Porsche Achieves Manual Transmission Lap Record At Nürburgring
The Goal: Fastest Lap Time Of A Production Car With A Manual Transmission
“When we decided to set the official lap time of the new 911 GT3 with manual transmission, we naturally also looked at who was at the top of the leaderboard” Preuninger said. A competitor needed 7:01,300 minutes for the shorter 12.8 mile (20.6 kilometer) track layout. This corresponds to a time of around 7:05,800 minutes on the full 12.94 mile (20.832 kilometer) lap. Under supervision of an independent notary public, the lap time of the new 911 GT3 was validated at 6:56.294 minutes for the 12.94-mile (20.832-kilometer) lap. With that, Bergmeister improved the previous lap record by more than 9.5 seconds.
If you are wondering, the 2017 Dodge Viper ACR was the previous record holder.
Watch Porsche’s Record Setting Lap
The Results: 9.5 Seconds Faster
The 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 is the fastest production car with a manual transmission on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Porsche brand ambassador Joerg Bergmeister beat the previous record – set by a competitor with a significantly more powerful engine – by over 9.5 seconds. Due to extensive continued development of all performance-relevant vehicle components, the manual 911 GT3 with optional Weissach Package was 3.633 seconds quicker than the predecessor model (992.1) with PDK.
“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, Director GT Cars said. “We have now answered this question and – although we know that the variant with PDK is significantly faster – drove our lap time with a manual six-speed gearbox. Even without the automated, super-fast and precise gearshifts of the PDK and with a mechanical instead of electronically controlled limited-slip differential, the new 911 GT3 takes around 3.6 seconds off its predecessor with PDK.”
In sunny weather, at 54 degrees Fahrenheit ambient and 80 degrees asphalt temperature, Joerg Bergmeister set out on the 12.94 mile (20.832 kilometer) track in the late afternoon in the 502 hp 911 GT3 with optional Weissach Package. As with the official lap of the previous model, he drove using road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires in the dimensions 255/35 R 20 at the front and 315/30 R 21 at the rear.
Images and details courtesy of Porsche.
