7-speed manual 992 Carrera S 2021 review
We live in a connected world. Our smartphones, the apps and media within – there’s absolutely no escaping it. Cars were once a sanctuary, the only intrusion from outside being the radio, and that could always be switched off.
Car makers have embraced our brave new connected world and cars are now an extension of our phones, initially a means of communication via Bluetooth, that connectivity now enabling wireless internet access, music streaming, data, navigation and more. It’s little wonder that alongside all these we’re seeing ever greater autonomous driving functions to take over while we’re endlessly distracted.
Now I’m no Luddite, but for me the best thing about being in a car is the distraction of the drive itself. The ability to navigate seamlessly is superb, and a vast selection of music is no bad thing either (nor, indeed, is a good podcast – try Road to Redline) – but even then, they’ll be switched off, or at least turned down, if the road gets really interesting.
Perhaps I’m a dying breed, somebody who actually likes the distraction brought by driving, the connection for me not being digitally streamed, but physically experienced, and anything that increases that involvement is a good thing. A manual transmission is a good thing, then. Well, since the 991 went seven-speed, the manual in the 911 hasn’t always been a good thing.
It’s improved, but try as they might, the production engineers just couldn’t get that seven-speeder to shift with anything like the delicate weighting and gloriously accurate shift of the six-speeder that came before it. Nor that of the GT department’s R, or manual GT3.
I’m no PDK denier – it’s quicker, of that there’s no question, and I love it on a track, it has its place – but on a road, I’d take even a less than perfect manual over it. Some might cry masochism and, hell, they might be right, but nobody’s wrong here either.
To read our full, in-depth review of the manual 992 C2S, pick up Total 911’s milestone 200th issue in store today, which is guest edited by Rob Dickinson, founder of Singer Vehicle Design. Alternatively, order your copy online for home delivery, or download it straight to your digital device now.
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