[Timpo]

Lamborghini Killing Manual Transmissions, But Who Cares?
By Nelson Ireson
Editor
July 8th, 2011

The demise of the manual transmission has been greatly exaggerated for years now, and continues to be, even as carmakers like Porsche tack on a seventh gear and Nissan sells its SynchroRev match system. At Lamborghini, however, the manual transmission appears to be done, with automated manuals, like the new ISR pictured below, the only offerings. But will anyone really care?

The news comes from an interview at Motor Trend with Maurizio Reggiani, head of R&D for Lamborghini, who characterizes the manual transmission as a disconnect in the otherwise electronic chain of command that "harmonizes absolutely everything that happens between the engine combustion chamber and the tire contact patch." Introducing the human error element means the system will never function as well as it could. That makes perfect sense, but what about the enjoyment drivers extract from handling the gears themselves?

That is unlikely to matter to any Lamborghini owners. As Motor Trend senior editor Jonny Lieberman noted on his Facebook page, "I asked a guy at Lambo Beverly Hills once how many manual Murcielagos they'd sold over ever. Answer: 1." That's right--over the whole model run of the Murcielago, the dealership sold just one with a manual transmission.

Given the speed and precision of the modern robotized manuals and dual-clutches out there, it's clear that the manual transmission is no longer the best solution for ultimate performance. All that stands in the way of the stick shift's complete elimination is the "purist" enthusiast who refuses to let go of that element of skill and control, or who simply enjoys the process. But that must be weighed against the overall experience of the car, taken through the lens of the manufacturer, and against real-world performance.

We understand the desire to drive a manual, but we can't say we're sad to see it go at Lamborghini--the bulls will still rage as hard as ever, perhaps even more so, as they continue to push the envelope of materials, performance, and technology as in the new Aventador.

[optiblue]

In race application, twin clutches are the future.
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[BillyBishop]

"We understand the desire to drive a manual..."


I'm slightly relieved to read that... it annoys the hell out of me when someone comes up to me and says "my DSG paddle shifters can shift faster than you can!":bla:facepalm:

[Energy]

With less and less cars offering a manual transmission and less and less people able to drive one it makes driving a stick just a bit more special for me.

[v.Rossi]

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/nejron/nejron0712/nejron071200012/2181382-six-speed-gear-stick-toned-in-blue-shallow-dof.jpg

forever loyal,

fun > performance. traffic will always suck.

[JqC]

^ Took the words right out of my mouth.

[monkeywrench]

forever loyal,

fun > performance. traffic will always suck.

You sir, speak the truth. Amen

[Qmx323]

lol... buddy of mine got into the drivers seat of my car

"dude how to do I get outta P?" :seriously:

[hk20000]

lol... buddy of mine got into the drivers seat of my car

"dude how to do I get outta P?" :seriously:

This is the part where you go :gtfo: and when he says "no dude I know how to drive stick" you go :stfu: And then you kick him out with :admin: Finally he gives in :okay:. And then you show him how it is done so he can :fulloffuck:

[Qmx323]

then he will be like :( while I'm like :fuckyea: rolling thru all :cool: and then everyone is :fuckthatshit:

[Grim]

went from 5speed to a auto... fucking hate my life everytime im in the car...

[Skyline350gt]

went from 5speed to a auto... fucking hate my life everytime im in the car...

Yo what car did you get now after the Celica?

[dangonay]

Can't dump the clutch in a DSG or SMG gearbox. Which means the potential for "hanging your ass end out in a corner" is greatly reduced. And anything that reduces your potential for "fun" sucks.

[lowside67]

Can't dump the clutch in a DSG or SMG gearbox. Which means the potential for "hanging your ass end out in a corner" is greatly reduced. And anything that reduces your potential for "fun" sucks.
Err no... with SMGIII in our M3, you get something better than dumping the clutch - launch control. :fullofwin: You of all people should know that hanging your ass out in the corner has nothing to do with a clutch unless you have a 75hp shitbox that needs a clutch kick to step out...

Mark

[taylor192]

People not being able to drive stick is going to kill it. Its getting harder and harder to find used cars with manuals. :(

[dangonay]

^ I do drive a shitbox, but it has 101 HP, TYVM.

I just don't like giving up one of the few things left to control in a car - the gear you're in and the application of power via the clutch.

In twenty years we'll be sitting behind the wheel while your car takes you from A to B. What kind of fun is that going to be? I say shame on Lamborghini for making a beast of a car and taking away the option for a driver to shift themselves. I guess this shows what the true demographic of a Lamborghini driver is these days - a poseur as opposed to an enthusiast.
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[1exotic]

I actually rage more with an auto than manual in traffic

[wstce92]

People always ask me; why do you drive stick? there's so much traffic in Vancouver, manual is so painful in traffic.
Maybe I'm not old enough yet, but the "ease" in traffic of an auto over a manual, to me at least, is marginal at best.

[EndLeSS8]

I guess this shows what the true demographic of a Lamborghini driver is these days - a poseur as opposed to an enthusiast.
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Unfortunately, that's so true that even Lamborghini admits it. Didn't you remember the commercial for the Gallardo a few years ago, when the guy driving around automatically saw the phone numbers of women on the street?

[ilvtofu]

People always ask me; why do you drive stick? there's so much traffic in Vancouver, manual is so painful in traffic.
Maybe I'm not old enough yet, but the "ease" in traffic of an auto over a manual, to me at least, is marginal at best.

+1 friends who are having a hard time learning always ask me how I DD with a manual in DT, but most of the time I don't even think about it. Honestly I don't think it's such a big deal on or off the track, making perfect shifts is nowhere near as satisfying as clipping apexes properly and cornering at high speeds.

[The_AK]

If you've driven manual anywhere outside of vancouver, you can do it here. On a sidenote, anyone else kinda disappointed need for speed hot pursuit doesnt have manual tranny mode?

[bloodmack]

this is why cars made in the 90's and early 2000's are the best cars ever made. stick shift, at its finest moment.

[Timpo]

this is why cars made in the 90's and early 2000's are the best cars ever made. stick shift, at its finest moment.

kind of off topic, but a lot of people say music that are made in that era are better than today's.

[shenmecar]

^

really off topic.

[cressydrift]

+1 friends who are having a hard time learning always ask me how I DD with a manual in DT, but most of the time I don't even think about it. Honestly I don't think it's such a big deal on or off the track, making perfect shifts is nowhere near as satisfying as clipping apexes properly and cornering at high speeds.

Correction,

Heel toe downshifting into corners perfectly, clipping apexes and exiting corner's at highspeed while up shifting like a boss is the most satisfying thing ever.

I don't care that the flappy paddle is seconds faster around a track. I drive for fun.
YouTube - ‪AE86 Katsuhiro Ueo Drift in 2000‬‏

^skip to 1:20

[lol]

That's really sad news.. the manual transmission is such a key element to the driving experience.. especially if you're purchasing an exotic! how the hell are you supposed to lay a patch or break out the ass end at any given time with a grandma enabled paddle shifter. I do love the idea of paddle shift. It's proven faster n all. It is a lot nicer if you're daily driving stuck in traffic everyday. But if you take your exotic out every weekend in the summer, most likely its a weekend cruise where the manual is no big deal.

I would definitely buy a manual exotic.

[rJZx]

I bet the next next generation of kids will shitalk stick shifts :facepalm:

[bloodmack]

kind of off topic, but a lot of people say music that are made in that era are better than today's.

best music is the late 80's/ early 90's. Todays music is meh. Theres still good music out there thats made today but the mainstream stuff is a hit and miss for me.

[v.Rossi]

I bet the next next generation of kids will shitalk stick shifts :facepalm:

I also bet they'll abuse plan b, and die killing each other one way or another.

Does anyone else find it sexy when a chick drives standard? I don't care if she stalls, least she's tryin!

[bloodmack]

chicks + standard transimission = hot

But I like it when they do it good, lol.

[dangonay]

kind of off topic, but a lot of people say music that are made in that era are better than today's.

^

really off topic.

Hell has frozen over, I finally agree with a Timpo post.

Though I'm not talking about the "style" of music since that's subjective. As someone who worked extensively in the music industry throughout the 80's (recording studios and FOH mixing) I find myself sick of all the shitty processing and "fixing" of modern music.

Although products like ProTools have brought editing and production to the home studio (and therefore, a lot of lesser-known musicians), it's also resulted in a lot of crap out there. It used to be when you listened to an album you could pick out slight mistakes here and there. You knew there was a musician that originally sat down and played the entire song through (probably several times) and they picked the best take.

If they made a big mistake, then the method to correct it required a bit of work. The musician would listen to the track they layed down and play along. The engineer would literally press "record" at the point where the "mistake" occurred and record the new portion live from the musician to replace the "bad" portion on the tape. This didn't always work and sometimes the "insertion" of the new part was so obvious that it just sounded better to leave minor mistakes in the recording than to try an do an "obvious" fix.

This type of "editing" required a significant amount of skill from recording studio engineers. This along with the skills of even a simple task like finding the best location for a microphone to achieve the sound you want (so many people today don't even understand the huge difference this can make). The attitude today is "just record the tracks and we can fix it later in ProTools".


To me this is exactly the same as electronic nannies on cars. What used to take a lot of skill is now replaced by computers. Sure the end result can be "perfect" but it's also sterile. Just like most modern recorded music.

[crazyazn]

Nothing can replace heel-toe downshifting into a corner

YouTube - ‪Race Car Driver & His Footwork‬‏

[Timpo]

Nothing can replace heel-toe downshifting into a corner

YouTube - ‪Race Car Driver & His Footwork‬‏ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klMur6TPkrM)not true,

The 370Z's synchro rev match is superior to this.

[rJZx]

^Yea but do you use a third pedal :troll:

[pk_volt]

meh... it's just a phase shift in generation.

People from the last generation will think music was better in the 90's. Same with cars.

People from today's generation will think today's music is better than what will come out in the next generation...

Sooner or later, they won't even have sequential/dual clutch gear changes. It'll be all computer controlled for optimized gear change for the fastest lap times...

[Qmx323]

oh god i drove my friends altima CVT


takes "slushbox" to a whole new level

[Energy]

You can argue that quartz watches are superior to mechanical/automatic watches because they keep time better and are more reliable. That is the purpose of a watch, to be able to reliably tell its user the time.

However, mechanical watches are sought after by enthusiasts even if they have to worn to keep them moving and even if they are less reliable. These people appreciate the precision of the watch's movement and the inner mechanisms that make the watch work.

It is the same with automatic vs manual transmissions. Automatic transmissions have reached the point where they are superior to manuals. For a car to be "better" it has to go faster reliably, that is its purpose, and the newer automatics serve this purpose better.

However, manual transmissions are sought after by enthusiasts even if they shift slower and are less reliable as no one can shift perfectly all the time. These people appreciate the connection afforded by a manual transmission. The mechanical link felt when rowing through the gears one after another. A perfectly executed rev-matched/heel-toe downshift is much more satisfying than just pulling a paddle. A driver is just so much more involved when there is a third pedal and he uses both feet.

Haha I feel like one of those older people that say things were better in the good old days :fullofwin:

[dangonay]

Haha I feel like one of those older people that say things were better in the good old days :fullofwin:

Some things were. I love new technology, but technology shouldn't replace everything.

- Modern fuel injection computers extracting the maximum HP out of an engine due to their precision in controlling fuel/spark = win.
- Having a car "drive itself" for you = fail.

[Fuhrër-Z]

For some people, the act of driving brings no enjoyment, ie people that are driving a prius. They aren't trying to get any type of experience out of driving aside from getting to Point A to B with A/C and a speaker system.

[Glove]

if automatics are so superior,

why is it you always see automatics being rebuilt all the fuckin time? all manufacturers, all models,

and they are twice as difficult to work on,

my civic has 330 thousand K's, manual transmission still rock solid,

ive never seen an auto tranny come close to approaching 300k

[Great68]

I don't know how a new computerized DSG or equivalent could EVER be considered more reliable than as an old fashioned manual. They're more complex, therefore more parts to break or go wrong.

I've never heard of a manual gearbox breaking from anything other than a manufacturing defect or serious abuse (IE Putting a stock Mustang T5 behind 500 horsepower).

[Stealthy]

Havent driven a manual car yet but I'm so interested in learning. Automatics boring, ugh.
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[Mancini]

Just after they release the "worlds most emotional gearbox". Interesting.

[dangonay]

I don't know how a new computerized DSG or equivalent could EVER be considered more reliable than as an old fashioned manual. They're more complex, therefore more parts to break or go wrong.

I've never heard of a manual gearbox breaking from anything other than a manufacturing defect or serious abuse (IE Putting a stock Mustang T5 behind 500 horsepower).
What makes them reliable is they don't make common mistakes that people do. They don't ride or abuse the clutch and they don't "slam" the shifter in the next gear.

Of course, this is offset by the greater number of parts so I think in the end there's not really much difference.