New 911 GT3 manual available in California again after govt U-turn

The manual version of Porsche's new 911 GT3 is now allowed in the US state of California after local lawmakers admitted defeat – overturning a previous ban.

Off the back of the new wingless GT3 Touring's launch two weeks ago, Porsche tipped off prospective buyers that the manual version would be unavailable in California due to the state's soon-to-be-replaced noise emission regulations.

Despite the seven-speed dual-clutch passing, the three-stick did not pass local laws, with Porsche having to offer buyers a free upgrade to the paddle-based 'box instead.

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However, this week the German manufacturer's North American arm announced the Californian Highway Patrol and Department of Motor Vehicles had brought forward the introduction of a new testing procedure which the manual GT3 has already passed, meaning it can go on sale on the country's west coast.

In a statement to American publication Motor1, Porsche said it was pleased to work with the Californian lawmakers to reach an agreement for its customers to purchase the stick-shift GT3.

"Following consultations with California authorities, Porsche Cars North America is pleased to confirm its dealers will be able to sell the new 911 GT3 with a six-speed manual gearbox – meaning that, when the first cars arrive in the fall, they can be legally registered and driven in all 50 states.

"The work in the past week by the California DMV and California Highway Patrol to find a solution has been appreciated, and has helped to identify an appropriate regulatory path forward.

"On June 11, Porsche Cars North America received a notification from California Highway Patrol outlining its existing test procedure (SAE J1470, from March 1992) was obsolete, but it could not identify a procedural process to allow Porsche to test the new 911 GT3 equipped with a manual transmission through the modern test procedure (SAE J2805, from May 2020).

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"Discussions with the regulators continued but without visibility to a solution we took the difficult decision to inform dealers the manual option would no longer be available in California, since there would be no way to legally register the cars in the state. We communicated this on June 15, coinciding with the planned announcement of the 911 GT3 Touring package.

"We thank California DMV and California Highway for their responsiveness and helping quickly to identify the appropriate regulatory path forward. The 911 GT3 arrives in the US in the fall, and will join 16 other model variants in the Porsche range which can be specified with three pedals."

Both the manual and semi-automatic versions of the GT3 and GT3 Touring will be available in Australia, with a special 70 Years Porsche Australia Edition making its way Down Under to commemorate the brand's local history.