Pd‐catalyzed double carbomethoxylation of the Diels‐Alder adduct of cyclo‐pentadiene and maleic anhydride yielded the methyl norbornane‐2,3‐endo‐5, 6‐exo‐tetracarboxylate (4) which was transformed in three steps into 2,3,5,6‐tetramethyl‐idenenorbornane (1). The cycloaddition of tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) to 1 giving the corresponding monoadduct 7 was 364 times faster (toluene, 25°) than the addition of TCNE to 7 yielding the bis‐adduct 9. Similar reactivity trends were observed for the additions of TCNE to the less reactive 2,3,5,6‐tetramethylidene‐7‐oxanorbornane (2). The following second order rate constants (toluene, 25°) and activation parameters were obtained for: 1 + TCNE → 7: k1 = (255 + 5) 10−4 mol−1 · s−1, ΔH≠ = (12.2 ± 0.5) kcal/mol, ΔS≠ = (−24.8 ± 1.6) eu.; 7 + TCNE → 9, k2 = (0.7 ± 0.02) 10−4 mol−1 · s−1, ΔH≠ = (14.1 ± 1.0) kcal/mol, ΔS≠ = ( −30 ± 3.5) eu.; 2 + TCNE → 8: k1 = (1.5 ± 0.03) 10−4 mol−1 · s−1, ΔH≠ = (14.8 ± 0.7) kcal/mol, ΔS≠ = (−26.4 ± 2.3) eu.; 8 + TCNE → 10; k2 = (0.004 ± 0.0002) 10−4 mol−1 · s−1, ΔH≠ = (17 ± 1.5) kcal/mol, ΔS≠ = (−30 ± 4) eu. The possible origins of the relatively large rate ratios k1/k2 are discussed briefly.