Porsche has done it again: this is the new King of the Nürburgring among manual cars, and its time is stratospheric.

Who else but Porsche? The Stuttgart brand set out to improve the Nürburgring lap record for cars with manual transmission, in the possession of the Dodge Viper ACR Since September 2017, Porsche has been doing it for the first time in 7:01.3 minutes to complete the 20,6 kilometers of the "short" version of the circuit. According to Porsche, this time, translated to the full 20,832 km layout, would result in a time of 7:05.8 minutes, which isn't recorded in any records, but is the time they set as a must-beat.

The chosen one? Well, it could be none other than the new Porsche 911 GT3, in its version with manual transmission and equipped with the Weissac packageAnd with Porsche driver and ambassador Jörg Bergmeister at the wheel, we now have a new record: 6:56.294 minutes. This reduces the time Porsche had set as the previous record by no less than 9,5 seconds. And one more surprise: The 911 GT3 with manual transmission was also 3,6 seconds faster than the previous 911 GT3 (992.1 series) with the PDK transmission. double clutch.

Manual faster than automatic?

The new record was set on April 8, 2025, at an ambient temperature of 12 degrees Celsius and a road surface temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. The new 911 GT3 uses the same engine as its predecessor, with 375 kW (510 hp), but incorporates numerous modifications to the chassis and transmission—with an 8% shorter ratio—which, according to Bergmeister himself, improve stability over bumps and when climbing kerbs, which on a track like the Nürburgring allows many seconds to be shaved off the stopwatch. As with the previous record, the tires used were Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R, designed for driving on the track but approved for road use, in dimensions 255/35 R20 at the front and 315/30 R21 at the rear.

But if this new record leaves you wondering whether the 911 GT3 with a manual transmission is faster than with the dual-clutch PDK, Bergmeister clarifies: "Although I would have been a few seconds faster with the seven-speed PDK, I had to push harder on the lap with the six-speed manual, which made it even more fun."