Porsche paddleshift U-turn

By Jack Rix

14th May 2010

The backtrack is complete! Porsche has caved in to pressure and introduced a retro-fit steering wheel with conventional left-for-down and right-for-up paddles for all its PDK-equipped cars.

Costing £856.66, including fitting, the three-spoke wheel can be hooked up to any model with the twin-clutch gearbox, including the Cayman and Boxster.

When the PDK set-up arrived in 2008, our road testers praised its speed and smoothness. But they criticised its “irritating flaws”, which included the “counter-intuitive” action of the gear selection buttons on the wheel.

Porsche responded earlier this year by offering the paddleshift wheel as a factory-fit option across the range, coinciding with the launch of the latest 911 Turbo.

A spokesman said: “Before PDK, 50 per cent of sales were Tiptronic cars with button selectors on the wheel. We’ve waited until now to introduce paddles as we didn’t want to alienate those customers.” Also now available as part of the firm’s Tequipment aftermarket range are 19-inch Fuchs-style alloy wheels. The retro rims can be specified only by owners of a 4WD 911, and are priced at 5,615 Euros (£4,811), including tyres.

New bodykits have also been launched for the 911. The Aerokit Cup has a prominent front apron and wild rear wing, while the Aerokit is more subtle. They’re 5,008 Euros (£4,292) and 2,387 Euros (£2,046) respectively, including fitting.