What Walter Röhrl and the Specialist Press Say About the Turbo

When a car earns the approval of Walter Röhrl, it's worth paying attention. The two-time rally world champion and Porsche brand ambassador is considered perhaps the most sensitive pair of hands in the industry – and a self-confessed lover of undiluted, analog driving. Let's see what Röhrl and the international specialist press have said about the 997 Turbo – and why that makes the manual so coveted today.

Röhrl: "marvellously analogue"

Röhrl's verdict on the 997 Turbo is unambiguous and – important for us – documented. In the Porsche Newsroom he says:

"Even today I still cannot find anything negative to say, and I always enjoy sitting behind the wheel of a 997 Turbo. There is a marvellously analogue feeling to the set-up of the steering, running gear and brakes."¹

"Marvellously analogue" – it's hard to capture the charm of this car more aptly. And that is precisely the core: the 997.2 is the last Turbo in which this analog feeling extends to the transmission as well. Anyone who loves Röhrl's "analogue" steering, chassis and brakes gets, with the manual, the consistent fulfilment of that experience – the third pedal included.

In the same conversation, Röhrl also places the model in its historical context:

"On the technical side, the then magical limit of 500 PS was reached with the 997.2 Turbo, and the PDK dual-clutch transmission was introduced for the first time."¹

500 hp, a new engine, a new transmission – and right in the middle of it, almost unnoticed, the last hurrah of the manual.

In all honesty: A verbatim Röhrl quote that explicitly refers to the manual is not known to us – and we won't invent one. That Röhrl is generally a champion of undiluted driving is, on the other hand, well known. His "analogue" praise applies to the whole car; the manual is the logical crowning of it.

The specialist press: brutal power, engaging character

The international press quickly agreed on the sheer capability of the 997.2 Turbo: explosive launch, outstanding brakes, dreamlike traction through the all-wheel drive. Car and Driver measured breathtaking figures for a manual-equipped 997.2 Turbo (0–60 mph in 2.9 s) and praised "off the line performance, steering, brakes" – a car that was "easy to drive fast."²

Honestly, there was one recurring point of criticism: the sound of the new DFI engine, which some testers found more sober than that of the predecessor.³ But this is exactly where a second look pays off – because what one person hears as "sober", another experiences as the matter-of-fact, powerful growl of a high-performance boxer that fakes nothing. And for what truly distinguishes this engine – its durability – there is only praise: the 997.2 is considered one of the most reliable modern 911s of all.

Why the professional tests underrated the manual

A little punchline for connoisseurs: most specialist tests drove the PDK – simply because that was the factory-pushed and best-selling variant. The manual remained underexposed in the magazines. What began as a journalistic gap is today a gift to the collectors: the car that was written about the least is exactly the one that was built the most rarely – and that is rising the most strongly in value.

The specialist world is catching up right now. Elferspot voted the 997.2 Turbo manual among the top-5 Porsche investments for 2026; the guiding theme of the collector scene reads "the final chapter of the analog era." Röhrl's "marvellously analogue" from 2020 reads, in hindsight, like an early hint of what was to come.

Sources

Quotes verbatim and documented; where no primary source on the manual exists, we say so openly. This is a fan site with personal, enthusiast opinion. Source rating: [A] official · [B] specialist media · [C] community.