The 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 with a six-speed manual transmission has become the fastest production car with a manual gearbox to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Driven by Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister, the car completed the 20.832-kilometre track in 6:56.294 minutes, beating the previous record—set by a more powerful competitor—by over 9.5 seconds.
Related: Porsche retakes EV crown at the Nürburgring
New Porsche Panamera sets new lap record for luxury cars at Nürburgring
Porsche and Michelin develop new Sport Cup 2 tires for the Carrera GT
Photo: Porsche
The record-breaking GT3 was equipped with the Weissach package and road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 R tyres. Track conditions included a dry surface with 12°C ambient and 27°C track temperatures.
Photo: Porsche
Compared to its predecessor, the 992.1 GT3 with Porsche’s PDK transmission, the new manual variant was 3.633 seconds quicker. Despite lacking the rapid gear changes of the PDK and using a conventional limited-slip differential, Porsche says the updated car’s improved chassis, shorter gearing, and stability contributed to the time gain.
Photo: Porsche
“We know the PDK is quicker, but our customers kept asking how fast the manual version would be on the Nordschleife,” said Andreas Preuninger, Director of the GT Model Line. “Now we have an answer.”
Photo: Porsche
The previous best for a manual transmission production car was 7:01.300 minutes on the 20.6 km version of the track—equating to about 7:05.800 on the full layout. Porsche’s time undercut that benchmark by a significant margin.
Photo: Porsche
Bergmeister praised the car’s handling and stability, noting improvements learned from the GT3 RS. “I was faster in almost every corner. It’s more stable over bumps and curbs, and the shorter gearing gives better drive out of turns. Sure, the PDK would have been quicker, but the manual made it more engaging and fun.”