Well, maybe the birds and deer will feel comfortable in California that the liberal-run state has banned Porsche from selling the 2022 911 GT3 with manual transmission because it’s just too damn loud.
Porsche informed Car and Driver this week that the optional six-speed manual transmission of the supercar will not be sold in the state due to the state’s sound regulations.
Porsche will contact those who have already ordered the GT3 with the opportunity to switch to the standard dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Porsche tells us that California’s Code of Regulations (CCR) 1046 references the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) test procedure J1470 for its exterior-noise criteria, which was last revised in 1998. There’s a newer SAE standard for pass-by noise, J2805, which presumably the GT3 was designed to and meets, and Porsche expected California to update its regs to this latest standard before the GT3 went on sale. But, for now, the GT3 is stuck in limbo, awaiting that change.
Porsche says that it’s working with California State Highway Patrol to come to a solution but has no estimated timeline of when that might happen. Somewhere in the details of those two SAE testing procedures is why the manual fails one but not the other; we’re digging into those specifics and will update this story when we have a more complete explanation. -Car and Driver
The GT3 is an absolute beast, pumping out 502-hp from its naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six and screams at 9,000 rpm.
So the ban on these GT3s will only be a handful of cars because of their rarity. Still, the state is turning a blind eye to the tens of thousands of automotive enthusiasts who mount aftermarket parts on their vehicles for performance gains that make some areas of the state sound like a Fast & Furious sequel on any given day.
Instead of banning these cars from the street in the UK, noise cameras were placed on certain roads that would ticket drivers if their vehicles made sounds over 80 decibels.
