Atheist

I think the answer will come clear when you drive both cars and consider how you actually want to drive the car. Daily or just on weekends, on the track or mainly on public roads. I have noticed over the years that when it comes to the Porsche brand, enthusiasts tend to be slow to accept the changes. If you are slow to accept changes you are called a purist. At 68 years old, I grew up with air cooled, rear engine, NA, MT Porsches. First one being a 1960 356. Over the years I have seen the resistance to liquid cooling, turbos, front mounted engines, automatic transmissions, Porsche SUV's and sedans and the list goes on.

Based on the two cars being considered, the first and foremost consideration is which one suits the OP and their planned usage the best. As soon as I hear people talk about resale value it changes the conversation as you either buy a car you love and want to drive a lot, or you buy a toy for weekends or the track which you enjoy a lot, or you buy a car for an investment. Most cars are terrible investments unless you plan to park it for 20 years and sell to a collector. Even then the investment value is suspect. I typically aspire to the notion buy the model you like the best and find the newest car with the highest level of trim you can afford if driving it is the purpose. Weighing the price, color, options, warranty and mileage. Everyone has their preferences. Some love the sound of the NA car, yet to really appreciate the sound differences and make the car perform you have to drive around at higher RPMs so frankly IMO the sound differential and the limits of the power band make full enjoyment on the street more difficult. Yes newer cars with MT are more rare which may hold some higher resale value for purists as do the older air cooled cars. I don't buy a car for an investment I buy a car to drive a lot and enjoy. For all the arguments about air cooled vs liquid cooled, NA vs Turbo, MT vs PDK I will say this, the performance numbers do not lie and Porsche continually improves the performance as the generations progress. It is fun to drive a manual (unless in traffic) and faster to drive a PDK. NA is awesome sounding at 5,000 to 8,000 rpm if you spend a lot of time in that range. The truth is these arguments will become moot as in a few short years Porsche enthusiasts with be fighting to save the Internal Combustion engine as new cars with ICEs are being legislated out of production. Just like those who now relish the days of the NA MT AC cars, we may all be saying remember the days when we put gasoline in our cars. Just like those who say a MT is more engaging, in a couple of more years they will be saying no electric can provide the engagement as an old ICE. For me investment value aside while I loved my 356 in the 60s. A 911 S in the 70's. Todays top Porsches are another league of performance and quality. No amount of nostalgia changes the numbers in objective testing. If better means better performance, then new is better. If better means anything else it is purely subjective and individual choice. I was at the dealer a couple years back and they had a 1997 Air Cooled 911 Turbo with 8,000 miles on it priced for $275K. Next to it they had a new GT3 for $165K. Which would you buy to drive, which would you buy to park? as for the OPs choices, all things being equal I'd opt for the 2017 911.2 with MT aside from the title issues. FWIW both cars are nice but seem high in price. I paid $121K for a 2017 GTS loaded with 18K miles and CPO from a dealer. Those prices seem high for PP cars without warranty. Good luck, make the decision that suits you best and enjoy.

Catharpin

I recently shopped for a new 991 as my C4 in manual got hit. I thought, why not upgrade to a Turbo S as it was my "dream" car. They only come in PDK. When I came away from a test drive, my decision was made. Something was lacking, I just didn't feel "it". Despite the massive additional power increase, something was missing. I ended up with a C4S with the MT, couldn't be happier! YMMV, opinions are my own.

checkmate1996

Hey everyone! Just closing the loop on this thread. I opted for the 991.2. I just can’t see myself in the foreseeable future not having a manual in a Porsche. It’s just too much fun. Thanks for all the great advice! Here are some pics…

vanlieremead

Very nice. First mod, clear side markers 😀