First Drive: 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera: Sam Moses shakes down the updated 911

One is inclined to say, "Well, it sure took them long enough." Although it would only be right to add, "But it's no surprise that Porsche is first."

By first, we mean: first to design a twin-clutch automated manual gearbox that can handle huge horsepower. But let's quantify "huge". The 2009 Carrera S, with a redesigned 3.8-liter engine, makes 385 horsepower. The 2008 Mitsubishi Evo also sports a twin-clutch gearbox, but it's rated at 291 horsepower.

And remember, "twin-clutch" is the magic term, the state of the art, the smoothest and quickest shifting. For example, the 420-horsepower Audi R8 - which I tested at Infineon Raceway - uses a single-clutch automated manual gearbox.

Just last week, I tested the new Porsche 911 Carrera at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City and on some of the fabulous back roads in Utah. It was a great day to be alive, behind the wheel of a Porsche Carrera, surrounded by rugged mountains, blue sky and yellow Aspens. Especially since on the previous day I was so sick I wanted to die, which I only mention because I failed to do the Porsche justice in that state. You have to be at your best with this car. It doesn't demand it because it's easy to drive in cruise mode, but it deserves it. I apologize to five different Carreras I drove for two laps each around the challenging, 4.5-mile, 23-turn, carsick-inducing circuit.

The 2009 Porsche 911 has no significant body changes, although bi-xenon headlamps are now standard and the new LED daytime running lights - low, thin and horizontal - are way cool. The taillights are also LED, so even at night the people you pass will know it's a NEW Porsche you have. The rear bumper and alloy wheels are new too, 18-inch on the Carrera and striking, spindly, star-shaped 19s on the Carrera S.

The real story is under the skin, with a new powertrain. The Carrera uses a 3.6-liter boxer six making 345 horsepower (an increase of 20 hp), and the Carrera S is 3.8 liters and 385 horsepower (up 30). The big news is the new 7-speed automated manual sequential transmission, which Porsche calls PDK, short (thank heavens) for Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe. Call it Pretty Damn Kwik, because it shifts nearly twice as fast as the Tiptronic that's been around for a decade. As a bonus, the PDK is 22 pounds lighter than Tiptronic, even with its two clutches.

But back to the opening question: What took them so long? Especially considering that Porsche first designed the twin-clutch sequential manual for the 1983 Porsche 962 Group C racing car. The simplest answer, the answer their engineer gave at the launch, is: It's more complicated in a road car, and they wanted to get it right. Both Ferrari and BMW beat Porsche to the punch, but their electro-mechanical versions didn’t get it right.

Porsche got it so right that it can be used in the automatic mode on the track, meaning you don't even have to bother (bother?, for shame) with the paddle shifters, and the gearbox does all the right things at the right time, including full-throttle upshifts at redline, and double-blipping on the perfectly smooth and correctly placed downshifts.

The new engine features DFI, direct fuel injection, which increases fuel mileage up to 13 percent, and improves throttle response - the take-offs from stop signs, and slow-speed maneuvering, is smooth (not that it wasn't smooth before, but sometimes such changes in cars are initially imperfect). Another thing that increases fuel mileage is the tall 7th gear in the PDK, bringing the engine speed down to about 1975 rpm at 70 mph, a decrease of nearly 800 rpm. But there's big torque to accelerate (310 pound-feet with the 3.8-liter), and, importantly, the PDK is programmed to use the torque and accept gentle acceleration at that speed without downshifting - unlike some German cars with 7-speed automatics that we know.

The redline is 7500, 200 rpm higher than before, and the exhaust note is appropriately civilized - the only problem is that life in these times, at least when it comes to exhaust pipes on high-performance cars (but not Harleys!) is too civilized. That extra rpm comes easily, thanks to the rest of the important generational engine changes, namely: new two-piece crankcase, new cylinder heads and crankshaft, revised intake and exhaust system, and a new electronic oil pump that reduces friction and is about the next best thing to a dry sump system. Porsche has a very trick tilt-bed engine test rig that all but turns the unit upside down.

The new engine is lighter by 13 pounds, and more compact, giving the 911 an even lower center of gravity. It's also cleaner, achieving LEV-II rating (Low Emissions Vehicle).

F1-inspired launch control comes with PDK - but not with the manual six-speed - and you can floor it from a standing start with no wheelspin. You'll reach 62 mph (100 kph) in 4.3 seconds.

With a top speed of 188 miles per hour, you'll need the bigger brakes that come on the 2009 Carrera. It uses the cross-drilled 13-inch rotors front and rear, like the all-wheel-drive 911, and four-piston calipers, like the 911 Turbo. The brakes are ready for the track.

You knew we'd get there, back to the track. My designated copilot for those 10 laps was racedriver and driving instructor David Donohue. So when I say the car understeers, it's a pro pointing it out, not some wanker autojourno. As the pro pointed out, it's an understeer that's easily induced by aggressive throttle application. In other words, it's driver-induced understeer. You have to be patient on the gas, if you want to be rewarded by the car's cornering potential. It also should be pointed out that a different driving style can make the 911 tail-happy, which happened with another one of Donohue's charges. The moral to the story: When it comes to opinions of Porsche 911 handling, don't believe the reviews, believe the seat of your own pants. Because it's all up to you.

This is one of the reasons (safety is another) that 911 owners are invited and encouraged to attend the Porsche Driving Experience and Porsche Sport Driving schools with superb instructors like Donohue, David Murry, and others.

The 2009 Carrera with the all-new powertrain increases in price by about 3 percent - not much, given the content. A 3.6-liter Carrera Coupe starts at $75,600, and the 3.8-liter Carrera S at $86,200, with the Cabriolets about $10,000 more.

Read more about Porsche's new twin-clutch automated manual gearbox