Can you believe it's been more than a decade since the last time Americans had the option to buy an SUV with a manual transmission and a V8 engine? The Ford Bronco hasn't been available with a manual and a V8 since the mid-1990s, around the same time Chevrolet stopped running that configuration in its own large SUVs. There was the 2014 Cadillac CTS-V, but that was technically a wagon.If you want to find the last manual-transmission V8 SUV available in the US, you can forget about the big three - you can forget Jeep and Dodge. The honor belongs to none other than Porsche, having built a V8-powered Cayenne GTS with a stick shift from 2008 to 2010. This was a rare, and pricey, performance SUV, so we wouldn't call it accessible to your average American driver, but it was the only option for a stick-shift SUV with eight cylinders by the end of the 00's. The Cayenne GTS Was Available For Just Three Years Porsche If you want to get an idea of how inflation has hit us over the last 17 years, consider that a brand-new car starts at just over $50,000 in 2026. An entry-level 2009 Porsche Cayenne with a 290-hp six-cylinder engine first hit the market at an MSRP $46,000, which is less than you'd spend on a new Chevrolet Tahoe today.If you wanted a V8 and a manual transmission in your Cayenne, you'd need to upgrade to the GTS, which started at $70,900 for the 2009 model year. Adjusting for inflation, a Porsche Cayenne GTS would start at around $111,000 today.The V8 was not exclusive to the GTS, nor was the manual. For 2010, the base Cayenne packed a manual transmission paired to a V6 engine. The Cayenne S ran the same engine as the GTS (tuned to 385), but was only available with a six-speed automatic transmission. The GTS held a monopoly on the ideal configuration for the SUV.Porsche With the launch of the SUV's second generation, the Cayenne was still available with a manual transmission for 2011, and it was still available with a V8 engine, but the GTS with a stick and a V8 was off the table. Making the manual GTS even rarer, it was also available with a more popular six-speed automatic, meaning that even if you're lucky enough to find a GTS for sale, the odds that it will have a stick shift are slim. The Cayenne GTS Was The All-Rounder SUV Porsche The Cayenne GTS has a top speed of 157 mph, and it's definitely a performance model, but it wasn't the most powerful version of the car in the late 2000s. That honor would go to the Cayenne Turbo S, which packed a twin-turbo version of the V8 for 550 hp, and 0-60 mph takeoffs under five seconds. The Turbo S started at $126,300 for 2010, and it didn't offer a manual transmission option.If you're buying a GTS, you're looking for the sweet spot between a daily-driver and a sports SUV. This is the one that's easy to live with from day to day, but it's got all the power you need on tap, just in case you need it.Porsche As an everyday luxury SUV, the GTS definitely gets the job done. Soft-touch materials, standard leather seats, and an intuitive dashboard layout make for a comfortable driving experience, with decent, if not exactly class-leading legroom in the back. A CD/DVD player with auxiliary input comes standard, and the car is available with Bose surround sound and rear seat entertainment.As a luxury SUV, the GTS isn't exactly a direct competitor to the SUVs that BMW and Mercedes-Benz were selling in the late 2000s, like the 2010 5 Series, but neither of those brands offered you a manual transmission paired to a V8. Porsche is a driver's brand, first and foremost, and if it can offer a luxury cabin along with its engaging transmission, crisp steering, and potent powerplant, all the better.Porsche The manual transmission isn't quite as efficient as the automatic. According to the EPA, a 2010 model with a stick shift will run at a combined average of 13 MPG, and will have you spending $4,450 a year on fuel. In an automatic, you're getting 15 miles to the gallon, and spending $3,850. These numbers are based on an assumption of 15,000 annual miles, split 45/55 between highway and city travel. Either way, this might not be the best SUV for riding out an oil crisis. A Reliable Transmission For A Reliable SUV Porsche JD Power gives the first-gen Cayenne a Quality & Reliability rating of 79/100 for the first generation. That means good, but not great. According to RepairPal, you should expect to spend around $1,148 each year maintaining a 2010 Cayenne, with the following accounting for the most expensive common fixes. Exhaust manifold replacement $3,790 - $4,438 Exhaust muffler replacement $2,615 - $2,732 Trans oil cooler assembly replacement $1,485 - $1,709 Trans mount replacement $795 - $1,116 Knock sensor replacement $767 - $1,083 Horn replacement $427 - $580 CarComplaints shows the 2008-2010 model Cayennes with very few reports. The most worrying would be a report for squealing, grinding, and vibration during acceleration in a 2008 model with 30,000 miles on the odometer, resulting in a $1,100 drive shaft replacement.Porsche None of these issues are specific to the manual transmission, which is said to be very reliable, so there are no maintenance concerns to scare you off the stick shift. Drivers lucky enough to own one of these SUVs typically report that the manual transmission isn't quite as responsive as the ones you'll find in Porsche's coupes and sedans, like the Porsche 911 GT3, but it still feels like a Porsche.Ultimately, the Porsche Cayenne GTS is no different from most premium SUVs in the maintenance department. It's going to be a little more expensive to keep running than a mid-market vehicle, not because it's less reliable, but because the parts are more expensive, even the simplest fixes demand specialized servicing, and there are more parts that can break than in a more stripped-down Nissan or Hyundai. What Will A Manual Cayenne GTS Cost You In 2026? Porsche When a 2008-2010 Cayenne GTS with a manual transmission actually pops up on the market, it's surprisingly affordable. Our current trending price has the 2009 model at a fraction of its original MSRP after 16 years on the road, based on seven listings.The 2008 models are the most affordable, based on our trending prices tool, going for around $10,000 at last check. For a 405-hp Porsche, that price is downright ridiculous, no matter the condition, just so long as it hasn't been crushed and cubed (and even then, it might be a cool piece of yard art).Finding one for sale is a whole other story, though. There are plenty of Tiptronic automatic models out there, but the only manual we could find was a 114,150-mile GTS in Raleigh, North Carolina selling for $24,000. We can't even find any auctions for a manual version of the SUV. It's A Seller's Market, Let's Hope The Seller Doesn't Know It Porsche Our advice: if you can find one of these for sale, don't let on that you're specifically looking for one with a manual transmission. Let them talk you into the stick shift. Prices are nice and low right now, but that could change if you let the seller know that you're looking for exactly what they've got, and that nobody else has it.