Porsche expands PCCM offering to 981 and 991
CarPlay in an 8,000rpm Carrera? Form an orderly queue...
Much though it might clash with purist principles, it’s certainly handy to have your phone mirrored on a car screen. Whether for calling your Mum like you promised to do last week, catching up with podcasts or finally listening to that album, having a familiar phone interface in a car is one of the few useful bits of recent automotive technology. Which means that some OEMs have followed the aftermarket in offering retrofit Apple CarPlay/Android Auto head units. Customers get the manufacturer seal of approval; the dealers get contact with an owner they may not have interacted with ages; your passengers get to hear the PH podcast - everyone wins.
Porsche has offered its PCCM (Porsche Classic Communication Management Plus) upgrade for a few years now, modernising various Boxsters and 911s by plonking a screen where a clunky old head unit once sat. Porsche being Porsche, it was much more seamless and cohesive than that sounds, and sufficiently sorted for even PHers to be singing its praises. Certainly something has gone right, because Porsche is now expanding the PCCM Plus offering: now you can get it for the 987.2 Cayman and Boxster, the 997.2 911, the 981 Cayman/Boxster and the 991.1 911.
Which is a pretty memorable vintage of recent Porsche. Of the 300,000 cars that can now be CarPlayed, you’ve got the last Mezger engined GT3s, the original Cayman GT4, the final naturally aspirated Carreras, the 997 Carrera GTS, the Cayman R, the Boxster Spyder… it’s some lineup. We wouldn’t like to say that one of those cars with OEM-grade phone pairing would be all the sports car you’d ever need but… well, y’know.
It helps of course that these cars would have had screens to start with, albeit in some cases ones that would only accept four digits of a postcode. So the new seven-inch display fits in like any other; if your steering wheel had buttons already (sorry, GT3 owners) then they can be used as well as the touchscreen. Directions and track IDs will be shown in the dash. As always happened when using the standard setup, only now without having to rely on 15-year-old sat nav. The connection is wireless, of course.
To elevate PCCM Plus above the third-party options, customers can choose from Porsche exterior colours for the virtual sports car that’s on the screen; there’s also a ‘Scenic Roads’ navigation feature that ‘enhances driving pleasure by selecting particularly winding panoramic routes.’ For the 987s and 981s, oil temp and pressure can be seen on the trip screen, plus the parking sensor beep is upgraded to include a visual display in addition.
With all the usual bits expected of a new head unit - internal and external microphone, DAB, over-the-air updates - on top, it’s easy to see why a PCCM upgrade might appeal. As if any further excuse were required to drive a great Porsche two-door. Prices will vary depending on model, but given the old single-DIN setup was £1,500, something like this is surely going to be nearer the £2k mark. Porsche parts never did come cheap. As a finishing touch to something like this PH Auctions Boxster S, however, it’s hard to think of much better…
It’s a good convenience upgrade for a car even though I quite liked the original nav in the Merc.
It will make a difference to me as I use the car for European touring and rely on Waze heavily.
It will make a difference to me as I use the car for European touring and rely on Waze heavily.
Recently did a European road trip from Essex to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix. I use a grill mount & iPhone, my 981 GT4 does not have Nav and the maps on the phone would’ve been better more configurable anyway. Google maps worked brilliantly, avoiding tolls and most motorways. No issues at all except us taking a wrong turn.
France doesn’t allow Nav companies to show speed cameras so you have to be vigilant.
I will be going for one of the plug in CarPlay modules. The Porsche upgrade PCCM will undoubtedly be the better option but at £2k+, nah. I’ll pass.
For the 981/991 I think the fact it gives you the bigger flush fitting screen is a big win, looks so much better. If the cost is worth it over a few hundred quid carplay upgrade to your current system is up to you but I'd go for this every time. It gives more features over the system in my 718 so seems worth the money to me.
On the waze topics, it works really well depending on the European country. The french and Swiss have banned speed cameras being on sat nav's but it still works everywhere else. In northern Italy it even marks which ones are there but deactivated. For the countries that dont allow it there are other apps available, such as Flitsmeister and Blitzer. Just dont get caught with them by Swiss police as you'll get an even bigger fine.
Fitted at Porsche i've heard quotes of between £2,700 and £3,000 depending upon labour rates and fitment options required. That's a fair chunk but not a surprise.
I understand the unit is c£2k but I recall reading somewhere that if a Dealer doesn't fit it the warranty is void.
Decisions, decisions.
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