Porsche 911 gets manual option for 2020

Team OD Published: April 30, 2020, 12:15 PM IST

Buckling the global trend of manufacturers moving away from manual gearboxes for their sports cars, Porsche is now offering a seven-speed manual gearbox with the 2020 model year update to the Porsche 911.

The seven-speed manual gearbox is available on the 911 Carrera S and Carrera 4S variants, and can be added along with the Sport Chrono dynamic package. The manual gearbox comes with a rev-matching feature, which blips the engine whenever the driver downshifts to increase the engine speed and match it to the higher gearbox speed. This makes for quicker and smoother shifts.

The package includes improvements like dynamic engine mounts, PSM Sport mode, the mode switch on the steering wheel with the modes Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, Wet and Individual (for an individual setup), as well as a stopwatch and the Porsche Track Precision App. Further, Porsche has also added the Porsche Torque Vectoring that debuted on the Turbo S to these lower variants.

Other feature additions available to the Porsche 911 for 2020 are the Smartlift function and Porsche Porsche InnoDrive. The Smartlift function lifts the front axle by 40mm when required so that the 911 can tackle steep inclines and bad roads. Uniquely, the system saves the GPS location for when the system is activated, so that it can be initiated automatically at the same location again. The InnoDrive system has been added form the Panamera and Cayenne to the 911's PDK versions. This is an adaptive cruise control system, that uses GPS data to optimize the car's speed for the next 3 km by taking into account factors like traffic and road conditions.

Finally, the MY 2020 911 also adds options like a leather package that is inspired by the firs-ever 911 Turbo, lightweight and noise-insulated glazing for the windows that saves 4 kgs and a new ambient lighting package.

Given that the Porsche 911 is sold in India as a CBU, all of these options should be available to buyers when they spec their car here. Prices for the sportscar start at Rs 1.8 crore for the Carrera S with its 450PS.