Whether we like it or not, manuals are slowly becoming the dinosaurs of our age. This is apparent especially by the moves of companies like Lamborghini, Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG that no longer offer transmissions as there is practically zero demand for them. However, manual lovers should not be too sad about it as Porsche will be their saviour in these desperate situations.
The Stuttgart supercar manufacturer will still produce cars with manual transmission as there are still customers who wanted to keep the traditional stick shift in their car. As for the time being, about 10-15 percent of 911s sold worldwide are fitted with a manual transmission, while the rest are fitted with the quicker PDK automatic.
Although the numbers are not looking good for the manuals, Erhard Mossle, the engineering boss for the 911 Turbo, Carrera 4 and Targa clarified to Car & Driver that the manuals will still be staying with Porsche for the time being.
“It’s a unique selling proposition for Porsche to have a manual in the 911 range, and I think we will fight for that as long as possible. Even if it’s only 10-percent of the market, it’s important for some customers and for some markets, especially the US, to have that kind of gearbox,” he said.
What we learned from the last two years with the Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder is that it’s not only a discussion of lap times, but also of emotion, of being fun to drive. Even if the car is not the fastest, it is fun to drive with a manual. Of course the PDK is faster, but a lot of customers want to change gear by themselves. Therefore I think we should keep it, for the next generation also”, he added.
