Nah, there will always be people who want 6 speeds. Tips in trouble though.

 

I have been running a vet on the track for years, 6 speed, so I know how it feels.

I have a tip and its great. I can concentrate on the road more.

In sport mode its as smart as any driver on the curves. It knows when to downshift and holds the gear through the turns.

The only advantage of the 6 speed is the fun factor. But its great fun to take the curves fast with the tip doing the work. It shifts as fast as any person, probably faster.

 

Tip is also harder to get in North America at the moment.

 

I'm liking the 6S. Resale value? When I sell mine, all cars will be hybrids with CVT

 

Tip, 6sp, PDK...the car is sooo fast any which way. Enjoy the car. As for me...I just can't get rid of old '01 996TT. Believe or not, I still love it like the day I got it. Besides, I really need to see the specs on the new GT2. I think THAT will be THE car to own for the rest of my youth (+/-10yrs)...
Rock

 

I agree...GT2/3/RS are all worthy upgrades, but the 996TT will stay!

 

Folks-

I am contributing to an article to an upcoming Porsche magazine, and and am at 24 hours of Daytona as a reporter, where I have raced before. Press credentials are a great way to get access to the drivers, driver meeting and the pits.

I took a statistically non-significant survey of drivers who had driven the 997 Turbo with Tip (Jeff Gordon (NASCAR) is also here - he owns one, probably one of everything).

Of the 15 drivers I could find and did interviews with, and who were racing either Porsche FABCAR or GT3Cup cars, the following owned 997 Turbos:

Hurley Haywood
J.C. France
Joao Barbosa
Roberto Moreno
Dirk Werner

Every single one of these drivers owned Tip cars, and preferred them both for street and track use over the 6 spd, although there were negative comments about Porsche not offering a sequential shift street car.

Maybe they got tired of the old shift pattern on the 997, as Haywood commented.

Just FYI - I will send out reprints of the article when it is published if there is interest...

 

I went through something similar to what I think some of the racers did...kind of...
Before I got my Porsche, I had an M3. The M was 6spd, had coilovers and other similar mods. A blast to drive but no cruise control and a ***** to drive to the city/very long distances.
When I got my Porsche for the purpose of competition, 6spd, tons of money into the suspension and interior, I no longer felt that I wanted to go from one focused car to another. The feeling of enjoying a car while relaxing was something I really wanted and with 2 focused, manual cars couldnt really have. Long story short, I ended up changing from the M to the RS6 and couldnt be happier with that outcome. A fun, focused car for the weekends and a bahnburner for the week.

Point being, most of those racers find themselves in some of the most demanding cars to drive and dont mind having the luxury of just enjoying fun car without any hassle...



That being said (and excuse my terrible, terrible thought process...I just woke up...) I wouldnt get a manual TT as it seems too much of a "sin" to get that beauty in a PURE auto...when DSG comes out, thats another story.

 

That is why Porsche loves you as a customer. Easy pickings.

 

Depending on how much the PDK option is and how smooth it is in auto mode, I think the 6-speed cars will still find their buyers.

 

nberry-

Fun is different for different folks. I love Polar Silver, but Porsche doesn't offer it anymore except as paint-to-sample.

Having a true commuter car that can be tracked as well is also a definition of fun for some folks. I bet that at most high speed tracks (as was said by others), the novice and the expert will be faster in a Tip than in the 6 spd. It is the journeyman (intermediate) driver that probably benefits most from the manual. Going fast is also a definition of fun for some of us...To each their own.

 

I had SMG on my M3 and it did make driving "easier" and defintely made me more focused on driving as it was pretty much fool proof. And in LA traffic it was definitely the way to go. But when it came time to order my 997tt and being back on the east coast, it was a no brainer for me, 6 speed is way more fun and I missed it.

Now if I was looking to extract every last bit of performance out, I would get tip, but for fun and road use where I will not be pushing the edges of performance, fun wins out!