These Luxury Sports Cars Kick It Old-School With Manual Transmissions
The manual transmission is dying. That’s especially true in the luxury sports cars segment. Unfortunately, it’s just a fact of life for sports coupes and other cars. You see, modern dual-clutch and automatic transmissions can move gears far faster than your hands and feet. However, if you like rowing your own, no matter how slowly, there’s still a few special vehicles out there with a stick if you have the coin.
What sports cars are still manual?
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For starters, you can in fact get a BMW with a manual transmission. Hell, you can get a few BMW models with a good ol’ six-speed gearbox. However, the pinnacle of that is the BMW M2 and its sportier variant, the M2 CS. While this doesn’t necessarily fit into the “luxury sports cars” niche, the M2 is simply too good a car to leave off the list.
For starters, it’s the spiritual successor to the E46 M3, a personal favorite of mine. By that I mean it’s small, makes strong power for its size, and comes with a manual transmission. Journalists the world over have heralded it for its razor-sharp handling and fantastic driving engagement; both things that scream “stick-shift sports car.” Oh, also 444 hp.
There will be no manual Genesis G70 in 2022
Now, this is truly one of the unsung heroes of the luxury sports cars segment. The Genesis G70 is one of the last of the rear-wheel-drive manual transmission-equipped sports sedans. Of course, the BMW M3 does offer a manual transmission, but not for this kind of price. You can get a G70 on the road for under $50,000.
You’ll also be getting Brembo brakes and a limited-slip differential. Moreover, you get to be cooler than all the other kids by having a stick luxury car. Now that’s an idea that hasn’t been commonplace since the ’90s. However, I should note that MotorTrend found the G70 in stick flavor to be somewhat lacking, even with a somewhat healthy 252 hp.
The 2021 Porsche 911 still has a manual transmission
To the surprise of no one, Porsche is happy to sell you a manual. In fact, were I a betting man, I’d be willing to stick my neck out and say the company will find a way to make a stick EV if it means #savingthemanuals. You can get just about every flavor of 911 with a manual, from a base Carrera (for an eye-watering $100K), all the way up to the 500 hp GT3.
No matter what, consumers are still spoiled for choice when it comes to luxury sports cars with a manual transmission. Unfortunately, the “luxury” part of that statement (and price tag) means that the rest of us filthy commoners will have to wait for depreciation to do its dirty work to get our hands on a new stick car. Go buy a WRX I guess.
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