Top 10 manual 911s

Total 911 counts down the ten best Porsche 911s of all time with a manual transmission

Perhaps more than any other sports car, the Porsche 911 has always appealed to purists keen to master the art of fast driving in the most traditional sense. In celebration of the everlasting stick shift, Total 911 presents your definitive list of the ten best Porsche 911s with a manual gearbox at its core…

10 992 Carrera S (2020-) Gearbox: ZF 7-speed

As the launch of the 992 appeared on the horizon, there was much speculation whether that venerable concept, the manual gearbox, would still be offered on a 911. There were strong hints from the Motorsport department that GT3 versions would be available with a six-speed, but the plain 911? In the end Porsche did not abandon self-shifting 911 enthusiasts, though the manual gearbox arrived a full year after the start of 992-generation production.

The only disappointment was that instead of a basic 911 manual option (a recreation of the 991 Carrera T), buyers had to spec up to a Carrera S or 4S. However, opting for a manual gearbox gave buyers the very welcome Sport Chrono Package as well as a mechanical limited-slip differential which, twinned with Sport PASM, produced a very capable modern 911 indeed, even weighing 25kg less than the base 911 with PDK.

Critics have lamented the seven-speed manual in the 991, yet pleasingly the shift quality has been much improved since the discouragingly confusing original from a decade ago. Today, the seven-speed manual in the 992 has a wonderful, slick action with a shorter throw and a clutch that’s light to deploy, enhancing the 992 C2S’S all-round capabilities. Porsche may yet reintroduce the Carrera T for the 992, but in the meantime the traditional enthusiast’s choice falls on the 992 C2S.

9 911S 2.2 (1969-71) Gearbox: 901 5-speed

As many enthusiasts know, for 30 years Porsche built its own gearboxes – by 1960 the company had over 70 patents and derived considerable income from them. Like much of the Porsche, its gearbox and synchromesh were designed for the fast gear changes of competition and tended to deteriorate over time with road use. This is why many if not most of those same enthusiasts tend to shy away from earlier 911s, not just because of their prices, but because of an often-correct perception that pre-getrag gearboxes are tricky and at times just downright unpleasant to use. Rebuilds are expensive and not all exponents do it properly.

And yet a 915 gearbox or its lighter predecessor, the 901, restored by someone who really understands Porsche synchromesh, is a model of precision and no 911 illustrates this better than the 2.2S. The Ss were all highly strung 911s, none more so than the 2.2S which produced 180bhp from 2,195cc, quite staggering figures for a road car half a century ago. Indeed, so highly strung was it and so voracious its appetite for 100 Octane (some of which emerged from its exhausts smelling distinctly half-burned) that Ferdinand Piëch intervened with the 2.4S to lower peak torque to try to curb the 2.2’s pollutant habits.

Today, provided the gearbox has been through the hands of an acknowledged expert, a good 2.2S is a joy to drive. Few 911s demand so much shifting, as peak torque is at 5,200rpm and progress feels pedestrian below 3,500rpm, but the sensitive driver who declutches fully, changes fast and can work with the fivespeed 901 gearbox will find another dimension of pleasure.

8 930 (1989) Gearbox: Getrag 5-speed

More than a dozen years into its career, the Porsche Turbo at last acquired a fivespeed gearbox. At launch, the Turbo had a four-speed, as Porsche was concerned its 915 gearbox would be overwhelmed by the 930’s torque levels, and so designed a specific item. Given the massive performance of its new Turbo, said Porsche, five gears were unnecessary. A purist might have argued otherwise, but Porsche’s latest offering was so eye-catching with its rear spoiler and extended rear wings, and its acceleration so staggering, that initially the lack of a fifth ratio caused little discussion. It’s difficult to imagine today, but at the time the 930 Turbo was a genuine sensation – that sudden thrust of turbo boost was a complete novelty, and its arrival could and did catch drivers unawares, which seemed simply to add to its reputation. Author Doug Nye wrote that in 1979 when he and Denis Jenkinson at last got their hands on a UK press car, by now the even more potent 3.3, after a few bursts of maximum acceleration they were so exhilarated they had to stop and laugh like schoolboys.

During the 1980s, the Turbo underwent few significant changes, but once Porsche had abandoned its own competition-derived gearbox and synchromesh in favour of a five-speed unit from Getrag for the Carrera, with detail reinforcements, it was also fitted to the 930. The Getrag offered a shorter, more intuitive shift, a hydraulic clutch, and with five speeds making the torque lag easier to manage, the latter day 930 was an altogether more pleasant car to drive, remaining just as fast but far less agricultural than its four-speed predecessor.

7 997 GTS / Sport Classic (2010) Gearbox: Aisin 6-speed

To look at, almost two decades after it was conceived, the subtle curves of the

997 still appear remarkably contemporary. The cockpit on the other hand feels like a throwback to a previous era – efficient and ergonomic as Porsche knows how, but its central facia panel is almost overwhelmed with buttons. Above all the 997’s cabin feels smaller, which it is, and the comprehensive view out from above a lower-mounted dash is a reminder of one of the air-cooled cars’ great virtues. Today the driving experience feels almost vintage, the short wheelbase faithfully transmitting bumps and irregularities which the modern chassis irons out.

Pressed hard, the 997 still exhibits the 911 tendency to understeer, which is easy enough to discern through the exemplary hydraulically assisted steering, but make no mistake, a 997 with Porsche’s six-speed serves up one of the most involving yet still sophisticated driving experiences there is.

The 997.2 saw the introduction of the lighter and completely re-thought MA1 engine: it had more power and torque and would despatch the foibles of M97 to history. It also heralded the arrival of Porsche’s GTS model, a halfway house between the GT3 and the Carrera S. Carefully priced to cost less than a fully optioned S, the 408bhp GTS offered all the virtues of the 997.2, including the sweet six-speed gearbox, a new Aisin unit offering a lighter and infinitely more precise shift than the old Getrag. Unsurprisingly, the GTS specification was the basis for a limited-edition special, the Sport Classic, whose Fuchs wheels, doublebubble roofline and ducktail assured instant collector status.

6 964 RS (1991-2) Gearbox: Getrag 5-speed

Press reaction to the 964 RS was either semi-ecstatic about the ‘return of the 2.7 RS’ or astounded that Porsche had the temerity to charge 10% more for a reduced specification Carrera with such a bone-shaking ride. The reality, as ever, was somewhere in between. The RS was conceived to homologate the 964 for the Porsche Cup series and Roland Kussmaul’s systematic lightening of the Carrera chassis and interior has become almost the stuff of legend. Shaving 120kg off the 964’s kerb weight and mild remapping of selected production engines was enough to make a sporty and wonderfully responsive 911 whose suspension settings were admittedly a shade too harsh for British blacktop.

Porsche upped the first to third ratios of the five-speed Getrag, making a proper close-ratio gearbox (alas no longer possible because of noise and emission regulations for later mass production 911s). Today the 964 RS’S performance figures look distinctly hot hatch, but they convey nothing of the visceral sensation of driving this completely analogue driving machine. It also showed just how far the 911 had advanced since that 2.7 RS. Tony Dron remarked that on the track the RS was far more neutral, not the tiring, oversteering 911 of old.

For Motorsport, Jeremy Walton considered the RS “a truly memorable experience in a world full of bland cars” – in 1991!

5 993 RS (1995) Gearbox: Getrag 6-speed

The 993 RS was the 964’s successor and again was built for homologation so that Porsche could compete in the new BPR GT3 series and as an RSR in GT4. The road-going 993 RS was less raw and uncompromising than its predecessor and was subject to less intensive lightening, reducing the 1,370kg of the stock 993 C2 by only 80kg. The RS also inaugurated Porsche’s Varioram induction system which gave a more even torque delivery – the 964 RS’S maximum torque tended to arrive in a rush towards 5,000rpm. The 993 RS’S 3.8 was a development of the previous 964 RSR engine, which had its bore increased by 2mm to 102mm, making 3,746cc, which Porsche termed ‘3.8’.

For the 993, the 3.6 flat six had already been extensively revised, its cylinder head and reciprocating parts lightened to make for quieter running and enabling Porsche to do away with the torsional vibration damper of the 964. The 3.8 of the RS was basically the same engine (but with the 102mm bore). With less extreme suspension settings, the 3.8 RS offered a softer yet far from boulevard ride, and its Getrag gearbox was revised also, now boasting a sixth ratio. The first three ratios were closed up as before, and the shift was shorter too. Here once again was an immensely satisfying and immersive car, and the thrill of that six-speed was at its centre.

4 964 C4 Lightweight (1991) Gearbox: Getrag 5-speed

The “Weissach special” 964 C4 Lightweight is a fascinating relic of Porsche Motorsport history: in 1990, manager of customer racing service, Jürgen Barth, was concerned about how he would keep his group busy after Porsche’s abrupt withdrawal from the CART series. It is said he turned to an old friend, Californian Kerry Morse, who a year or two earlier had proposed a lightweight 964 C4. Barth’s racing inventory contained 22 sets of all-wheel-drive transmissions and transaxles specially developed for the 953 of the Dakar programme.

Knowing how Porsche worked, broker and collector Morse offered to buy the first C4 Lightweight. This enabled Barth to obtain authorisation to start production. 964 shells were lightened with aluminium bonnets and doors, glassfibre rear covers and sliding Perspex windows. The engine was the standard 3.6, but gained 15bhp thanks to specific (and virtually straight-through) exhausts; turbo brakes were fitted too.

The stripped-out cabin had simply a racing seat, but the real interest was in the gearbox, or rather the gearing: drastically reduced ratios completely altered the character of the 964, giving ridiculous acceleration at low and medium speeds while reducing top speed to about 120mph. Two prominent knobs on the dashboard allowed the driver to enhance the torque of the rear or centre

(i.e. front axle) differential. Very loud and requiring a very sensitive throttle foot, the lightweight C4 feels very much like a racer, though no series ever existed for it in which to compete. As Barth and Morse imagined, the curio C4, never homologated for road use, became an instant collector’s item and has remained so ever since.

3 991.2 GT3 (2017-19) Gearbox: Porsche Motorsport 6-speed

On the face of it the second 991 GT3, introduced in 2017, appeared very similar to the first – which visually it was, differentiated mainly by slightly different treatment for the bumpers and a higher, more aggressive wing positioning. Underneath there were changes to suspension settings and aerodynamic additions which worked in conjunction with that revised rear wing.

Completely unanticipated though was the new engine: the MA1 3.8 of the 991.1 GT3 had been replaced by a 4.0-litre, indeed the very engine introduced a year earlier in the special 911 R. This engine was based on the 4.0-litre Cup car unit, doing away with the hydraulic valve lifters which inhibit oil circulation at the top of the rev range, and gaining a stiffer crankshaft. It was said that the 4.0 was the fruit of extensive research Weissach undertook after the failures experienced with the 991.1 GT3’S 3.8 and the embarrassing recall of 2014.

The other surprise was the return of a manual gearbox: a dedicated six-speed, a change in policy all the more impressive after Weissach had so comprehensively talked up the PDK, which had been the only option on the 991.1 GT3. Admittedly, manual enthusiasts had to wait until 2018 before Porsche made the ‘six’ available, but at least the company had acknowledged the demand for the traditional gearbox. PDK remained of course the ultimate quickfire device, but however dynamically brilliant, it could never match the driver involvement of the precise and intuitive six-speed manual, which had a weighting (from both shift and clutch) very much reminiscent of the celebrated 997.2 GT3 RS and introduced, for the first time, the ability to flat shift through the gears. Short, sharp and extremely precise, the six-speed manual – which also found its way onto the 991.2 GT3 Touring, with a slightly smoother throw – is the finishing touch on an exhilarating Porsche 911.

2 992 GT3 (2021-) Gearbox: Porsche Motorsport 6-speed

The GT3 is the model most faithful to the Porsche ethos, a competition car that can be used on the road. The latest 911 GT3, the 992, embodies this once again: a 4.0-litre flat six, only slightly different from the engine in the 992 Cup, and with a similar aerodynamic package. For the 992, Porsche has also dispensed with its venerable strut front suspension, replacing it with the double wishbone configuration of the racer. Adjustments to spring and damper rates for the production GT3 ensure acceptable road behaviour and comfort.

Like most racing cars the Cup car has a sequential gearbox. This is of course strictly a competition item, which with its rudimentary clutch used only for starting would be unusable on the road. Unlike competitors though – and despite having arguably the most developed and reactive double clutch transmission – Porsche continues to offer a manual gearbox alternative. The fact this was immediately available for the 992 GT3, unlike its 991.2 predecessor, where the manual option emerged almost bashfully a year later, suggests the Motorsport department had noted the disappointment of motoring correspondents in 2017 when they had to ‘make do’ with only PDK on the otherwise unimpeachable 991.2 GT3. Now that manual v PDK arguments are over, Porsche has the confidence to meet demand for the self-shifter. However, this does not mean substituting the seven-speed of the C2S: Motorsport’s honed, close-ratio, six-speed manual with flat-shift capabilities on the way up and auto blip on the way down is lighter than before, and its shift through the gate has been refined too. For the enthusiast it is almost impossible to imagine a more immersive driving experience than this manual GT3.

1 911 R (2016) Gearbox: Porsche Motorsport 6-speed

If you believe avid Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld, the origin of the 2016 911 R has parallels with the C4 Lightweight. The American claimed he suggested to Grant Larson that Porsche build a new 911 R. The Board turned Larson down, but a few years later, a 911 R was presented to great acclaim. A limited-edition 911, the R showed the growing influence of the Motorsport department, which had recently produced the Cayman GT4 that had broken an unwritten Porsche rule by outperforming the Carrera. As turbocharging loomed and PDK featured more and more, the R revealed a welcome return to traditional Porsche engineering: based on the 991.1, the R used GT3 chassis components including rear steering, but without any of the GT3’S aerodynamic addenda and could almost pass for a base Carrera. But under the hood was a naturally aspirated four-litre delivering 493bhp and a special six-speed manual gearbox. Few 911s have had more pure-enthusiast appeal, but at £137,000 and fewer than a thousand built, this was alas yet another Porsche made of unobtainium.

The return to a manual gearbox for a Porsche Motorsport car was special, but this gearbox was special in itself. Developed by the Motorsport department and manufactured by ZF, the six-speed offered a rifle-bolt precision yet to be matched in the 911’s later lineage.

Autocar correspondent and veteran Porsche tester Andrew Frankel would count himself fortunate to be able to try the 911 R: he especially appreciated the steering – lighter and lacking the hyper-activeness of the GT3 RS – but his highest praise was reserved for the gearbox: “On the road the R ranges from being joyous under normal circumstances to, on occasion, providing an almost spiritual experience, and you don’t have to be driving as if you are fleeing an erupting volcano.” Much of this zen-like state was attributable to the Motorsport gearbox, “one of Porsche’s finest of any era, transforming the experience for those who like to feel not merely in touch with the car, but properly in charge of it.”