There are very few absolute truths in the automotive world, but one thing that enthusiasts have begrudgingly accepted as fact is that Porsche won’t make a 911 GT3 RS with a manual transmission.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still have one.
Ormond Beach, Fla.-based BGB Motorsports, which runs Porsches in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, recently posted pictures and videos of a customer’s GT3 RS that it has almost finished converting to a manual.
BGB’s office manager Wray Gillette told Road & Track that it purchased the six-speed manual from a 911 R from a Porsche dealer for $22,000 and is charging $45,000 to fit it in the GT3 RS. Because it’s an OEM gearbox, the actual install reportedly was fairly straightforward, though making it work properly with the car’s ECU is another story.
The shop had to swap some of the code from the R’s software into the RS so it “basically thinks it’s a 911 R,” Gillette said. Once it’s finished, however, the automatic rev-matching and tachometer will function as they would in a factory-spec 911 R, while the car will utilize the traction control and rear-wheel-steering software from the GT3 RS.
We’re interested to know what Porsche will think once it catches wind of BGB’s conversion.
Although it will be as close to factory-prepared as possible, Porsche is adamantly against producing a manual GT3 RS as it’s supposed to be the most track-focused version of the 911. It’s so against it, in fact, it developed the manual 911 R in just one year as a way to shut up various automotive journalists, specifically “Top Gear” presenter Chris Harris.
That said, Porsche did give its blessing to Singer Vehicle Designs, which reimagines air-cooled 911s, so perhaps it won’t be too upset.
Thumbnail photo via Porsche
