Porsche wants to keep the manual gearbox in the 911 'as long as possible'

Porsche customers want to switch gears themselves, but how long will that be possible?

The vast majority of car brands are putting all their chips on EVs, but this does not immediately mean the end of the manual transmission. Toyota already filed a patent last year for an electric car with a manual gearbox and Stellantis wants to 'involve the driver more in the action' by letting him shift gears himself. The manual transmission should also remain in the Porsche 911 for as long as possible, says Frank Moser.

Moser is the vice chairman of the 911 and 718 lines at Porsche. He talks about the future of the manual transmission in the 911 to The Drive, among others. According to the Porsche leader, the manual gearbox is always something a 911 customer wants. "That's why we have a 911 T with a manual gearbox and now the 911 S/T with a gear lever and that's really because customers want a manual gearbox."

Also a manual gearbox in the electric 911?

According to Moser, they are working hard to continue building the manual transmissions for at least the 992 generation. Just like with the manual gearbox, Porsche wants to continue building the 911 with a combustion engine for as long as possible. This is what the manager of the Porsche eFuels team, Karl Dums, says. According to him, 80 percent of Porsche sales should be electric by 2030. The 911 will still have a petrol engine.

When a fully electric 911 is released, will Porsche also build a manual gearbox for this generation? Moser answers: 'What we want – and that's the key for Porsche – is to make it authentic. "That's why I don't know if there's a way for us to have a manual transmission in an electrified car." Maybe experiment with a two-speed manual gearbox for the Taycan?

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