Aston Martin has long promised to be the last bastion of hope for gifting manual-shift sports cars to the world. That seemed less likely with the new Aston Martin Vanquish going mid-engined, but it sounds like we may not need to worry just yet.
Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer was asked directly by Australian site CarSales.com.au whether or not two of the recently announced mid-engine Aston Martin cars would get a manual. Here’s what they got from him:
In an exclusive interview with carsales, Palmer revealed the British Ferrari F8 Tributo and McLaren 720S rival would carry a true point of difference into the future.
“I’ve already made a commitment that I want to be the last manufacturer in the world to offer manual sports cars and I want to honour that commitment,” Palmer said.
Asked if the forthcoming Valhalla hypercar would get a manual too, the Aston boss clarified his earlier statement by saying: “no, now that car will only come with a paddleshift transmission”.
As a quick refresher, Aston Martin has three mid-engine cars in the pipeline. The top-tier is the 1,160 horsepower V12 Valkyrie hypercar, then there’s the recently named mid-tier hybrid-V6 Valhalla supercar rumored to make around 1,000 hp, and then at the bottom of the pyramid is the upcoming regeneration of the Vanquish into a mid-engine car.
CarSales is reporting it as confirmation, but Palmer’s answer wasn’t exactly a promisingly direct “yes.” I take it as more of a, “we’ll see.” We still don’t have a ton of details about the new Vanquish, but it’s nice to hear that Aston Martin is at least considering offering a manual, according to the CEO himself.
Did we ever expect to get a new manual mid-engine car? Could this be real? Am I opening my heart to the possibility of extreme heartbreak? Hell yeah I am.