BRASELTON, Ga. — 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.

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.

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.

It lasted two hours. I took the long way.

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

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.

VROOOM! I reached for the walnut shifter knob and downshifted from third to second gear — a loud rev match helping seamless cog swap.

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

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’s seven-speed experiment. Too many shift gates. The six-speed is killer.

Porsche offers steering-mounted paddle shifters on its entry-level Carrera models, but the stick is the most direct driver’s experience in the business. The $141k 911T is Porsche’s entry-level manual drug with the $160k GT3 the top of the mountain.

Pause, take a deep breath. This is rare air. It’s more than 100 grand above the Miata manual Grand Touring I tested last summer – and more than double that of the OG, modest, $55k (inflation adjusted), 1970 911T my uncle once owned. “Today's 911 T only knows Modesty as the name of a yacht off the coast of Croatia,” snarks Car and Driver.

This, Enthusiast Nation, is the summit of the manual landscape. No other supercar manufacturer makes a stick shift above it.

If they did, they would be hard-pressed to make a more scintillating experience than the 911T.

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.

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

The rev match feature makes downshifts more precise, though still not as quick as a paddle-shift car. If it’s raw speed you’re looking for, Porsche’s 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.

But if it’s visceral thrills you want, the stick is sublime.

The manual box’s benefits aren’t just in the shifting experience. It tips the scales at 3,316 pounds — a significant 275-pounds less than the 911 GTS T-Hybrid I also tested this year. Weight matters, and the T’s fit physique made it more nimble across the Route 52 switchbacks — maximizing the extraordinary suspension. (Opting for the convertible 911T Cabriolet adds 189 pounds.)

But even Route 52 can’t contain the 911T. So capable is the T that I ran out of road long before I reached the supercar’s envelope. Ya’ gotta’ take it to a track — and, happily for owners, there are plenty of track day opportunities in Michigan at Gingerman Raceway, Grattan, M1 Concourse. Or, if you make occasional trips to Atlanta and don’t want to abuse your own 911T, then sign up for the Porsche Experience (conveniently right next to Atlanta International Airport) and add a half-day to your stay in the Peachtree State.

In addition to racetracks, Atlanta is also renowned for grisly Los Angeles-like traffic, and the 911T proved remarkably well-suited for a two-hour commute from ATL to Breselton. Just be sure not to option the hard-back race seats in my $162,895 test mule which are uncomfortable, incapable of flipping forward, and paired with deleted rear seats. Choose the standard seats, and the 911T is not only comfy, but utilitarian.

A parking attendant rolled his eyes at me when I told him I could get my carry-on, wife’s carry-on, giant tennis bag, laptop case and two shopping bags into the two-door sportscar.

No sweat.

The frunk alone (rear-engine Porsches innovated this neat feature long before Tesla electric vehicles) swallowed my suitcase and the two shopping bags. Then (despite those hardback race seats) I shoved the rest of our luggage aft of the front thrones — the back shelf alone taking on the broad tennis bag. Mrs. Payne and I then managed stop-and-go Atlanta traffic even as the Porsche lacks adaptive cruise control.

So good is the manual, it shifted like butter in traffic.

Porsche interior ergonomics have come a long way from the days when Americans complained about the German’s lack of cupholders. I’m still complaining. The 911 rudely locates its console cupholder right in front of the manual shifter, which makes for awkward shifts when carrying a drink. Fortunately, the doors are equipped with cupholders so I could bypass the console.

My favorite ergonomic feature is the steering wheel scroll wheel (why don’t all manufacturers have these?) so I could scroll numerous features on the digital instrument display — even change it from the classic five Porsche instruments to my preferred, less-cluttered threesome.

Otherwise, interior buttons felt natural. Just like the walnut manual gearshift in my hand. Please, Santa.

2025 Porsche 911T

Vehicle type: Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-passenger sportscar

Price: $140,795, including $1,995 destination fee ($162,895 as tested)

Powerplant: 3.0-liter flat-6 cylinder

Power: 388 horsepower, 331 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Six-speed manual

Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.3 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 183 mph

Weight: 3,316 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA, 17 mpg city/25 highway/20 combined

Report card

Highs: Manual shifter from the gods; lightweight athlete

Lows: Console cupholder obstructs shifter; manual, but price out of reach to many

Overall: 4  stars

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