KEY POINTS:
A tight economy affects rich and poor, and only the flexible survive. So ignoring traditional macho marketing to take your hardcore sports cars to women seems a good move.
Porsche may have made its vehicles easier to drive, but they're still crushingly effective power-meisters. And it's that _ and salesmens' often inbuilt attitude that women don't like speed _ which means half the population is rarely encouraged to try them.
A Giltrap Porsche ladies' day was designed to slot women behind the wheels of Porsche's latest and greatest.
Sporting drivers loved it. The less sporting didn't find the cars as intimidating as expected and loved their feel and design.
A 911? Un-intimidating? Surprisingly yes. Particularly when fitted with the PDK seven-speed transmission of the $218,000 Carrera 2 I tested recently.
In the facelift model, superficially, little has changed, bar the front and rear headlights, mirrors, a larger front intake and different wheels.
But under the skin it's a different matter. The 3.6-litre flat six engine has had an extensive redesign, with direct injection boosting power and torque and improving fuel efficiency _ by 12.5 per cent in the PDK-equipped car.
This is a double-clutch set-up, in our test car it's superbly mated to the Sport Chrono package, which includes launch control, plus Sport and Sport Plus settings.
Normal mode imparts a relaxed delivery that suits motorway cruising. Select Sport to appreciably harden transmission response and firm the suspension management _ or tap Sport Plus for a screaming hard-core monster that'll accelerate to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds.
Shame the buttons are such a reach _ if you need sharper response you don't want to lean past the gear lever to get it.
With Sport Plus selected, rev it and performance is electrifying, and so's
the soundtrack. Shame it's been emasculated at lower revs, where tyre noise intrudes.
Still, this PDK-engine mating is a goodie. The steering-wheel gearshift buttons weren't as intuitive as expected, but their position means no matter the wheel angle, they're by your fingertips. This 997 is less wayward than the older cars, but drive it with verve and you'll feel the rear-drive liveliness.
