Another casualty.
Audi has just announced that it will no longer offer a manual transmission option for the 2014 model year of the R8 if Car Magazine is to be believed. And there really is no reason why they shouldn’t because it seems manual transmission options are dying off faster than support for Mayor Peter Kelly (that’s a Halifax reference for all you non-Haligonians).
Likely the reason for the omission is due to an unfortunate disinterest from most R8 customers to spec their new Audi with a third pedal. Curious, since manual transmissions are pretty synonymous with performance (at least with purists). The R8 can be described as nothing but a brilliant performance car. However the fact of the matter is, most automatic DSG transmissions can shift faster and more smoothly than you ever could. This certainly is an advantage on the track, however with the R8 being able to handle daily driver duties quite well, I personally would rather row my own gears while blasting through the countryside bends.
Another thing the 2014 R8 will not have is the signature side-blade.
Guess I’ll need to buy my R8 before 2014. Then again, Porsche still understands the joy of a performance machine mated to a manual transmission. I suppose I’ll be taking a 911 over an R8!
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