Porsche Is Almost Assuredly Not Killing the Manual 911

For 2025, there are no manual-transmission 911s. That won't always be the case.

Porsche 911 Shifter

Chris Perkins

By: Chris Perkins

May 28, 2024 at 3:09pm ET

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For 2025, you can't order a manual-transmission Porsche 911. Don't expect that to be the case in the future.

The 992-generation 911 just got a facelift, with the new Carrera and hybrid Carrera GTS debuting Tuesday. The rest of the 2025 911 lineup is rounded out by the preexisting Turbo, Turbo S, and GT3 RS. Porsche's new hybrid system spells the end for the manual 911 Carrera GTS, and all the rest of the models in the lineup are auto-only. But there's no need to panic.

While Porsche won't comment on future models as a matter of policy, you can bet that the facelifted 992 lineup will be fleshed out with many more model variants. Consider that manual-transmission Porsches are popular. We know that on models where a manual is offered, Porsche customers chose three pedals and a stick around 40 percent of the time, and the take rate is even higher for cars like the 911 GT3.

Porsche sold 50,146 911s last year. Of course, the number of those with manuals is less than 40 percent, because many models in the lineup only come with the PDK dual-clutch transmission. But even assuming 20 percent of all 911s sold last year had a manual puts us at over 10,000 cars. That's a decently large assumption, to be fair, but I think it's reasonable to believe that Porsche sells a decent number of manual 911s, given what we know. And with all of its rivals being auto-only, offering a manual is another useful differentiator for Porsche and the 911.

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So there isn't a lot of sense behind cancelling the manual 911. If the number built was in the hundreds, sure, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Remember, too, that when the 992 debuted, there was no manual option for nearly a year after its debut. This isn't even a situation without precedent.

The manual transmission has proven to be good business for Porsche ever since it debuted the 911 R back in 2016 and brought the manual back to the 911 GT3 a year later. A manual-transmission car may be a niche thing, but it's something Porsche customers clearly love. Why would the automaker abandon them?