British marque Aston Martin has made an official promise that it will be the last sports car brand to offer a manual transmission, according to a report by Car and Driver. More than that, don’t expect Aston Martin cars to get a dual-clutch transmission any time soon.
“I’ve already gone on the record saying I want to be the last manufacturer in the world to offer a manual sports car,” said Aston Martin CEO, Andy Palmer. He also said that he’s not a fan of dual-clutch automatic gearboxes due to their added weight and sophistication, as “they can’t do anything that a well-tuned automatic can’t.”
Meanwhile, there are also plans for a seven-model range. With the recent introduction of the DB11, the next model that will see a replacement is the V8 Vantage, which is due in 2017. The replacement model will be the first to use the AMG-sourced biturbo 4.0 litre V8 engine, while an eight-cylinder DB11 might be introduced later.
Following that, a successor to the Vanquish is slated for an introduction in 2017, along with the DBX crossover which will begin production in 2020. Elsewhere, the brand plans to launch three more models alongside the cars mentioned – a new Rapide, Lagonda and Vulcan, maybe?
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Hidup manual!
“they can’t do anything that a well-tuned automatic can’t.”?
Good move!