The 7MT base Carrera is probably the purest yet most underrated 991. If it's exclusively for street use, it's the perfect 911 in my opinion. Just beyond engaging to drive, TONS of power despite what some will say, and unlike almost any of the other models, its truly a revvy car. More akin to the air cooled cars. You really have to keep the revs up to get the power out of it, but as long as you do so, its a very, very fast car. I drove the base, the S, and the GTS during my search, and the most fun I had was in the base car. Which is exactly what I ended up buying.

My plan is to put a GT3 in the stable next to it at some point in the relatively near future. Between the 7MT base car and the GT3, there'll never be an itch I can't scratch.

 

Option 3 When I was looking must have was 7MT no roof and PCCB. Just my opinion.

 

There's a common thought process here of buying the newest one you can afford.
Went through a similar journey last year and finally pulled the trigger on a poverty-spec base 991.2 C2. It's easy to get wrapped up in the Base vs. S vs. GTS game and debate Sport Chrono, PSE, PASM, RAS, etc. A 911 Carerra is still a 911, 12 months later I'm still suuuuper happy with my decision. With full bolt-ons from Soul plus a Softronic tune, it's a completely different machine. All the fun exhaust and turbo sounds hasn't worn off yet - coming from someone who typically cycles through cars. More than enough power for the street, and TiAL/Pure has plenty of goodies to get you 700hp+ for the track if that'd what you're aiming for. Just ask '4 point 0' or 'blackcheetah'. I recently did the PECLA experience with a GTS, and while it was a blast, I was genuinely happy to return back to my C2.
Between the aftermarket availability for power gains & sound improvement and any cosmetic change you could dream of with Suncoast Parts, almost everything can be added after the fact (Sport chrono being a popular exception - can add the chrono clock but not the dynamic engine mounts or software) find the gateway price you feel most comfortable with and sprinkle in the mods from there if needed.

 

I went through the same search/debate last March before pulling the trigger on my GTS in June of 2023. My main deal breakers were that it had to be a 7MT and at least an S with PSE (I found almost all have sport chrono if they had the PSE). I really wanted PCCB’s and carbon buckets, but wasn’t seeing many listings with either and wasn’t a make or break for me. It just happened that a GTS 7MT showed up which had low miles and fell into my budget that I really liked. Looking back, the only thing I would change is to have a coupe instead of a cabriolet, I love putting the top down, but would give it up for the stiffer chassis and less weight.

 

The good news is that you can't go wrong with a 911. Having driven many iterations of the 911, on the track and the street, I have a deep affinity for simple, "enthusiast-spec" 911s, but that's just me. I suggest meeting people in your local PCA and getting more seat time in as many 911 variations as possible. You need to find out what tickles *your* brain a special way.

Because resale clearly matters to you, I might suggest avoiding a base model. Ts, Ss, GTSs, etc., hold their value better. That said, watching base models trounce GTSs and GT3s during HPDE events is fun!

I also caution against thinking about the GTS as the penultimate 991.X Carrera. Yes, Porsche slices their 911 segmentation and differentiation pretty thin, but the T, the S, and the GTS, are different and should not be thought of as being along a continuum or spectrum. How they're optioned matters even more than the letters that follow "Carrera."

The PDK is the best transmission in the world... unless when your heart wants a third pedal. The 991.1 manual transmission suffers from issues that were fixed in the 991.2, so make sure to factor that into your decision-making.

 

I really wanted a manual, all of my previous cars were manual and the one in the Porsche truly is great. I use the car as a daily driver, and a manual has never bothered me in the past. I drove a manual and a PDK back to back at the dealership a while back and was blown away how good the PDK is. I feel the clutch in the manual has too much movement, and for daily driving the PDK is a better car. It also didn't hurt that I got to take $10k off the purchase price just by allowing PDK as an option. I don't think either is a bad choice, but no reason to be sad if you get a PDK. I smile EVERY time I drive the car, and smile more every time I look at the car.