3 sports cars that offered a manual gearbox among their options and you may not have known it

Everyone knows that all kinds of new developments and technologies are arriving in the motoring world. Some of them we like more than others, but if there is one thing that is tending to disappear, it is undoubtedly the manual gearbox. This type of transmission is extremely rare among supercars and is only being kept as an option in city cars and compacts.

Today it is already difficult to find a modern saloon that lets us change gear manually. It is true that many automatic gearboxes – if not all – try to solve this problem with a sequential option, which lets us play with the gears of our vehicle using paddles located behind the steering wheel.

Lamborghini Murciélago SV LP-670-4

Today we bring you an article with a slightly nostalgic touch and, to do so, we are going to talk about three sports cars that are not that old and offered a manual gearbox among their options, though few people are aware of this fact. We will start with the one that will probably seem the strangest, the Lamborghini Murciélago SV LP-670-4.

It is true that the Lamborghini Murciélago was sold with a manual gearbox in its standard version but, when the SV went on sale, the commercial life of the fiercest bull was coming to an end and almost all the units were sold with the E-Gear automatic transmission. But the Italian firm took its most purist customers into account and offered as an option a six-speed manual gearbox for the most powerful Murciélago of all time.

Very few units were produced with this option and today they are worth considerably more than their automatic-gearbox sibling. Without a doubt, it must be an thrilling experience to have a 670 CV V12 engine under your command paired with a manual gearbox.

Ferrari California first generation

And from one Italian brand we move straight to another. The firm of the cavallino rampante also counts among its most recent vehicles a rara avis, namely the first-generation Ferrari California. The California was presented as a more rational and versatile vehicle, aimed at a younger audience.

But Ferrari had a similar line of thinking to that of Lamborghini and concluded that adding a manual gearbox to its younger sports car would give it even more exclusivity. The legendary metal-grille gearbox appeared in a handful of Ferrari California units, and there is no doubt that enjoying the sound of its naturally aspirated V8 with the top down and a manual gearbox must be wonderful.

Very few Ferrari California units had this option, and one of them was sold a few years ago for almost half a million dollars. But the Italians were not the only ones to have this peculiarity.

Porsche Panamera

It is true that Porsche currently offers several models with a manual gearbox, such as the 911 GT3, 911 Carrera T or the Cayman GT4. But the German firm also gave one of its other vehicles this type of transmission. We are referring to the quintessential saloon, the Porsche Panamera.

The first generation of the German saloon offered a six-speed manual transmission, alongside the impressive PDK. This allowed for a driving experience in which the driver and the vehicle are much more connected and, at the same time, the whole family could still be carried. The manual gearbox could be specified on the Panamera S, which offered 400 CV.

Without a doubt, this type of gearbox is missed in the latest sports cars but we must admit that automatic gearboxes are getting more and more impressive and offer incredible performance that lets us push our limits behind the wheel. Even so, we can always keep enjoying other vehicles with a similar concept, such as the the Mazda MX-5 we tested recently, which offers unique sensations. The extinction of the manual gearbox encourages us to enjoy this type of transmission even more.