[RahulNagaraj]

Aston Martin has confirmed that they will phase out the manual transmission from its entire product lineup by 2022.



Speaking to Australian media, Tobias Moers, CEO, Aston Martin stated that the company will phase out the manual transmission-equipped V8 Vantage AMR, ahead of the arrival of its facelift next year. The announcement comes despite a previous commitment by former CEO Andy Palmer.



Palmer, the former CEO of the British carmaker, had plans to continue offering manual transmission across Aston Martin's product range. He had even stated that Aston Martin would be the last manufacturer in the world to offer manual sports cars. The company had also planned a manual gearbox equipped Aston Martin Vanquish in 2022, which has since been cancelled.



However, Moers stated that after a few internal assessments, it became clear that maintaining a manual gearbox with the year-on-year changing regulations "made no sense". Moers also stated that Aston Martin customers overwhelmingly prefer automatic transmissions.



Aston Martin is now the latest performance car brand to abandon manual transmission. It joins the list which also includes Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG. However, other rival brands like Porsche and BMW M continue to offer manual transmission options on their products. These include the new Porsche 911 GT3 and the BMW M3 and M4.

Source: Motoring.com.au

Link to Team-BHP news

[SSO]

This is being driven by the move to full Mercedes supplied powertrains.

[GTO]

Even in the sports car world, ATs are now the preferred choice. I remember the CEOs of Ferrari & Porsche both stating that almost nobody asks for an MT transmission anymore, so why make one then? All those engineering resources & effort could be better used elsewhere.

I am personally too a full-on MT to AT convert. Merely 16% of BHPians remain purely MT fans (The 2017 Poll: Manual vs Automatic Gearbox).

[SSO]

Originally Posted by GTO

Even in the sports car world, ATs are now the preferred choice. I remember the CEOs of Ferrari & Porsche both stating that almost nobody asks for an MT transmission anymore, so why make one then? All those engineering resources & effort could be better used elsewhere.

I am personally too a full-on MT to AT convert. Merely 16% of BHPians remain purely MT fans (The 2017 Poll: Manual vs Automatic Gearbox).

While its true that the major of buyers don't request the MT these days, every time Porsche etc does a special MT limited 911 run, it sells out immediately.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by SSO

While its true that the major of buyers don't request the MT these days, every time Porsche etc does a special MT limited 911 run, it sells out immediately.

They're not sold out because it's manual. They're only sold out because it's a limited edition model with a potential to retain or even appreciate in value.
Else just look at the sales numbers of the regular Porsche 911s.

[jeeplife_newbie]

Originally Posted by SSO

While its true that the major of buyers don't request the MT these days, every time Porsche etc does a special MT limited 911 run, it sells out immediately.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

They're not sold out because it's manual. They're only sold out because it's a limited edition model with a potential to retain or even appreciate in value.
Else just look at the sales numbers of the regular Porsche 911s.

Completely agree with Turbohead here, these people that buy the limited runs of Porsche do so looking at the monetary value and future appreciation. No doubt, they are amazing products given they are Porsches but still, I don’t think that’s the primary reason. A good comparison would be the gated manual Ferraris. The clunking sound that they make when you shift is subliminal, but the values they fetch over their AT counterparts shows that they have moved from the enthusiast realm to the collectors realm.

Sure a manual is fun and more engaging to drive, but they can’t beat the performance of an automatic like the Porsche PDK.

[SSO]

Originally Posted by jeeplife_newbie

Completely agree with Turbohead here, these people that buy the limited runs of Porsche do so looking at the monetary value and future appreciation. No doubt, they are amazing products given they are Porsches but still, I don’t think that’s the primary reason. A good comparison would be the gated manual Ferraris. The clunking sound that they make when you shift is subliminal, but the values they fetch over their AT counterparts shows that they have moved from the enthusiast realm to the collectors realm.

Sure a manual is fun and more engaging to drive, but they can’t beat the performance of an automatic like the Porsche PDK.

Based on my experience what sold the 911R was the fact that it was a manual. I have. number of friends who ordered it specifically for that reason. While the collectability is nice, it was far more about the enjoyment to drive.

Not all customers are speculators.

[jeeplife_newbie]

Originally Posted by SSO

Based on my experience what sold the 911R was the fact that it was a manual. I have. number of friends who ordered it specifically for that reason. While the collectability is nice, it was far more about the enjoyment to drive.

Not all customers are speculators.

Of course, for the 911R, it was one of the factors that made it a more raw and visceral driving experience, which was the main pitch behind that car, but the future appreciation prospects also did help. I am not saying that Porsches sell only because of the money factor, they are all great cars which, I don’t know how, keep getting better with each generation, but in my opinion, today the manual enthusiast has just become a vocal minority as compared to the collectors, that prefer the manual for its future value, and the other customers, that just want the fastest thing out there.

[SSO]

Originally Posted by jeeplife_newbie

Of course, for the 911R, it was one of the factors that made it a more raw and visceral driving experience, which was the main pitch behind that car, but the future appreciation prospects also did help. I am not saying that Porsches sell only because of the money factor, they are all great cars which, I don’t know how, keep getting better with each generation, but in my opinion, today the manual enthusiast has just become a vocal minority as compared to the collectors, that prefer the manual for its future value, and the other customers, that just want the fastest thing out there.

The guys that want the fastest thing out there and can afford it, stopped by Porsches a while ago. They all moved to McLarens. No other road car comes close to touching a Senna on the track.

[gt3t0uring]

On one hand we have Aston Martin ditching MT on the other we have Porsche.https://www.thedrive.com/news/39478/...l-transmission Although that is only for the US, there's still a ray of hope for the manual transmission to live on.

[landcruiser123]

Gone are the days when ATs were slow and power-sapping. For the last 10+ years, we've been seeing sophisticated ATs which can shift much faster than MTs even in mass-market cars.

So, no surprise that AM decided to abandon the MT, especially considering EVs are round the corner. The premium brands can make fancy EVs and charge ridiculous $$$ to their rich customers.

[jeeplife_newbie]

Originally Posted by SSO

The guys that want the fastest thing out there and can afford it, stopped by Porsches a while ago. They all moved to McLarens. No other road car comes close to touching a Senna on the track.

Agreed, but there is still a brand value to names of Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, etc. that McLaren is still to achieve. They do have some cars like the F1 or the P1 that have that value but the brand as a whole has still to get there, and their reliability issues certainly don’t help them. Anyways, feel like we are going off topic now. I think ATs are the future for performance cars, but only Porsche seems to be the one that will continue building manuals for the enthusiast, for the time being.