The replacement for the Lamborghini Gallardo, which should arrive in the next two years, will not offer a traditional manual transmission, the company’s CEO Stephan Winkelmann told us at the Frankfurt auto show. The company’s recently launched Aventador supercar is sold only with a seven-speed single-clutch automated manual and the Gallardo’s successor will feature a similar system—if not a variant of the very same transmission. If it does get a unique gearbox, it’s still unclear whether the replacement for the Gallardo will use a single- or dual-clutch trans. We’d put our money on a single-clutch, as Lamborghini claims that one benefit of the Aventador’s ISR (for Independent Shifting Rods) transmission having just one clutch is that it is 26 pounds lighter than a dual-clutch unit.
According to Winkelmann, Lamborghini hasn’t delivered a manual-equipped Gallardo in more than a year. “If we receive an order for a manual Gallardo now, I would want to see that order on my desk,” he says, jokingly. “I’d have to make sure it wasn’t a mistake.” As far back as seven years ago, only about 15 percent of Gallardos were sold with regular ol’ stick shifts.
Ferrari has ceased offering manual gearboxes in any of its products, and McLaren’s new MP4-12C also puts power to the ground through a self-shifting transmission. Looks like we need more Save the Manuals! operatives in the halls of super-exotica.
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