cool -- I wish they did this at our show.

 

I was there too and had a blast. Congrats on the 3rd place in the slalom. My best time was a 30.0 flat which included 1 cone

My views on PDK are opposite to yours; PDK for Track, Manual for the street. Paddles Yes, buttons No.
Looking forward to seeing what the PDK-S will be like in the new GT3.

Most fun vehicle for me was the Cayenne Turbo S. This thing can do things that no other SUV can. This was re-enforced when I went for a fun run with the instructor who was drifting this thing at almost 90 degree angles through most corners at stupid speeds !!! Having bad thoughts on trading in my Touareg for one but need my TDI for towing...

Most eye opening car was the 997 Turbo S. Insane acceleration and very capable on the track. Again I got a ride with Nick who was drifting this car through every corner, some at 180+ KM and it felt like a walk in the park. A very serious machine that gave me pause for a very short moment about my GT3 order but that quickly passed

This was a great way to spend a day. It was a well run event with great participants. My face was hurting for hours after as I could not wipe the smile off..

Cheers,