Changing gears has become a victim of changing times, and the latest news from Aston Martin is sad news for many driving enthusiasts. Relatively recently Aston said it would be the last carmaker to give up on manual transmissions, but the company has now announced it’s preparing to retire the clutch pedal for good.
The number of cars of all makes being sold with manual gearboxes is falling as drivers increasingly favour automatics and automatic-shifting dual clutch transmissions. And often there is no manual transmission option available, either because the car maker thinks there isn’t enough demand to justify the development work, or because the car is an EV, which often have just one fixed ratio.
It’s still easy to order an affordable new car with a manual gearbox. Because it’s more expensive to equip a car with an automatic transmission than a manual, carmakers make an auto gearbox an option to keep the base price as competitive as possible.
But step up to big horsepower sports cars and supercars and go looking for a DIY gearbox and your options become extremely limited. Porsche still offers a manual on its Boxster, Cayman and 911, but Ferrari and Lamborghini haven’t offered one for years.
So many enthusiasts were cheering when former Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer said Aston was in no rush to follow the trend, and would in fact be the last carmaker not to offer customers the choice of both a manual and an automatic transmission.
Unfortunately his successor, ex-AMG CEO, Tobias Moers didn’t agree, and recently told Australian website motoring.com.au that the company’s sole manual gearbox option, which is available on the entry level Vantage sports car, would be phased out when the model is updated for 2022.
“We did a few assessments – you don’t need it anymore,” Moers told Australian journalists. “And you have to maintain it with the new regulations, year-by-year with the emissions because it’s a bespoke powertrain. It makes no sense.”
That’s sad news, but as Moers went on to point out, one of the biggest drivers is that Aston buyers “overwhelmingly” prefer automatics.
Keyword: "No More Manual Gearboxes" Says New Aston Martin Boss