Meet the Porsche 911 Sport Classic: the Manual 911 Turbo of Our Dreams

About as close to the perfect 911 as you can get.

Published April 27, 2022

Updated April 28, 2022

Last fall, Motor Trend reported that three new high-performance Porsche 911s were on the way. The one we were most excited about, however, has finally arrived — the 911 Sport Classic. If you’ve been dreaming about Porsche building a new 911 Turbo with rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission, well, the 911 Sport Classic is as close to it as the German brand will get. And because that wasn’t enough, Porsche also threw in some cool heritage design features.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2023 Porsche 911 Sport Classic.

The 911 Sport Classic is based on the 911 Turbo S

Porsche based the 911 Sport Classic on the Turbo S. It uses the same 3.7-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six engine paired with a seven-speed manual and converted to rear-wheel drive. Porsche detuned the engine to work with the manual transmission, so you have 543 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque, instead of the 640 hp and 590 lb-ft in the Turbo S.

The 911 Sport Classic comes with a lot of stuff as standard

Often, Porsche will give a starting MSRP that’s a nominal starting point. Your eventual car — once you add the options a typical human would want — becomes significantly more expensive. But the 911 Sport Classic comes with several standard upgrades.

The 911 Sport Classic includes Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, Rear Axle Steering, the Sport Chrono Package, a specially modified Sport Exhaust and Porsche Active Suspension Management, which lowers the ride height by 10 mm.

The 911 Sport Classic will be a limited run sports car

Porsche will limit the 911 Sport Classic production to 1,250 units for the 2023 model year. Unlike the previous 911 Sport Classic trim, it will be available in America.

The 911 Sport Classic has awesome heritage design features

The 911 Sport Classic is the second of four Porsche Heritage Design models. Styling features reference several past Porsches. The 911 Sport Classic has a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) ducktail spoiler, a nod to the 1972 and 1973 Carrera RS 2.7. The available light Sport Grey harkens back to the Porsche 356. The 911 Sport Classic also receives a heritage Porsche crest and trim-specific wheels that Porsche calls a modern interpretation of the Fuchs design.

The 911 Sport Classic interior is fancy, too

The 911 Sport Classic isn’t a stripped-down racer. You get some full-bore Porsche luxury. Seats are trimmed in semi-aniline leather in black and classic Cognac (or, if you prefer, just black). Pepita cloth seat centers and upholstery nod back to the 1960s and 1970s. And you also get some swanky open pore, Dark Paldao wood trim.

Yes, the 911 Sport Classic comes with that number decal

The 911 Sport Classic comes with trim-specific graphics, including the Porsche script and the white lollipop with the racing number on the door. The number is customizable from 1-99 (no mention of exceptions for taste). And that graphic is a decal — not paint — so it can be removed easily if desired.

The 911 Sport Classic hits dealers later this year

The 911 Sport Classic will be a 2023 model year vehicle. Porsche says it will be available at dealers in late 2022. Pricing will be available closer to the launch date. And, yes, you can buy a unique Chronographic 911 Sport Classic watch to match the car.