The Aston Martin’s Flagship Vantage Bucks the Trend

In the increasing trend for supercars and luxury sports cars, to incorporate automatic paddle shifts in favour of manual gear boxes,  Aston Martin has tactically chosen to buck the trend by installing a seven speed manual gearbox into the V12 Vantage S. This decision comes as part of the aspiration to keep giving drivers “a more analogue and immersive machine to enjoy”.

According to Aston Martin’s product development director Ian Minard ‘‘We understand the importance of tradition”. While Aston Martin has not stopped to embrace technological innovations and continues to push the known edges of motoring mechanics, there is still a desire to give true motoring enthusiasts the tactility and connection that comes with a manual transmission.

The Aston Martin’s new 7 speed manual gearbox features a first gear that is positioned in a ‘dog leg’ arrangement, somewhat like an upside down ‘L’, to the left and down. While the rest of the gear’s are in the traditional ‘H’ arrangement. The gearbox will also feature an automatic throttle-blipping software on downshifts so that the car will have extra oomph on acceleration, a feature that is bound to impress unsuspecting passengers. Previously this flagship Vantage was only available with a Sportshift III’ paddle-shift automated manual gearbox, that will still continue to be available besides the new manual option.

According to Minards, this new model comes at a time “ when manual transmissions have almost entirely disappeared in high performance cars, this makes the manual V12 Vantage S a very special car indeed”. Furthermore, Aston Martin has no intention to wind up their production of manual gearboxes, but rather hope that this model will indicate to motoring enthusiast everywhere, a dedication to keep producing supercars that are able to deliver a more intense driving experience.