Friday, July 8, 2011

No More Manuals

2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni (Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit)
Take a good virtual look at it, cuz this is the last Lamborghini you'll ever see with a manual stick. Motor Trend recently sat down with Lamborghini's R&D Director Maurizio Reggiani and he told them that the manual stick doesn't seem to fit the future of Lamborghini.
"Basically, we want our cars to be fast, and the best way to deliver this is to remove the human element from the gearchange equation." - Maurizio Reggiani, Lamborghini R&D Director
The Gallardo's replacement, the Cabrera, is expected next year and will only be available with a 6 or 7-speed E-Gear similarly used in the Aventador LP700-4. So, with Lamborghini officially out of the manual business, does this mean the end for the hairy-chested stick shift? Not yet, at least that's what Porsche thinks. 

Porsche's 7-Speed Manual Stick
This is their new 7-Speed manual stick which will be available in the new 2013 Porsche 911 (991). They still believe the stick is alive, but that's just them. BMW's new M5 F10 will have a 6-speed stick as an option, but they'd prefer if customers bought it with the new 7-speed Dual-Clutch Transmission. Whatever the case may be, it seems that science has overtaken raw power when it comes to gearshifts and speed.

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