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KEEPING DRIVE ALIVE

Daring themselves to go beyond automotive trends, we look at Porsche and their adamant loyatly to three pedals.

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She was perfect.

When the world first laid its eyes upon the 911R, it was as if another revelation was revealed to the automotive village.

In that same year, the 991,1 GT3 only came in one flavour, and it wasn’t one that was desired. GT cars were meant to be enjoyed in stick-shift format, and god forbid one if it didn’t come with it.

And here this came, It was based on the 991.1 GT3 RS, the sharpest scalpel in the GT department. It also shared the 500-hp six-cylinder boxer engine with four liters of displacement. However, it had a retractable rear spoiler instead of a rear wing and of course - a six-speed manual transmission.

The end result was nothing short of perfection. A wingless mass of carbon-fibre forged into the very values held by the GT3RS, yet tamed to be more refined and exact. It was like Porsche's greatest hits all welded into just one car, and god did the world weep at it's birth.

It was a combination of elements unusually grouped together that set the world ablaze.

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Of course that would also mean, every single living organism that appreciates these mases of metal desperately wanted one for themselves.

But bear in mind, these were times where many were very worried about the future of  'fun cars' like these, and since the previous gen 991.1 GT3 didn't come with a manual gearbox, lets just say a ton of panic buying was involved.

Let's face it, the words 'wingless manual GT3RS' is enough to make anyone leap on sight.

At the time of the Porsche 911 R’s release, there was no sign that it anticipated new models with a similar character. On the contrary, the buzzword “last of its kind” went through the press world. Many journalists suspected that it might even be the last 911 with a naturally aspirated engine and manual transmission. After all, when the 911 R was presented, the facelift 991.2 Carrera models were only available with turbocharged engines.

It wasn't long till allocations were sold far more than the original $150,000 asking price. Before deliveries even started keys were trading hands for up to $500,000. Some even went as high as a solid million.

So Porsche, being the one that started this whole racket must've had a blast watching the whole world crumble around it's so called 'last ever of it's kind' 911. Clearly they would've just let us rip each other to bits for it right?

IOne of our own known 

'We did not expect this, let me say, crazy reaction concerning used car prices. Because some people are making only money with the car. We don’t like that.'

These words came from Mr. August August Achleitner, who is also known as Mr.911. Or more formally, Ex Vice President of Product Line 911 and 718.

To combat this mess, Porsche decided that they would very quickly establish that at the end of the day the cars still came from them, which means that if they wanted to, they could simply CTRL+C and CTRL+V.

And copy and paste they did. 

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The GT3 Touring.

Game. Set. Match.

Probably the most hilarious response to inflating prices unnecessarily, Porsche decided to simply make several more similar examples to the 911 purists ever so desperately adored.

Unlike the 911 R, the GT3 with Touring Package was not limited in production numbers. Although it did not offer the same technical refinements such as carbon fenders, a magnesium roof or the single-mass flywheel of the 911 R, its engine could rev up to 9,000 rpm.

The 911 R did not reach this limit. Its transmission did not allow speeds above 8,500 rpm. The Touring is therefore forgiven for its 110 kilograms of extra weight.

While many other performance-focused car manufacturers have ditched manual transmissions over the last 10-15 years (we’re looking at you Ferrari and Lamborghini), Porsche has soldiered on and kept producing arguably the finest stick shifts currently available.

“Manual transmission is always what the customer wants in the 911, so we have been and are working as long as possible to save the manuals,”

Frank Moser - Vice President Product Lines 911

“What we want, and that’s the key for Porsche, is to make it authentic,” he said. “That’s absolutely relevant for the 911. That’s why we have the 911 T with a manual gearshift, and now the 911 S/T with a stick shift, and that’s really because customers want a stick shift.”

Today, many of Porsche’s normal offerings also come in manual options.

So this ones for the enthusiasts.

The Porsche 911 R was not the last of its kind. On the contrary. It led to Porsche building even more models for enthusiasts today than it did in the mid-2010s. And they have become bolder in Zuffenhausen. Their Porsche 911 Dakar, the Cayman GT4 RS, and the 911 S/T, for example, are proof of that.

As for ourselves, we are proud to be apart of this movement of providing enthusiasts with cars they will drive for years on end.

For those who believe in everything with four wheels - and three pedals - and fast. We are eager to share our own tribute, that will make its debut soon. #SaveTheManuals

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