2011: Seven-speed manual gearbox

The world’s first seven-speed manual gearbox is used in series production of the 911 – again in the 991 series. It gives the 911 a new, crisp shift characteristic. The new gearbox was designed on the basis of the seven-speed double-clutch transmission and provides excellent shifting comfort and sporty shifting forces. The new 911 cars reach their top speed in sixth gear. The seventh gear has a long ratio and helps to save fuel – a high cruising speed is attained at a lower engine speed. The high level of efficiency and the optimised weight of the gearbox help to make the vehicle more fuel efficient. It is also combined with an automatic start/stop function as standard.

As the seven-speed double-clutch transmission is designed as a modular system, many of the same parts were able to be used for the construction of the seven-speed manual gearbox. However, one particular challenge had to be overcome – due to the concept of the Doppelkupplung, the gears are arranged differently than with a normal “H” shift pattern. For this reason, converted shift actuators were developed especially for the manual gearbox version. They enable the traditional “H” shift pattern to be achieved with the Doppelkupplung gear sets too. A patented system prevents the wrong gear from being engaged. For example, the seventh gear can only be engaged directly after the fifth or sixth gear.