Quote:
Originally Posted by antman22
i agree, for the avg joe, the difference isn't that significant, but these cars start on the track first. in the track, hundredths & tenths, not seconds make the difference.
the technology that comes from the track trickles down to the [rich] avg joe in the italia458's, gallardos, etc. For ferrari or lambo or any other exotic company to continue to make manuals & autos instead of streamlining their efforts into a single system means more cash spent on something that doesn't make them faster on the track.
will the elimination frustrate the public consumer market? sure, for awhile. will that cause them to stop buying them? nope. i'm sure it wasn't an easy decision for each company, but ultimately, they have to pay attention to the dollars and cents of the company and what will be good for them in the future in terms of their racing heritage. technology plays such a huge role in automotives now, so it was just a matter of time before they made the manual inferior.
it could be really amusing if tuning shops start figuring out ways to retrofit future sports cars with a proper shifter and clutch....just some food for thought.
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actually if i'm not mistaken lamborghinis are entirely developed on the street, not on the track or in race car series. but yeah you make a good point that i did think about, which is the cost of developing 2 different transmissions for a car model. on the other hand however, the manual transmission has evolved very little in the last half a century or so. it is still a very basic mechanical device, so it really shouldn't cost much to develop and manufacture. you're right though, most of the rich playboys who buy these cars just want the latest technology. the problem though is the trickle down effect. almost everything that starts as exotic and high priced technology eventually trickles down to cheaper more affordable cars. it may not be long before you find dual clutch gearboxes in civics and corollas and the like. and then of course you can kiss the manual transmission goodbye.