The 2027 Porsche 911 GT3 S/C is a $273,000 open-top GT3, and it comes with just one transmission: a six-speed manual. Under the rear decklid sits a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six that makes 502 hp and revs to 9,000 rpm.Porsche set out to make the S/C's shifter and clutch feel light, so the car stays easy to drive on the road. For the reference point, its engineers didn't turn to a GT3 or any other 911. They picked an older sports car from a rival brand, one that sold new for a fraction of the S/C's price. Porsche Built The 911 GT3 S/C Around A Six-Speed Manual Porsche The GT3 S/C (Sport Cabriolet) is offered only with Porsche's six-speed GT Sport manual, a short-ratio, lightweight gearbox. Porsche doesn't offer its PDK dual-clutch automatic here, so every S/C buyer gets three pedals.Porsche built the S/C by combining the lightweight parts of the 911 S/T with the GT3's naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six. The carbon fiber front fenders and doors come straight from the S/T, while the nose and hood come from the GT3. The manual gearbox helps keep weight down, too, since it's about 37 lbs lighter than the GT3's seven-speed PDK.Porsche Porsche aimed the S/C at road driving rather than track days. At seven or eight tenths on a winding road, it feels like a regular GT3 with the roof down.Porsche The flat-six makes its 331 lb-ft of torque high in the rev range, so the S/C needs revs to feel quick. On tight roads, that means frequent gear changes, often a gear lower than you'd expect. All that shifting puts the feel of the lever and clutch at the center of the driving experience. Porsche's $273,000 Convertible Takes Its Shift Feel From A Honda S2000 Mecum The car Porsche benchmarked was the Honda S2000, according to a Porsche engineer quoted by Matt Farah on The Smoking Tire podcast. The engineer told Farah that the team used the S2000 as the target while developing the S/C's new six-speed shifter.Honda built the S2000 from 1999 to 2009, so Porsche's target has been out of production for 17 years. Instead of using one of its own GT cars, Porsche looked outside its lineup to a Honda. Honda had developed the S2000's six-speed specifically for that car rather than borrowing an existing gearbox.MecumThe S2000's shifter is known for very short throws and a direct, mechanical feel, thanks to short metal linkages. Each gear change feels precise and solid, which is why enthusiasts still treat it as the benchmark for how a manual should shift.Farah found both the clutch and the shifter in the S/C very light. He also said the Porsche's gearbox does feel a lot like the Honda's, which shows the benchmarking paid off.Mecum The S2000 cost roughly $32,000 when it launched in the US, a fraction of the S/C's $273,000 starting price. Porsche's engineers still saw the Honda as the right target for a car that costs more than eight times as much. While a used S2000 today is currently worth $35,000 on average.Farah did conclude his review of the S/C suggesting that it is "The best $200k car that $400k can buy". But interestingly, Robb Report had a different experience, finding that the S/C's small shifter needs a firm push between gears. A Heavy Clutch Keeps Even Great Porsches In The Garage Farah offered some perspective from his own experience driving a manual Porsche. He owns a 718 Spyder with a 4.5-liter flat-six with upgrades from DeMan Motorsport that makes 565 hp. Handling that much power required a heavier clutch, which Farah calls a necessary compromise.That clutch is the main reason the Spyder sometimes stays in the garage. Farah said that most of the times he chooses not to drive it come down to the clutch, because his knees are in bad shape and a heavy pedal hurts.TheSmokingTire via Instagram The S/C's clutch is very light, and Farah said getting stuck in traffic in one wouldn't bother him at all. He compared it to driving an Integra Type S, with a clutch that's easy to press but still has good feel. Since the S/C's flywheel is lightweight, that does make it easier to stall.Farah believes he would drive the S/C more than his Spyder, not less. He already asked his dealer about getting one to replace the Spyder, and the dealer didn't say no.Sources: The Smoking Tire Podcast, Honda, Classic