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Porsche is not in a Hurry to Drop a Manual Transmission Option


Porsche is not in a Hurry to Drop a Manual Transmission Option

Nowadays, car manufacturers less and less frequently design sports models equipped with manual transmissions: on the one hand, customers give preference to more comfortable automatics, and on the other hand, modern automatic transmissions are much more efficient than manual analogs. But it seems like Porsche is not ready to give up on gear sticks. The new Porsche 911 of the 992 Series initially debuted with the 8-speed PDK transmission, but the carmaker recently added a manual option for admirers of classic sports cars. It is said that the 7-speed gear stick will be available on the 2020 Carrera S and Carrera 4S models. Porsche plans that the 1-st 2020 manual Porsche will reach the US customers next spring.


2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S


2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S


The new coupe and convertible models get the same manual unit that has been offered for the previous generation of sport-oriented Porsche models. It is interesting to note that prices for manual and automatic Porsche will be approximately the same, and the manual variant will come a special Sport pack, enhancing operational capacity of the car. Another important peculiarity of the new manual Porsche is the usage of a self-locking rear differential, while automatic models come with the electronically actuated locking mechanism.


Both versions that will be available with a gear stick option come with a powerful 3.0-liter engine, producing 443 hp and 528 Nm of torque. The Carrera S is RWD, while the 4S is AWD. As expected, the new manual 911 Porsches are inferior to their PDK-equipped analogs when it comes to dynamics characteristics. The company has not unveiled all performance characteristics of the manuals so far, but it is known that these manuals can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in approximately 4 seconds (PDK-equipped model does it in 3 seconds), and reach the maximum speed of 190 mph.


Porsche PDK transmission


Nowadays, manuals are becoming rarities even in a sports car like the 911. Sports cars may be all about being in charge of car’s performance, but currently more and more customers shift to convenient automatics. DCT solutions like Porsche’s PDK can shift gears much faster than manuals. For purists who care more about enjoying the process of driving than speed-up characteristics and lap times, though, a gear stick is still more preferable variant. So far, Porsche has announced 911 coupes and convertibles with the manual gearbox only on the US market. But it is highly likely that these models will reach other markets in the future.

Popular articles

Probably every transmission repair specialist was keen on LEGO constructions or at least enjoyed making some minor things with their hands. Here's the game taken to a new level of creativity!

Modern auto industry is full of sophisticated drivetrain technologies which are supposed to make your driving experience even more pleasant and trouble-free. Despite a great abundance of sophisticated technical solutions, it is highly likely that very few people know a transmission solution operating like a manual CVT.

Over recent years engineers developed a lot of gear shifting solutions for different car brands, which may seem a bit unusual for oldtime drivers. In this article we will review the most peculiar gear stick technologies and provide video materials related to these technologies.

Only few people know about transmission concepts which were popular 70-90 years ago. For men of today, these gearboxes may seem very unusual and weird, but even now some gearboxes that date back to those years are quite competitive in comparison with modern transmissions.

Nowadays Extroid CVTs are commonly known as “toroidal” due to the fact that the working surface of driving and driven discs in this transmission has the form of a torus. Extroid CVT is not a V-belt transmission, but a friction drive CVT.