The Porsche 911. It’s possibly the finest example of a constantly evolving albeit charmingly familiar performance car in the business. Better yet, for 2025, one of the cheapest Porsche 911 models takes a simplified, manual-only approach with the Carrera T and Carrera T Cabriolet. 

The manual transmission-only Porsche 911 Carrera T returns for 2025 as one of the cheapest 911 offerings

The Porsche 911 has around sixty years of tenure on American roads. Granted, even the newer, bigger, more ballistic 992.2 model shares aesthetic nods with the earliest 911s. However, the 992.2 is a far cry from the air-cooled 911s of yesteryear. Still, even with advanced driver’s suites and infallible handling characteristics, some 911 models promise a back-to-basics approach. Enter the new, performance-oriented 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera T.

Still, the biggest news for the 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera T isn’t its near-cheapest status. No, it’s the German performance car’s solitary gearbox of choice. Rather than offering the Carrera T with an eight-speed dual-clutch PDK transmission, the Carrera T’s solo gearbox option is a six-speed manual transmission.

Further, the six-speed manual gearbox marries up to the same twin-turbocharged 3.0L flat-six-cylinder engine as the base Carrera. The result? A three-pedal Carrera T produces 388 horsepower and 331 lb-ft of torque.

While that seems anemic compared to the hulking 640-horsepower output of the Porsche 911 Turbo S, it’s enough to keep the old-school Carrera T in contest with other sports car greats. Porsche claims the Carrera T hardtop will hit 60 mph in around 4.3 seconds. However, would-be buyers will be more entertained by the louder, more raucous drive than its straight-line performance.

Now, calling the Carrera T one of the cheapest Porsche 911 models in the lineup isn’t inaccurate. However, with a starting price of around $135,995, the simplified Carrera model isn’t quite in Chevrolet Corvette territory.