A Porsche 911 Just Became the Nürburgring’s Fastest Manual Production Car

A Porsche 911 GT3, with the optional Weissach Package, just set the fastest time ever for a manual production car around the famed Nürburgring in Germany. The manual 911 GT3 went around the 12.94-mile track in 6:56.294 minutes.

The 502 hp car set the record on a sunny day at the track, with the air temperature at 54 degrees Fahrenheit and an asphalt temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Porsche attributed the biggest improvements in the car to the chassis, which was more stable over curbs and bumps. Porsche also said that gear ratios were shorter, sending more power to the rear axle. According to the German marque, the car likely would’ve gone a few seconds faster with the PDK dual-clutch transmission, but setting the manual-transmission record was part of the point.

“With the six-speed manual gearbox, I definitely had more to do on the fast lap and thus also a bit more fun,” Joerg Bergmeister, the driver, said in a statement.

The previous manual-production-car record at the Nürburgring was set by the Dodge Viper ACR in 2017 with a time of 7:01.3 minutes, according to Motor1.

Nürburgring records are fiercely contested by automakers, especially German automakers, because it’s a lengthy and difficult test of speed on a track with the richest history of any circuit in the country, and perhaps any in Europe.

The manual 911 GT3’s time of 6:56.294 minutes also puts it among the fastest sports cars ever around the ‘Ring, with the Porsche 991 GT2 RS Manthey Performance Kit going fastest at 6:43.300 minutes, the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series second in 6:48.047 minutes, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS third-fastest at 6:49.328 minutes, and the Porsche 911 GT3 Manthey Performance Kit fourth-fastest at 6:55.737 minutes. The manual 911 GT3’s time is over a second quicker than the fifth-fastest sports car, the Ford Mustang GTD, which lapped the track in 6:57.685 minutes. (All times per the Nürburgring’s website.)

Porsche expressed some extra glee at setting the manual-transmission record, and said manual transmission sales for the 911 GT3 are up, too.

“More and more customers of the 911 GT3 are opting for the six-speed manual transmission. And more and more often we are asked by these customers how fast a 911 GT3 with manual transmission would be on the Nordschleife”, Andreas Preuninger, Porsche’s director of GT cars, said in a statement. “We have now answered this question.”