The new Porsche 911 Carrera T is a lighter, manual-only rear-wheel drive sports car

This is the new Porsche 911 Carrera T 992.2, and you can turn off the configurator and step back into the light: this is the 911 you want.

Probably due to the eleven million 911 versions available, this one is one of the coolest. Porsche itself says this new Mr T “is all about focusing on the essentials”, and when those essentials are as simple as a flat-six engine, a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive, you ask why you hovered over it. the ‘GT3’ button.

It gets the now familiar 3.0-liter twin-turbo boxer, here developing 389 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. Which is the same as the base 911 Carrera. Only, it is slower than the base 911 Carrera, because where this car goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds (with the Sport Chrono Pack), this one does it in 4.5 seconds.

So while it’s more powerful than the latest 911 T (nomenclature reintroduced in 2017 reminiscent of the original 911 “Touring” from 1968), it’s actually… the slowest 911 you can buy. Bright. Even slower if you opt for the 911 T Cabriolet, available for the first time in a convertible version, because this car goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds. You won’t worry about it.

Not when there’s a real six-speed manual gearbox with a wooden gear knob, and only a six-speed manual gearbox with a wooden gear knob. No PDK magic here (which explains why the base Carrera is so much faster).

There are big 350mm discs all around with six-piston calipers up front. That’s a lot of jars. Porsche claims that the “reduced interior insulation” and “auto-blip function” of the Mr T’s gearbox, combined with a standard sports exhaust system “contribute to a particularly soulful soundscape”.

In addition to less soundproofing and a lighter manual transmission than the PDK, Porsche installed lightweight windows and offered lightweight bucket seats as an option. The lightest version you can get is 40kg lighter than a base Carrera, weighing 1,478kg.

Which means you’ll be able to better enjoy standard rear axle steering, a “more direct” steering ratio, 10mm lowered suspension with adaptive dampers and a bespoke setup that has “activated the front anti-roll bars”. and the rear axles must be adjusted for neutral handling.” Light alloys are also present, and they are massive: 20/21 inches front and rear.

Naturally, there are a myriad of little details adorning the Mr T, such as a special sticker inside featuring the shift pattern logo, a pinched spoiler lip from the GTS big brother, a series of optional “Legends” body colors, a stopwatch that is part of the standard Sport Chrono Pack, and of course, that laminated walnut gear knob.

If you don’t specify the lightweight buckets, you get four-way adjustable sports seats as standard and you can choose from a number of optional design packs for the exterior and interior.

Which means the base price of £111,300 for the Mr T Coupe and £121,300 for the Mr T Convertible probably won’t stay that way for too long. So focus only on the essentials: sixer, manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive. Is this the coolest 911?