WATCH | Manual Porsche 911 GT3 sets new Nürburgring record

There’s still life in the stick shift yet. The latest Porsche 911 GT3 has officially become the fastest production car with a manual transmission to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Behind the wheel was Porsche test driver Jörg Bergmeister, who bettered the previous benchmark set by the Dodge Viper ACR back in 2017. That car clocked a 7:01.3 around the older, shorter 20.6km configuration — roughly equal to a 7:05.800 on today’s full 20.832km layout, according to Porsche. Bergmeister? He stopped the clock at 6:56.294. That’s a gap of more than 9.5 seconds, certified under notarial supervision.

What makes the feat even more impressive is that the car wasn’t using Porsche’s rapid-fire PDK gearbox. Instead, this record-setting GT3 was equipped with a six-speed manual and the Weissach package, making it not only quicker than the old Dodge but also faster — by 3.633 seconds — than its own predecessor (the 992.1) with the dual-clutch set-up.

“More 911 GT3 customers are opting for the six-speed manual transmission. And more often we are asked by these customers how fast a 911 GT3 with manual gearbox would be on the Nordschleife,” said Andreas Preuninger, director of the GT model line.

“We have now answered this question and — though we know that the variant with PDK is significantly faster — we drove our official lap time with a manual six-speed gearbox. Even without the automated, superfast and precise gearshifts of the PDK, and with a conventional instead of electronically controlled limited-slip differential, the new 911 GT3 shaved around 3.6 seconds off the time of its predecessor with PDK.”

Conditions on the day were ideal for a flat-out run. Late in the afternoon, with ambient temps sitting at 12°C and the tarmac warmed to 27°C, Bergmeister headed out in the 375kW 911 GT3, shod with road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyres (255/35 R20 up front and 315/30 R21 at the rear).

“The new 911 GT3 inspires even more confidence at the limit than the previous model. I was faster in almost every corner,” said Bergmeister. “We learnt a lot from the 911 GT3 RS, especially with the chassis. The car is much more stable on bumps and over the curbs. And thanks to the 8% shorter gear ratio, there is noticeably more drive from the rear axle when accelerating with the same engine power. Even if it would have been a few seconds faster with the seven-speed PDK — with the six-speed manual gearbox I definitely had more to do on the fast lap — and it was therefore even more fun.”

In a world where driver involvement often takes a back seat to lap time, Porsche’s record lap with a manual GT3 is a reminder that raw connection still has a place at the top.