- Porsche may blend manual feel with automatic ease in one setup.
- Koenigsegg first explored this idea with its CC850 hypercar.
- Whether the company can justify such a gearbox is unclear.
The writing has been on the wall for manual transmissions for well over a decade. Indeed, it’s been 13 years since Porsche made the controversial decision to drop the six-speed from the 991-generation 911 GT3, offering it only with a seven-speed PDK instead. The backlash was loud enough that the company reversed course for the 991.2, bringing the manual back and keeping it available not just in the GT3, but across several 911 variants since.
Although manuals have seen a modest revival in recent years, they’re still living on borrowed time, particularly as electrification becomes more widespread across the industry. However, a recent patent filing from Porsche suggests it is keen to keep the manual alive, potentially by pairing it with an automatic gearbox. The idea is not entirely new, as a similar concept has already surfaced from another exotic manufacturer.
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This intriguing patent was filed in August 2024 but only published earlier this month, and it outlines a setup similar to the transmission used in the Koenigsegg CC850 and Chimera. In the Swedish hypercar, the shifter can be set to Drive, allowing it to function like a conventional automatic, but drivers can also switch to a gated six-speed manual operated with a clutch pedal.
Porsche’s system could include Drive, Neutral, and Reverse in automatic mode, selected by moving the lever forward and backward, Carbuzz notes. For those seeking a more engaging experience, the lever could be shifted into a dedicated H-pattern mode, functioning like a traditional manual transmission.
Developing a transmission like this would be difficult and expensive. In Koenigsegg’s case, the system works thanks to the brand’s in-house gearbox, which uses six individual clutches and three shafts, along with extensive electronic systems to make the clutch pedal and shifter feel like those of a conventional manual.
While Porsche’s engineers are certainly capable of creating something similar, the real challenge is making it viable beyond a niche application. Koenigsegg can pass on extreme engineering costs to customers through multi-million-dollar hypercars, where complexity is part of the appeal.
Porsche, by contrast, would need this kind of transmission to make sense across a more accessible lineup with far tighter pricing expectations. That’s a much tougher ask, especially given how refined and well-established its current manual and PDK gearboxes already are.
Then again, since a number of its clients are hell-bent on having a manual, while others prefer the ease of the PDK, perhaps Weissach’s engineers have found a way to appease both.
