Manual Porsche 911 Carrera ruled out for Australia

Porsche Cars Australia (PCA) has confirmed it will not offer a manual transmission in the latest 992-series Porsche 911 for the foreseeable future.

Following confirmation this week that a seven-speed manual variant of the popular Porsche 911 Carrera S would soon be offered in the US and UK, PCA clarified with carsales that the three-pedal Carrera S will not join the seven-speed PDK auto in Australia.

“Porsche will not offer a manual transmission on 911 Carrera S models in Australia,” PCA spokesman Chris Jordan told carsales.

While dyed-in-the-wool manual fans will no doubt lament PCA’s decision, Jordan said Australians had already voted with their feet.

“Traditionally, only a small number of owners select a manual transmission in these models,” he said.

Less than 10 per cent of Porsche 911 Carrera S buyers previously opted for the three-pedal version – and on a global front, Porsche has already axed the entry-level Carrera manual altogether.

However, Porsche hasn’t forgotten about the manual transmission and nor is there any reason to suggest it will.

Porsche has shown as much in recent months with the likes of the six-speed manual-only (991) 911 GT3 Touring and the 718 Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder twins – and manual take-up on the 911 GT3 (not the PDK-only GT3 RS) continues to hold steady at about 50 per cent.

And although the PDK-only Targa will be the next 911 variant to launch, it is understood the stick shift will re-emerge higher in the 911 food chain, with the GTS and GT3 due to lob in 2021 (followed by the PDK-only GT3 RS and GT2 RS).

“Porsche will continue to offer manual transmissions in Australia on several high-performance 911 models where the manual option continues to prove popular,” confirmed Jordan.

In markets like the UK, the option of the new seven-speed manual become available if you tick the options box for the car-maker’s Sport Chrono package, which adds dynamic engine mounts, four selectable driving modes, a tyre temp monitor and, crucially, an auto rev-matching function for the manual.

The third pedal does put a considerable dent in the 911’s straight-line performance, however, with the seven-speed manual-equipped Carrera S taking 4.2 seconds to accelerate to 100km/h – 0.5sec slower than the PDK dual-clutch automatic version.

Porsche says the less complicated manual, which offers seven forward speeds compared to the PDK’s eight, shaves a considerable 45kg off the 911’s kerb weight.

Plumping for the manual-equipped 992 also adds a mechanical limited-slip differential with torque vectoring as standard.

Porsche’s seven-speed manual may also appear on replacements for special models like the 911 R and GT3 Touring, although we understand it is keen to reduce complexity at its Zuffenhausen sports car factory.

That’s because it and Porsche’s Leipzig plant, where the Macan and Panamera are produced, have been shut for the past six weeks – since March 21 – due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a production backlog.

Porsche announced overnight that it will resume production in stages at both factories on Monday (May 4), with strict social distancing and hygiene measures.

“The restart is an important signal – for our employees as well as for our customers," said Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG.

"We have monitored and analysed the situation very carefully right from the start and flexibly adapted processes. Now is the right time to look forward with optimism and to resume work – subject to special precautions.”