Leawood911:

Yes a GT3 without a manual will suck.  Any 911 without a manual will suck.  Here is why...

Let me try and explain - based on observations from a recent drive in the Ozarks - winding roads and hard braking in places.  A great place to shift GEARS!

Picture this -

As I near a hard braking point I begin braking at the last second (PCCB :-)) and prior to the apex I shift into neutral and then into the gear I will be leaving the corner with - the clutch is still in.  As I trail brake hard into the bend, carfully controlling the force of the PCCB brakes just short of ABS, I let the clutch out in a MEASURED manner to both aid in braking and to cause the car to rotate just that little extra given that it slows down just the rear wheels to let the clutch out.  That precise clutch release as you end braking and prepare to rotate and exit the turn CAN NEVER BE DONE WITH A PDK!  End of story.  Maybe you will never miss it but skilled driver knows the controlled release of the clutch to engage the next gear to be as critical as applying a brake pedal with measured and precise force. 

Would any of you want an ON-OFF brake pedal? - PDK is an on off clutch.  I am not willing to lose control of one of my favorite pedals.  In terms of shifting fast up through the gears in a straight line - so what - HOW BORING PDK must be.  WHAM, WHAM, WHAM thank you Mam.  I would rather work on my skills at shifting a manual quickly.  I am pretty dang fast with a manual 911, just sayin.

The ability to release the clutch precisely IS KEY to driving a sports car quickly and with skill.  For me the PDK is like a wheelchair vs walking.  I am not that old and I want to have fun.

It is looking more and more like I will need to buy that 997.2 GT3.

 

 

 

Exactly.

They shouldn't even bother calling it a GT3. And if the GT3 and Turbo don't even have a manual option, I suspect a manual won't be offered much longer on ANY 911. :( 

Absolutely horrible news, but the 911 is getting more and more watered down (as are ALL new cars) that I bet pretty soon even a manual transmission won't make up for it. Whatever though, we will still always have the astonishing, manual, no frills Porsches of yesteryear. 

I truly believe the GT3 RS 4.0 was the last of it's kind, and that is a sad thought. I'm sure we'll see a similar model with the 991 generation, but I have a feeling it will be aimed at nothing but comfort for the consumer, and speed for people who buy their car for it to sit in the garage and know that it can go faster than a GTR around the Nuerburgring (but they don't even know what that means). I don't think it will be aimed at those who want too indulge their sense of feel, hearing, smell, and sight will be neglected.

I really hope Porsche will realize no manual for the GT3 will eliminate a HUGE market for track junkies, and the like, and I bet the used market GT3s will rise in values quite a bit.