Here’s a bit of good news for our more liquid members of the Self-Shifting Actualization Cult: the 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S and 4S (in both coupé and cabrio versions) will offer the option of an honest manual transmission and a real, foot-actuated clutch pedal. You’ll get to shift between a generous seven gears, which should keep you happy and busy until the sun goes supernova.
Unusually for Porsche, the deletion of all the automatic shifting hardware and equipment isn’t something they’re even going to charge you for! Yes, the seven-speed manual is a no-cost option, and, dare we say, the correct option for your new Carrera S.
Here’s what Porsche says about the specs of the 911 Carrera S with the manual:
The manual transmission option combines a particularly engaging driving experience with compelling performance. The 911 Carrera S with manual transmission can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in around 4 seconds and reach a top track speed of over 190 mph. Curb weight for the new 911 Carrera S Coupe with a manual transmission comes in at 3,298 lb. Detailed specifications will be available before the cars arrive in market.
Based on that, it looks like the manual is about 84 pounds lighter than the one with the eight-speed Doppelkupplung (PDK) gearbox, so feel free to have a second heaping glop of kugel before your drive.
The manual will come with the Sport Chrono Package, which is not a kind of watch like the name suggests:
The seven-speed manual comes paired with a standard Sport Chrono Package. This package includes Dynamic Drivetrain Mounts, PSM Sport Mode, a rev-match function and the mode switch on the steering wheel which allows the driver to select between Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and the customizable Individual mode. As on the previous generation 911 Carrera S and 4S models, the manual transmission versions come with a standard mechanical limited-slip differential including Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV), replacing the fully variable, electronically controlled limited slip differential that is standard on the models equipped with PDK.
The manual transmission lives on to fight another day. They’re not gone yet. Some of you better order some of these so they don’t disappear, though. I would, but, well, my Yugo is taking up the last free parking spot in my driveway.