The Most Powerful Cars You Can Still Get With A Manual
Manuals are getting harder to find, but these sports cars and hypercars are helping keep the do-it-yourself shifter alive—at least for a little while longer.
Manual cars are getting harder to come by in America, with fewer than 30 vehicles you can get from the factory with a do-it-yourself shifter. And apart from a few outliers, most of those vehicles are of the sporty variety.
One segment that has lost a ton of steam on the manual front over the last few years is the ultra-high-end segment. With manufacturers like Ferrari and Lamborghini opting for lightning-quick dual-clutch transmissions in nearly all of their vehicles, the once ubiquitous manual has all but disappeared from some of the world’s greatest supercars and sports cars.
But fear not, good reader—we are seeing a bit of a revival on that front. Automakers are beginning to realize that customers still want to row their own gears, even if they are paying north of a million dollars for their vehicles. With that in mind, here are just a few of the most powerful cars you can still get here and now in 2026 with a manual transmission.
Lotus Emira
400 Horsepower
Price: $112,900 (V6 SE)
Even with so many… interesting additions to the Lotus lineup in recent years, one thing is true: You can always count on the UK’s favorite sports car maker to offer a manual transmission. The V6 Emira sends 400 horsepower to the rear wheels via a manual transmission, getting you to 60 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds. Lotus does offer a four-cylinder Emira that gets to 60 in 3.8 seconds, but that version is only available with a dual-clutch.
Nissan Z Nismo
420 Horsepower
Price: $67,000 (est.)
The standard Nissan Z is a perfectly adequate performance car; 400 horsepower, rear-wheel drive, and a manual. Not much to complain about. But finally, after a few years of teasing, Nissan finally added a manual gearbox to its punchier Z Nismo. With 420 hp on tap, plus a bevy of track-focused upgrades, the Z Nismo with the six-speed is the one to get. We would know; we’ve driven it.
BMW M3 / M3 CS / M4
473 Horsepower
Price: $80,650 / $108,450 / $83,550
Let’s kick this list off with a vehicle—or, vehicles—that most enthusiasts should know well. Even with so many of its counterparts losing their manuals, the BMW M3 sedan and M4 coupe keep the dream alive. You can get the “base” versions of these M cars with rear-wheel drive and a manual, giving you 473 horsepower to work with. BMW also recently introduced the M3 CS with the Handschalter package, which adds the six-speed manual on top of the CS’s other track-focused goodies.
Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Ford Mustang GT / Dark Horse
486 / 500 Horsepower
Price: $48,795 / $66,375
Believe it or not, there are only two Mustang trims that still offer a manual transmission here and now in 2026. Thankfully, both of them make our list. The Mustang GT makes 486 horsepower with a six-speed manual, while the new Dark Horse trim puts out 500 horsepower. Both of those cars send power to the rear wheels exclusively. Moving up to the more powerful Dark Horse SC or even the GTD Mustangs means you’re stuck with a dual-clutch transmission.
Porsche 911 GT3
502 Horsepower
Price: $238,150
Not to be too much of a Debbie Downer here, but Porsche has quietly trimmed the manual from much of its lineup over the last few years. There are only two versions that you can still get with the six-speed these days: the Carrera T, and the GT3 (as a coupe or the new S/C convertible). The good news is that Porsche’s six-speed remains undefeated; it’s short, notchy, and absolutely lovely to use.
Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale*
819 Horsepower
Price: $675,000 (est.)
This one may be a bit controversial—thus, the asterisk. Ferrari recently introduced the 12Cilindri Manuale with a simulated manual gearbox, meaning there’s no actual, physical connection between the shifter or the clutch and the driveshaft. It’s all “by wire,” as Ferrari says. That said, we can’t complain too much; an 819-horsepower V12 touring car with the ability to row your own gears is no bad thing. Hell, you can even stall it.
2026 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing F1 Collector Series
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing F1 Collector Series
668 Horsepower
Price: $260,000
We’re sad to say that it’s just about the end of the line for the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. With the debut of the F1 Edition recently—limited to just 26 units—Cadillac is ending production of its 668 horsepower, manual-transmission, absolute charmer of a performance sedan. The good news is that a new one should be on the horizon. At least, we hope.
Pagani Utopia
864 Horsepower
Price: $2.5 Million
Pagani, arguably more than any other ultra-high-performance hypercar maker, knows that its customers want manual transmissions. When we spoke to Horacio Pagani in Monterey a few years ago, he told us that nearly 70 percent of customers opted for the manual transmission when ordering their 864-horsepower Utopia hypercars. The correct choice.
Pagani Huayra 70 Derecho
852 Horsepower
Price: TBD
Not only does Pagani offer the Utopia with a manual transmission, but the company recently introduced the Huayra 70 Derecho with a six-speed. This one-of-a-kind Huayra celebrates Horacio’s 70th birthday, with 852 horsepower and an electronically limited top speed of 217 miles per hour. Not a bad birthday present.
2026 Pagani Huayra 70 Derecho
Koenigsegg CC850*
1,385 Horsepower
Price: $3.7 Million
Years before Ferrari introduced its simulated shifter in the 12Cilindri, Koenigsegg debuted a similar technology in the CC850 hypercar. Dubbed the Engage Shift System (ESS) built into the car’s Light Speed Transmission (LST), lucky CC850 owners can toggle between manual and automatic mode as they please. With 1,385 horsepower on tap, you can’t really go wrong with either.
Hennessey Venom F5-M Roadster
2,031 Horsepower
Price: $2.7 Million
The recently introduced Hennessey Venom F5-M rightfully earns the title of “Most Powerful Manual Car On The Planet.” With a whopping 2,031 horsepower from its twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V8 engine, the six-speed gearbox in the center of the console sends power exclusively to the rear wheels. Just imagine hitting 300 miles per hour in this thing…
Manual transmissions may be disappearing, but they aren't dead yet. From more affordable options like the Nissan Z and Ford Mustang to million-dollar hypercars from Pagani and Hennessey, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy shifting your own gears. Whether that remains true beyond the next decade remains to be seen.
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