Peter Lyon
April 20, 2025
Porsche has just smashed another Nürburgring record, this time winning the title of fastest production car to lap the Green Hell with a manual gearbox.
With a sizzling lap time of 6:56:294 minutes, the manual 911 GT3 broke the previous record set by the Dodge Viper ACR, which had stood by nearly ten seconds for seven years.
Even a 6-speed manual can shatter 7-minutes
Andreas Preuninger, Director of Porsche’s GT Model Line, claims that an increasing number of 911 GT3 buyers are choosing the manual gearbox. And as the numbers grew, many pundits started questioning “how fast would the manual GT3 lap the Nürburgring?”
“We have just answered this question and – although we know that the PDK model is significantly faster – we drove our official lap time with a manual six-speed gearbox. Even without the automated, super-fast and precise gearshifts of the PDK, and with a conventional instead of electronically controlled limited-slip differential, the new 911 GT3 shaved around 3.6 seconds off the time of its predecessor with PDK,” explained Andreas.
In comparison to the previous generation GT3, the new 911 GT3 is faster in nearly every corner and significantly more confidence-inspiring, according to Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister, who drove the vehicle in the record-breaking lap.
“We learned a lot from the 911 GT3 RS, especially with the chassis,” Bergmeister continued. The vehicle is far more steady over curbs and on bumps. Additionally, when accelerating with the same engine power, the rear axle produces substantially more drive because of the 8% shorter gear ratio.”
“Even though the seven-speed PDK would have been faster, the six-speed manual gearbox meant I had to do more on my hot lap – and it was therefore even more fun,” Bergmeister said.
A 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine that produces 510 horsepower and 450 Nm powers the 911 GT3. The manual GT3 can reach a high speed of 313 km/h, accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds, and reach 9,000 rpm.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
For a manual gearbox to cut a sub-7 minute lap at Nurburgring is astonishing as you’d lose at least a 1/10th of a second with every gear change when compared to a PDK box. But to be honest I am glad to see carmakers still vying for the ‘King of the Ring’ title — as it resonates with car nuts and fans around the world.
