Is This The World's Only Manual Porsche 991 GT3 RS?

One brave Porsche GT3 RS enthusiast has ditched the standard PDK 'box and fitted his own manual instead
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When the 991 911 GT3 RS first arrived a couple of years ago, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Porsche had decided that the RS should have no manual option and fitted every single vehicle with a seven-speed PDK - a paddle-shift auto.

Driving enthusiasts were aghast. No manual, even as an option, was seen as dumping on the spirit of driving. Even though the PDK can change gears with no drop in torque fast than most drivers can think about changing gears, it wasn’t about the performance. Phrases like ‘involvement’ and ‘feel’ were bandied about.

Porsche sold every RS it could make nevertheless, but some owners weren’t satisfied. One, Rob Janev of Illinois, took it upon himself to remedy the situation.

Every factory 991 GT3 RS was a PDK auto
Every factory 991 GT3 RS was a PDK auto

Janev contracted Florida race outfit BGB Motorsports to carry out the swap on his 900-mile GT3 RS. Owner John Tecce sourced the six-speed manual gearbox from a 911 R, which is more or less a straight swap. However simply replacing the hardware isn’t the tricky part.

The team spent more than 60 man-hours during a six week build on the electrical side. Getting the car’s various computers and electrical subsystems to accept the presence of the clutch and manual ‘box, rather than throwing out random error codes, was a Herculean task. In an effort to make the whole thing look as stock as possible, BGB added custom gauges.

The end result of almost a year of planning and six weeks of work looks to be the only manual 991 GT3 RS in the world. It sends the message Janev had hoped to send too: he was getting a manual 991 RS to join his fleet of manual 911s, whether Porsche wanted him to or not.

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Comments

Anonymous

Me : Can i have a manual 991 RS?
Porsche : Sorry, manual machine broke

07/13/2017 - 20:10 |
280 | 4
Roadster / Tail Red

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Janev: How about I swap one in instead?

07/13/2017 - 20:21 |
18 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

YES
Finally someone who makes a properly dank comment! Been waiting for this day for like ages

07/13/2017 - 20:25 |
72 | 4
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

U know it’s a problem when people are willing to pay a million of a manual Porsche 911R and swap a GT3RS with a manual transmission. There’s definitely a manual market for Porsche, so they better get selling on manual transmission Porsches.

07/15/2017 - 02:25 |
2 | 2
Bukh

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

lol nice one

07/15/2017 - 04:52 |
0 | 0
5:19.55

How to make your car slower:
Stage one: ditch the pdk gearbox
Stage two: install a manual

07/13/2017 - 20:26 |
2 | 42

Stage three: get caught by the angry manual fanboi who can now catch you and doesn’t know you have a manual instead of the base auto

07/13/2017 - 20:34 |
0 | 24

How to make your car more pleasant and rewarding*

07/13/2017 - 20:36 |
52 | 0

Who cares if it is slower… It’s what the owner enjoys that matters, if he went to the effort of putting a manual in he clearly wanted a manual and fair play to him for that. I’m not a fan of the modified car scene but I think these sort of modifications are great, taking something you don’t like (or just think another option may be better) and changing it to improve your personal experience. Whether that be installing coilovers to minimise body roll, or a manual transmission to feel more involved and connected.

How often does it matter than it is now 0.3s slower to 62, or half a second slower on a 1/4 mile. Let the man enjoy his car the way he wants it and stop being negative on the internet

07/13/2017 - 21:03 |
16 | 0

PDK or Manual, there was very little change he can get the most out of the car anyway, so might as well have something unique and more fun?

07/13/2017 - 21:27 |
2 | 0
Tomislav Celić

In reply to by 5:19.55

I agree.
This is a track car
Speed>Fun
But yeah this person will use it as a sports car

07/14/2017 - 10:50 |
2 | 2
......

manuel FTW!

07/13/2017 - 21:00 |
2 | 0
theSPAZZ

In reply to by ......

I don’t know Manuel, but he’s probably a nice chap.

07/14/2017 - 11:34 |
14 | 2
Anonymous

Omg did he say “clear prop” at the beginning of the video?

07/13/2017 - 21:19 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

This man is a hero

07/13/2017 - 21:29 |
12 | 0
Unamd Prcent

What the heck happened to the 911 R?

07/13/2017 - 22:02 |
0 | 0

Don’t know about your location, but in Germany the first bunch is coming up for pre-owned sale with BIG premiums.

07/13/2017 - 22:25 |
0 | 0

They sourced the 911R transmission directly from Porsche. So no 911R were harmed/dissected in this process.

07/13/2017 - 22:31 |
4 | 0
Darth Imperius/Anthony🇭🇷

Porsche: No manual
Guy:(bill wurtz voice)🎵how about i do it anyway?🎵

07/13/2017 - 22:45 |
44 | 0

We can make a religion out of this!

07/14/2017 - 07:00 |
2 | 0

SPAAAACEDUUUST

07/14/2017 - 10:27 |
0 | 0
LEitner

This man is the best person ever. Not because of the manual itself (although, having been in a 4.0 rs, i definitely approve), but because he doesn’t care for value and does what he wants with his car that he bought for what it was built for! Good man!

07/13/2017 - 22:45 |
78 | 0

Exactly! He changes the car the way he wants and he is actually enjoying ít rather than letting it die as a garage queen.

07/14/2017 - 10:24 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

A successful swap, not a stupid one. ahem

07/13/2017 - 23:26 |
4 | 26
The Retro Guy

Gtr?

07/14/2017 - 08:13 |
4 | 2