2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Manual

that the GT3 drinks fuel like a four-wheeldrive Chevy Tahoe (16 mpg combined, per the EPA). The GT3's $164,150 base price does include a single cupholder, positioned directly in front of the shifter. Do not use the cupholder.

In the GT3's Normal drive mode, you can try to rev-match downshifts yourself. In Sport and Track modes, the car does it for you. Reverse is up and to the left of first gear, and its detent—pushing down on the shifter—is not exactly a seven-foot-tall bouncer with brass knuckles. Tip: If you think you're in first gear but the backup camera is on, best check your work before dropping the clutch.

Grab a perfect launch and the six-speed GT3 will hit 60 mph in 3.3 seconds and run the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds at 124 mph. Those are great numbers, but far in arrears of the automatic car's 2.7-second dash to 60 and its 10.9-second quarter-mile pass at 129 mph. The manual GT3 weighs slightly less than the PDK car (3199 pounds versus

3222 pounds) and manages to improve on the automatic model's skidpad grip (1.16 g's compared to 1.11 g's). But there's a reason that Porsche sent an automatic GT3 to represent the car at our Lightning Lap event—the dual-clutch gearbox makes for quicker lap times. In choosing the manual transmission, you're deliberately surrendering performance. And why would you do that?

Well, because you can spare a half-second here or there in the name of glorious mechanical involvement. And because, with a manual, this car draws a straight line back to the first 911s, except it's so much better. Plus, there's the snob appeal. The GT3 is its own exclusive club, and the manual GT3 is the roped-off VIP area inside that party. No poseurs allowed. This is like the GT3 versus 911 Turbo debate distilled to an intra-GT3 rivalry. Do you prioritize raw emotion or raw speed? While the manual option costs zilch, it ought to be a statement credit. But that is an accounting oversight we can stomach, especially when the GT3 feels like a bargain.