Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster to get PDK by the end of 2020

Performance cars, for a lot of the purists, is about feeling the shift stick. This might be one big reason why Porsche still offers the conventional manual stick in many of its models. But at the same time, there is also a group of people who don’t have much to do with a clutch pedal or a shift knob and all they care about is performance.

Keeping this section of the prospective buyers in mind, Porsche will be bringing an automatic transmission option for the 718 Boxster Spyder and the 718 Cayman GT4 by the end of 2020. This major announcement came up by the German automaker when a representative was recently interviewed by Evo, a British magazine.

The addition of an optional PDK (a.k.a Porsche dual-clutch transmission) could have a positive impact on the performance of the sports cars. With the present 6-speed manual gearbox, both the Cayman and Boxster can hit the 0-100 kmph acceleration mark in 4.4 seconds. But with the addition of automatic shifts, the cars could be two-tenth of a second faster than that.

Moreover, there could be slight improvements in the top speed too. Presently, the Cayman GT4 can hit a top speed of 304 kmph, while the Boxster can do a best of 301 kmph. Though this is the first time a PDK is being added to the top models of the Cayman and Boxster, the same inclusion in the former could be seen coming for a long time.

Besides just the addition of a dual-clutch transmission, Porsche could also add some other changes, especially on the aesthetic side. In fact, the spy shots show that a fiercer-looking GT4 could be in the making. A lot of attention is being given to the cooling system and the aerodynamics, though a boost on power could also be in the minds of the developers. Perhaps, a 6-cylinder, naturally-aspirated engine with 414 hp and 420 Nm torque could be on the cards.

The Boxster and Cayman were recently updated with the addition of a GTS 4.0 unit that has been slotted below the flagship variants.

Also read: Porsche Taycan Turbo scores 288 miles in an independent range test