I am more worried that with the new shifter we are seeing is the beginning of the death of the manual trans. Are they putting this in, and maybe in future cars to give "the best of both worlds" and starting to see if they can phase out the manual, like others have done (Ferrari, Lambo, etc.).

 

I use mine often on the road especially when making sharp or u turns and having to shift when the wheel is turned more than 180 degrees. On the track, such wheel angles are less common but turn 7 at Sebring is very tight and makes paddle shifting awkward.

 

Looks like Porsche disagrees with all of you that would have liked to see a shaver/nubin in the GT3, and it didn’t happen. Perhaps AP also thought it was a bad idea, and drivers wanted the option. Don’t forget Porsche removed the manual in 2015, and I’m sure you know why it came back ........it’s called the customers wanted the option. Clearly you can not make all happy, but in all honestly if liking the shaver in the new GT3 is anti-technology guess I fit the bill.

 

I think that some of the statement here are too broad - I don't hate the 992 shifter. Frankly, I don't care about it, it is a gear selector. I put it in gear and drive, using the paddles if I want to shift. If I actually wanted to shift on the console, I would have purchased a MT. My 991 had the 7 speed PDK with a console shifter. In 4 years I think I used the console shifter once, and that was just to try it. The paddles are so much more intuitive to me than the console shifter and I found that I used them regularly, when I wanted to manually shift. If the 992 had come with the 7 speed PDK with the traditional shift lever I would have been happy but, frankly, the shape of the gear selector/shifter never entered into my decision. I think that, having had the car for a while now, I don't even think about the shift mechanism. Like all automatic vehicles, I put it in drive and go.

The new GT3 is a different car. The NA engine will be be awesome and I wish I had the wherewithal to buy one. However, it is a different car from the normal lineup. Actual GT cars are different from the rest of the range and that includes the GTS which is I use the term loosely, a parts bin special. I don't think you will be seeing the GT3 shifter in the normal range of cars, I see no reason why Porsche would retool the 8 speed transmission for aesthetic value.

 

I agree with you and your point is well stated. I think the nubin uproar is more of being placed in the GT3 from my stand point, and other drives I use to race with because it’s a function tool for drivers. If you track a Ferrari the paddles turn with the wheel radius, and Porsche stays at the east/west position and a full 180 degrees hard turn finding the gear is easier with the shifter. For day to day driving it’s not an issue in my view.

 

The reason there's no nubbin in the GT3 is that it was designed for the 8-speed PDK and wouldn't work on the old 7-speed, so they cobbled something together. It has nothing to do with customers wanting something other than the nubbin or it being the preferred shifting mode on the track...using the old-style functional lever was their only option without completely re-engineering the shifter. The "it's better" or customers wanted it" spin is Porsche doubletalk.

Frankly, I don't care what the tool that selects PRND on the console looks like in my 992 or a GT3. Porsche should have done a minor redesign of the 991.2 PDK shifter and called it a day. Trying to make it look like a manual shifter is fatuous.

 

The 8spd PDK is never going to get a shifter like the 7spd PDK because the 8 spd box was not engineered with any of the control systems to allow changing of the gears via the centre console.

Also, it is nonsense to say that Porsche "listened" to their customers and brought back the shifter for the 992 GT3. It uses the existing 7spd PDK so was always going to have a shifter in the centre console. Indeed, it's the only way you can select Reverse, Neutral, Drive, etc. It simply does not have any of the systems engineered in to support anything else.

 

you shift while taking turn 7?

 

I don’t get this. How is it easier to take your hand off the wheel entirely to bump the shifter than just moving your hand slightly on the wheel to tap the paddle? Your hand has to move regardless. What difference does it make? 🤣

 

Technically they can use this on an 8 speed. As a pure drive selector. No shifting.

Maybe some people would like that. Personally I’d think it would be a little embarrassing.

 

I like the nubbin, and I like shifting using the paddles. I also like gcurnew’s use of the word “fatuous” :-)

 

Everyone who is hating on the nubbin should never drive a 918, which is one of my favorite Porsche's of the modern era.

 

Two model years into the 992 and the gear selector aka nubin, shaver is still a hot topic. Like others, I like it - it fits in the updated interior, is unobtrusive, and does what it needs to do. Personally, I think the GT3 shifter looks a bit odd, I'd prefer solid material around the console vs. leather wrapped, but that's nether here nor there. I'd venture to say that Porsche knows what they are doing, the GT3 looks amazing.

 

Personally, I actually find the 992 GT3 gear shifter more offensive than the "nubbin" on the 992.

It's a total poseur -- a MT mimi-me masquerading as a PDK shifter.

Say what you want about the nubbin, at least it is original and true to its purpose in life.

 

Come drive with me at Road Atlanta I can show you.