{"id":35442,"date":"2025-12-25T11:28:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T15:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=35442"},"modified":"2025-12-25T11:28:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T15:28:19","slug":"payne-what-i-want-for-christmas-porsche-911t-manual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/payne-what-i-want-for-christmas-porsche-911t-manual","title":{"rendered":"Payne: What I want for Christmas, Porsche 911T manual"},"content":{"rendered":"

Braselton, Georgia<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 The bad news is the manual transmission is an endangered species these days as emissions regulations and electric vehicles have shrunk the options for American enthusiasts. The good news? Americans looooove to row the gearbox compared to their foreign peers (40% of VW GTI sales have been manual, just 5% in Europe), and so performance manufacturers continue to feed our addiction. For the 2025 holiday shopping season, there are 24 manual models available.<\/p>\n

I reviewed the best entry-level manual sportscar, the Mazda MX-5 Miata, to open the summer. For Christmas, I present to you the King of the Manuals at the opposite end of the market: the Porsche 911T.<\/p>\n

I climbed into the 911T at Lake Lanier to drive to Road Atlanta Raceway for the IMSA Weathertech Series season finale which I was covering for The News. The drive should have required 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

It lasted two hours. I took the long way.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The 2025 Porsche 911T stays true to the supercar’s timeless design language.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n

I blew by EXIT 8 on I-985 that would have taken me to Road Atlanta and headed north for the Route 52 twisties.<\/p>\n

GRRRRRRR! I exited the freeway and immediately dialed the DRIVE MODE selector on the steering wheel to SPORT PLUS, deepening the growl from the 388 horses behind me.<\/p>\n

VROOOM! I reached for the walnut shifter knob and downshifted from third to second gear \u2014 a loud rev match helping seamless cog swap.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The 2025 Porsche 911T’s manual is a joy to row hard on an open country road.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n

WAAAUUUURGH! I buried the throttle and disappeared into the Blue Ridge Mountains. I flicked off shifts at the 7,500 RPM redline \u2014 THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH \u2014 the rampaging German beast controlled by precise shifts and steering inputs.<\/p>\n

I have driven and raced multiple manuals over the years, and few are as precise as a 911. The 911T benefits from the track-focused 911 GT3 RS (with which it shares a gearbox linkage) and I never missed a shift. Shift throws are short, the shift gates predictable, the execution always direct, never rubbery. Assisting this exactitude is a move back to a six-speed gearbox from last generation\u2019s seven-speed experiment. Too many shift gates. The six-speed is killer.<\/p>\n

Porsche offers steering-mounted paddle shifters on its entry-level Carrera models, but the stick is the most direct driver\u2019s experience in the business. The $141k 911T is Porsche\u2019s entry-level manual drug with the $160k GT3 the top of the mountain.<\/p>\n

Pause, take a deep breath. This is rare air. It\u2019s more than 100 grand above the\u00a0Miata manual Grand Touring I tested last summer<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and more than\u00a0double<\/em>\u00a0that of the OG, modest, $55k (inflation adjusted), 1970 911T my uncle once owned. \u201cToday’s 911 T only knows\u00a0Modesty<\/em>\u00a0as the name of a yacht off the coast of Croatia,\u201d snarks Car and Driver.<\/p>\n

This, Enthusiast Nation, is the summit of the manual landscape. No other supercar manufacturer makes a stick shift above it.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
\n
The 2025 Porsche 911T returns to a six-speed manual shifter for 2025 after a detour to a seven-speed box in 2012.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

If they did, they would be hard-pressed to make a more scintillating experience than the 911T.<\/p>\n

Old school the manual may be, it is not immune to the advance of modern electronics. The digital tachometer comes with shift lights so that when I was really rowing the box, I could watch the lights for redline shifts without taking my eyes off the road.<\/p>\n

The rev-match feature negates the need for double-clutching (aka, heel-and-toe) \u2014 always a fraught experience depending on pedal placement, shoe type and whether you have double-wide, size 15 water skis like me for feet.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
\n
The 2025 Porsche 911T is a rear-wheel-drive supercar with rear-wheel-steer for added athleticism.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

The rev match feature makes downshifts more precise, though still not as quick as a paddle-shift car. If it\u2019s raw speed you\u2019re looking for, Porsche\u2019s paddle-driven automatic PDK is your track tool. PDK will do insane, launch-controlled 0-60 mph times. Faster downshifts on corner entry. Quicker acceleration out of apexes.<\/p>\n

But if it\u2019s visceral thrills you want, the stick is sublime.<\/p>\n

The manual box\u2019s benefits aren\u2019t just in the shifting experience. It tips the scales at 3,316 pounds \u2014 a significant 275-pounds less than the 911 GTS T-Hybrid I also tested this year. Weight matters, and the T\u2019s fit physique made it more nimble across the Route 52 switchbacks \u2014 maximizing the extraordinary suspension. (Opting for the convertible 911T Cabriolet adds 189 pounds.)<\/p>\n