Porsche has confirmed the return of the manual gearbox to the line-up of its 911 — the first time a non-automatic option has been available for the sports car’s latest generation.

Now available to order in the US for its Carrera S and 4S variants, the seven-speed gearbox is a no-cost option for the 911 as an alternative to its standard eight-speed automatic ‘PDK’ gearbox.

Cars specified with the gearbox will also receive a Sport Chrono package for no extra cost, which brings dynamic drivetrain mounts — effectively ‘active’ mounting points for the gearbox which aid chassis rigidity — as well as a rev-matching function and selectable driver modes including Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and customisable Individual.

Manual-equipped cars will benefit from a mechanical limited-slip differential as well, replacing the electronic unit in PDK-equipped variants.

How this affects performance and fuel consumption has yet to be officially confirmed, though Porsche claims the rear-wheel-drive Carrera S will be capable of covering the 0-60mph (0-97kph) sprint in around four seconds, with a top speed over 190mph (306kph).

For comparison, the PDK-equipped car achieves 0-60mph (0-97kph) in 3.5 seconds, with a 191mph (307kph) top speed.