The Porsche Classic Communications Management System: the Ultimate Gadget for your Classic Porsche?
Image: Porsche
Words by Robert Percy
Owning a classic car is a very nice dream to have. The dream of motoring the old-school way with very little or no driver aids and rawer, purer sounds and power delivery is something a lot of us enthusiasts crave. Unfortunately, the lack of technology does have its downsides. Classic cars are totally devoid of the infotainment systems most drivers expect to be in their cars. They also don’t account for the way we now listen to things like music, audiobooks and podcasts. Nobody buys tapes or CDs anymore (unless you’re a massive hipster). People genuinely want a way to connect their phones up in their classic cars so they can listen to their favourite songs, albums, playlists, audiobooks and podcasts without having to do any extra faff. They also want something that doesn’t look out of place either; something that slots seamlessly into the classic design of the interior. Well, if you’re the owner of a classic Porsche, those clever chaps at Stuttgart have come up with an in-house solution. Enter the Porsche Classic Communications Management (PCCM) unit.
Image: Porsche
Coming in 1-DIN and 2-DIN sizes, the PCCM is designed to seamlessly replace the original radio head units of classic Porsches. The 2-DIN sized model is designated as the PCCM Plus and is designed to replace the original Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system from 996 911’s that had it. According to Porsche themselves, it boasts “a high-resolution touchscreen and modern functions such as DAB+ and Apple CarPlay as well onboard navigation.” The PCCM Plus also has Android Auto. The new unit’s functions are navigated using a modern touchscreen. The built-in navigation is modelled like the original PCM system’s one, the maps for the navigation system being stored on a separate SD card. For the PCCM Plus, it’s even been engineered so that the navigation directions in the instrument cluster still work! Porsche are clearly staying true to their reputation by putting so much effort and attention to detail into something that could have been just another weird iOS/Android running aftermarket system and, honestly, I thank them for doing it. It’s something that’s clearly been done with the customer and the aesthetics and functionality of the customers’ cars in mind.
Image: Porsche
Are you convinced enough by these to put one in your classic Porsche? Well, it’s going to cost you quite a bit. The PCCM retails for 1,439,89 Euros from the Porsche Classic shop, whilst the PCCM Plus retails for 1,606.51 Euros (both prices include the cost of the SD card containing the mapping for the navigation system). Porsche also recommends that you have the unit installed in a Porsche centre, something that’ll add a fair bit more on top of that. Still, it’s probably a fair price to pay considering it’s an OEM Porsche product and one that seamlessly integrates into your old-school Porsche at that! Of course, there will be people who decry this whole thing as ruining the classic car motoring experience. To those people, I say this; who cares? Certainly not me and certainly not the people who actually own and drive these classic Porsches. I’d buy one of these units in a heartbeat if I bought a 996 911 (one of my childhood dream cars) and I know a fair amount of you would too. Complainers are gonna complain. Let the people who actually own the cars do the talking when it comes to the classic motoring experience. Clearly they want these units, otherwise Porsche wouldn’t even consider making them.