Porsche 2006 Annual Report Download - page 115

A Sport mode can be selected by pressing the
PASM button. This mode selects a harder set-up
designed especially for driving the 911 GT2 on
dry tracks.
As on the previous model, the anti-roll bars, ride height,
camber and toe angles of the new 911 GT2 can be
tuned to suit a particular track and optimized to the
driver’s own personal requirements. However, these
changes can only be made for non-public road use.
For the first time, the 911 GT models come as stan-
dard with Porsche Stability Management (PSM). This
will increase active safety considerably. The system
has been retuned specially for the 911 GT2 and
adapted to the demands of the die-hard sports driver.
A new switching strategy for deactivating PSM has
been developed specially for use on the track. Here,
PSM is deactivated in two stages, instead of just via
a “PSM OFF” button as on other Porsche models.
This operating and switching strategy is an enhanced
function developed for the committed sports driver
who demands a lot from the vehicle’s performance
and dynamic handling characteristics.
Also new for road-going Porsche vehicles is the use
of an assistance system for maximum acceleration
from standstill. The so-called Launch Assistant is acti-
vated not by any additional buttons, but in response
to the driver pressing the accelerator when the clutch
pedal is pressed to the floor. The system increases
both engine speed and boost pressure, the driver’s
only task then being to release the clutch as quickly
as possible to accelerate the car with maximum
speed and power.
New Powertrain Center Well Positioned
The quicker and more flexibly Porsche can respond
to the influences and trends of both the market and
society, the more successful the company will be.
The efficient exchange of information is crucial,
and close physical proximity is vital here – even in
a world of high-tech electronic communications.
The new Powertrain Center in Weissach, which
opened in the 2006/07 fiscal year, meets these
requirements. The new building is a combined
workshop and office complex, bringing together
virtually all development activities relating to power-
train technology, i.e. engines and transmissions,
with the associated prototype construction work
and their integration in the vehicle. Since the power-
train plays a key role from an environmental point
of view too, the Development division is excellently
positioned with this new build.
Protection Rights and Licenses
The intensive level of development work, combined
with active project management, has in turn resulted
in a rise in applications for industrial property rights
for innovations and design. This has been observed
across the group as a whole, and also extends to
production engineering, the production set-up for
the Panamera in Leipzig being one case in question.
Several protection rights have also been applied for
in Asia, the aim being to effectively protect Porsche’s
high-tech innovations and extend the portfolio.
Worldwide, competition with protection rights is
increasing just as much as the number of applica-
tions at the main patent offices. As a result, patent
monitoring continues to be an integral part of de-
velopment projects. Porsche also remains active in
the licensing business, with revenue from license
fees continuing at a high level.
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The engine of the new 911 GT2 features a state-of-the-art turbocharger with
variable turbine geometry and boasts a maximum power output of 390 kW (530 hp).