7 Cars You'd Wouldn't Expect To Come With A Manual Gearbox Option
Aston Martin DB9
It’d be unthinkable to offer a luxury grand tourer like the DB9 with anything other than an automatic gearbox these days, but once upon a time Aston Martin’s gorgeous DB7 successor was indeed sold with a stick shifter. Pretty much no one bought one however, so unsurprisingly Gaydon dropped the manual option for the 2013 Virage-inspired facelift.
However, it went one step further by replacing the DBS - which could be optioned with a manual - with the auto-only Vanquish, and only giving the option of a seven-speed automated manual in the V12 Vantage S which superseded the boggo V12 Vantage. A step too far, some might argue - particularly in the case of the V12 Vantage S. Fortunately, Aston has since kindly fitted the V12 Vantage S with a manual.
BMW M5 (E60)
In pretty much every country in the world, you don’t get any transmission choice with the E60 M5: either you have the 5.0-litre V10 hooked up to a seven-speed SMG gearbox, or you choose another car. Except of course, if you live in the USA or Canada. Here, buyers were given the option of a six-speed manual, but it wasn’t popular - just 1364 stick-shifting E60 M5s were built.
BMW M5 (F10)
Despite switching to a slicker seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox for the F10 generation, the M5 continues to be offered with the option of a six-speed manual. As with the E60 version, you have to live in North America to take advantage of the rare phenomenon of a manual box F10 M5.
However, BMW M boss Frank van Meel told us earlier this year that demand for manual M5s has declined even further, meaning that the 4.4-litre V8-powered F10 will be the last M5 to be offered with anything other than an automatic.
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
Yep, it is possible to enjoy the 612bhp V12 in the 599 GTB while rowing through a glorious gated manual gearbox. But good luck finding one: the vast majority of 599s were fitted with Ferrari’s ‘F1’ semi-automatic, with just 30 manuals built worldwide. 20 went to the US, and the other 10 were spread across Europe.
The 599 was one of the last manuals Ferrari ever offered: all current cars from Maranello are fitted with seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions.
Ferrari California
The manual 599 GTB may be a rare beast, but it has nothing on the scarcity of the first-gen California’s manual population. Ferrari built - drumroll please - three. Yep, just three, only one of which resides in the UK.
We can see why: the California is supposed to be more of a look at me cruiser of a Ferrari. It’s not a Ferrari you buy with the intention of tearing up mountain roads, so the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic makes far more sense.
Unsurprisingly, Ferrari took note of the manual California’s savage unpopularity, and currently offers the second-generation ‘California T’ with the auto only.
Porsche Panamera
The idea of a manual Panamera just feels wrong. As a big, wafty saloon, we can’t see why you’d want one with three pedals. And yet, a few buyers decided that was exactly what they were after. An example we looked at a couple of weeks ago served as partial inspiration for this list, and is one of only two manual Panameras for sale in the whole country.
Unsurprisingly, the new Panamera is offered only as an automatic.
Porsche Cayenne
Since we’re on the subject of aesthetically dubious Porsches with logic-defying three-pedal arrangements, how about the Cayenne? We’ve managed to find more Cayenne manuals than Panameras, but since we’re talking about six out of almost 800 listed for sale on Autotrader, the manual Cayenne is still a spectacularly rare thing.
What other cars can you think of that had a ridiculously unpopular and relatively unknown manual option?
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Ferrari 599 manuals are upwards of £500,000. That’s 5 times the price of an auto 599.
Just looked up the 599’s in germany.
The Price Range is very funny, A red one with 7.000Km 599 with semi-auto cost around 155k€
The only manual thats offered, of course in red, costs with 36.000km around 390k€ :D
love the prices for Ferraris
That’s weird, a 2010 599 (although it is in black) with a manual that has about 5800 km costs about 202k euros, while a 2008 599 with the semi-auto, with about 9300 km costs 152k euros, geez what a difference, especially in the fact that this is all in America, that’s a scary difference of prices, although it could be because on the single website it looked on there were 5 manuals for sale.
What about the Lincoln LS? Sure, you couldn’t get the V8 with a clutch, but that was a Jaguar engine anyways and it wouldn’t work long enough to enjoy having a manual, which is a shame, they’re great cars when they work.
Is it only me who thinks these kinda looks like a BMW?
So guys at fast 7 just wasted money faking a manual db9 while they could just find and use a real manual one
I got it. Well played.
I actually had a manual first gen Cayenne S for a brief time, its a fantastic car, but I didn’t know they were so rare
Car enthusiasts just don’t really buy new cars. We are a small percentage of car owners, and an even smaller percentage of people that buy new cars.
It’s kinda funny when you see the amount of people crying “I wish they did a manual version” when they are never going to buy one new.
Maybe people forget that car makers only really make their money off the first owners.
I expect every car to have a manul option so its no surprise to me
I’ve seen a BMW X5 with a Manual, parked in BOSTON. Can’t help but think they were just visiting. Also can’t help but think they must have wanted an M5 or something roomy but still fun, only to be shot down by the wife, forced to go with extra-roomy and family oriented.
My 1990 Honda Accord LX has a manual. I haven’t looked up any production history, but I’ve never seen another manual Accord. Even the guys at my local Honda dealer were surprised when I called asking for a transaxle seal. I’m not sure if they actually are rare, but I really enjoy mine.
I’ve owned multiple Accords with a manual (mostly ‘88-‘94), didn’t realize it was such a rarity…
The Accord has always been offered with a manual. Can’t get three pedals in the V6 sedans anymore, but the four cylinder models and the Coupes (both I4 and V6) still offer six speed manuals.
Some of those I’ve known for awhile but the panamera and cayenne were definitely a shocker. And cmon, a manual DB9? Who doesn’t know about those, I’d absolutely expect them to be manual. In fact, I’ve never seen an automatic one!
Wow really? I have seen one manual DB9 ever, and it was for sale, used, at a Porsche dealer. That is the only manual DB9 I’ve ever seen out of maybe 20 DB9 sightings. V8 Vantages, on the other hand…..most of those here in NC seem to be manuals.