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Pothole we are almost in complete agreement - I have not driven a 981, but all of the 986's and 987's I have driven are a blast to drive. I found the early tiptronics to be a bit sluggish for my tastes, but then again, I vastly prefer a standard transmission in a sports car regardless of performance (and yes, if I were to buy a new 981 it would be a standard, even though it is actually marginally slower)! So yes, marginal performance improvements are only a marginal part of the story.
Yes, there were weight increases over the life of the 2.5's as a result of the addition of side air bags and the strengthening of the rear suspension mounting points. Probably not enough to be really noticeable, but likely in line with the differences in weight between a 1999 2.5 and 2000 2.7. So yes, I am pretty sure that a 1997 2.5 would be little quicker than a 1999 (lets face it, racers will spend a fortune to lose 20 pounds off the weight of a car)!
With respect to the gearing on the 2.7, I do however differ from you. As I recall, the fuel consumption for the 2.7 was only marginally better than the 2.5 ( only on the highway and possibly even worse in the city cycle?). Indeed, upon its introduction I don't recall that Porsche even advertised better fuel mileage (but I have original brochures for both the 1999 2.5 and the 2000 2.7, so I can check and report back if I am mistaken).
To me, the improvements due to the revised gearing on the 2.7 have virtually nothing to do with the increased top speed - as you rightly point out, when do we get a chance to take advantage of that? In conjunction with the improved torque curve, however, it does reduce the amount of shifting that is required to optimize performance in the cut and thrust of daily driving and allows one to attain speeds in excess of 100 kph in second gear. The latter can also be important for those who autocross their vehicles.
Cheers!
Brad
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