You'll find that the GT3 manual box is one of the very best ever made in any car and a real joy to use. There's also a good spread of torque so don't need to change gears all the time to be on the boil
Have you considered a 996 GT3? Obviously older and not as nice inside, but likely to be depreciation proof and possibly more rewarding to drive, depending on what you like. Definitely more raw than a 997
