The Porsche 911 now permits you to shift your own gears

Alarmingly, there are already eight versions of the new ‘992’-generation Porsche 911. Eight! There’s the rear-wheel drive Carrera, the four-wheel drive one, then the faster ‘S’ version of both of those… and that’s just the hard-tops. Porsche also sell Cabriolet versions of the whole lot.

So, there’s a 911 for everyone then? Not so. Not if you’re a proper, pucker, unashamed Driving Enthusiast. Do the words ‘heel’n’toe’ make you think of downshifts rather than dance moves? Do you own polo shirts with car logos embroidered on the chest? Then at last, here’s your version of the new 911. It’s the manual, people.

Actually, we’re rather pleased the stick-shift has come along, because the new 911 is so fast TG already prefers the standard 382bhp Carrera to the frighteningly rapid 444bhp Carrera S. So we’re not at all bothered by the seven-speed manual making the car slower. That’s actually good news.

Porsche has announced that the 911 Carrera S manual is good for 0-62mph in ‘around four seconds’ and a top speed of over 190mph. Unusually vague, for Porsche. Either way, you’re talking a half-second delay in getting to sixty, and a 1mph v-max deficit. Nothing worth sulking over.

Like the new Aston Martin Vantage manual, the three-pedal 911 is also a bit lighter: 1,495kg plays 1,515kg. Porsche throws in the Sports Chrono pack as standard too, so you get engine mounts that stiffen up as you drive harder, a locking rear differential with torque-vectoring, and a rev-blip downshift mode if you’re a secretly uncoordinated Driving Enthusiast.

The price is the same as the PDK version. Time was that the manual was the standard 911, and you had to pay about £1,700 more to get the (admittedly spectacular) PDK ‘box. But now, like the 911 GT3, it’s a no-cost choice, though because you get Sport Chrono thrown in as standard, it still works out as good value. Apparently, the previous-gen 911 was actually cheaper to buy on finance when you specced the PDK, because although it was a costly option, the car depreciated more slowly.

So, the manual will remain a rare-groove choice, but one that we’re glad exists. You’ll miss ‘em when they’re gone… won’t you?