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These days, the overall story around manual transmissions is a disappointing one, with more and more stick-shift options disappearing for all sorts of reasons. Even so, Porsche has remained one of the strongest supporters of the three-pedal setup—and rather than cutting back its manual offerings, it has now started adding to them again. The latest model to get its manual gearbox back is the 911 Carrera S, which was just unveiled during Monterey Car Week.

Road & Track spoke with Porsche North America CEO Timo Resch during the Monterey events to understand the brand’s current thinking on manual transmissions. Before the Carrera S manual returned, the only manual 911 variants left in the line-up were the Carrera T and GT3. Interestingly, reintroducing the manual Carrera S for the 992.2 generation was not part of the original plan. It exists now because customers kept asking for it.

“Because obviously our customers have a close relationship with their Porsche centres,” Resch said. “And if they tell them, I would like to have a manual which kind of sits in between a GT3 and a T, we try to collect all of that feedback. And based on the history of, there was a Carrera S in the previous generation that had a manual transmission, we were like, ‘Let’s build a case.’”

911 buyers in North America are especially fond of manual transmissions, which made the business case a convincing one. Resch shared the latest GT3 manual take rates, saying that more than 50 percent of GT3 buyers choose to shift gears themselves, while an impressive 80 percent of GT3 Touring buyers go for the stick. Admittedly, these are the 911 variants aimed squarely at Porsche’s most committed enthusiasts, but even if the Carrera S manual take rate ends up a little below GT3 levels, it seems likely the numbers will still easily justify the cost of bringing the option back.

“We’re like, ‘Yeah, but it’s about the experience,’” Resch said of his response to people who dismiss manuals. “Ultimately, it’s the choice of the customer. And that’s what we are about. It’s about providing choice to our customers.”

When asked about the possibility of giving buyers the option of an automatic or a manual in Porsche’s hybrid 911, Resch was more cautious, though he did not rule out manual-hybrid Porsche models in the future.

“So, the technology setup that we have in place right now, and a manual transmission, like you see in the Carrera S as the MT package, they are not compatible,” Resch said. “But at the same time, it’s great to have an engineering team in Weissach that never stops thinking, and has a lot of great ideas. So I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point they come up with a solution, but it probably will not be a combination that you see here of a manual transmission.”

We have heard more than once before that Porsche’s T-Hybrid system, at least in its current form, does not work with a manual transmission. However, based on Resch’s remarks, it seems reasonable to think that the engineers are at least exploring a new setup that could make such a pairing possible—or perhaps something similar in spirit, like Ferrari’s new system in the 12Cilindri Manuale. Porsche may well need such a solution if it plans to continue offering manual transmissions for as long as possible.

“You can be assured that we will try to offer manual transmissions as long as we are legally allowed to, and as long as there’s customer demand,” Resch said. “And we see customer demand for the option, manual transmission also lasting well into the next decade.”

That is very welcome news for enthusiasts.