Lamborghini has thrown the motoring world a curve ball with a report that Sant'Agata will be leaving manual transmissions to the dinosaurs, just like Ferrari. According to Car and Driver, the decision was part of the company's commitment to increasing the overall fuel economy of its products – something the Raging Bull really hasn't had to bother with in the past. In addition to scrapping the third pedal, the company says it plans to build ever-lighter exotics, which means you can bet your pants there will be even more carbon fiber in Lambo's future line-up.

Don't expect to see any turbocharged Gallardos in the next few years, though. While automakers around the world may be strapping forced induction to their engines as a way to curb fuel consumption and maintain power, Lamborghini says it has no interest in playing with the extra psi. Instead, look for stop/start tech and cylinder deactivation to crop up over the next decade, as well as a mild-hybrid car and an E85-capable V10. The times? They are most definitely changing.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/29/r...no-forced-ind/

 

Personally, I believe that this is the best piece of news I've seen in this article:
leaving manual transmissions to the dinosaurs

Magnifico

 

NO MANUAL!!!! WTF!!!!!!!

 

well, like it or not that seems to be the trend anyway. unfortunate imho, but if they look for best performance (here they say fuel economy), can't beat computer. i was driving smg and dct all day long at the bmw m school, i can totally see how computer controlled cars are simply faster and more precise. when i want the speed, that's easily my choice. though when i am on the road, my m3 just seems to be more fun

 

Well the new Superleggera already weighs under 3,000lbs with an AWD system. I say they are on the right track. Just thinking about the next Lambos that weigh around 3,000 lbs and have over 700hp gets me all hot and bothered.

Not surprised about ditching manuals. IMO its a damn shame, but something some will have to get used to and I'm not looking forward to it. Once BMW gets rid of manuals, I may cry.

 

If you guys want manual trannies, get a motorcycle.

 

i got no problems with everything going auto. Automatics are getting faster than manuals in terms of changing gears anyways.

 

not always. depends on the car. Take a supra for instance.

2 turbo supras, both have the stock 2jz, one auto, one manual.

The auto will be faster if the driver can drive worth a lick. MOST automatics take a good second to shift gears, if not more. A good driver can do it alot faster.

Now if you are paying 250,000+ for a car, and its got an auto, it had better be able to shift faster than i can.

 

there, fixed it for ya

 

Haha, nice switch there

 

mmm a mild hybrid Lambo sounds interesting

 

Nice

 

A mild hybrid Lambo, sounds dumb to me. Reduction in weight is nice but I don't care how fast a computer can shift gears. A Auto takes the fun out of driving a sports car.

 

to be fair, a lot of these "auto" setup, they are actually manual transmission underneath (or two, in the case of say dct), but the computer is doing all the clutch work for you. if done right, they shift VERY fast. and i mean it, very

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_time

on a normal nowadays ferrari, that's about 150ms, and it's way faster than human already.

 

Don't get me wrong, the computer controlled auto is faster, but the traditional manual represents a true linkage between driver and machine. In my mind, there's no other way to drive a true sports car. Its a shame, but it was inevitable, just wished they would keep making them till I could afford one...