DB10 Manual Transmission in James Bond: Spectre

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I can’t believe such a limited and specific car from a high performance luxury brand would make the car in a manual transmission; well at least that’s what it looks like in the video. Aston Martins powerful V12 used to be matted to a manual transmission and last time that was seen in James Bond was the DBS in Casino Royale. The last car to have it was the V12 Vantage. However, I’m unsure if this car will have a v8, turbo v8, or v12. However, I’m glad to see the filmmakers convinced Aston to build this car, hopefully it will make innovators realize the digital/non-mechanical movement in cars isn’t all that great.

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Aston to Geneva

With the Geneva Auto Show coming up I’m very surprised by Aston Martin pushing another tuned/track version of its Vantage line. Out of all the current Aston’s I’ve always loved the Vantage; especially when they coupled it with the V12 from the DB9.

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This new version will be called the GT3 and will mimic their Gran Touring cars. It looks as though it will be street legal and might “compete” with Porsches famed track ready superstar the…..GT3….. Even though I’m not too sure on the design, mostly on the choice of the rear spoiler, I’m glad this Aston is still being reworked in multiple ways…..hopefully they will keep the manual transmission in the Vantage line up too.

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Manually Getting There.

So I composed a list for North American car manufacturers offering a manual transmission in their line up. I found a lot of interesting things when searching through different car web pages, especially gaudy flair.

The Alfa Romeo webpage was by far the most confusing of them all. I tried to get a simple spec sheet that took me more than 6 minutes to find, I should have been paid for fanyarin’ that kazi. Porsche also has too many options for their cars that they fail in giving a clean webpage to properly choose and differentiate between the options. Honestly, if you are getting a brand new Porsche, find a dealership and let them help you with those choices. The easiest page was Scion, nothing flashy and quite simple to understand and build my car.

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Few surprises were with Audi only having manuals for its A4, A5, and R8 lines, this includes S models. They had the easiest and cleanest web configuration when building a car out of the other luxury brand vehicles. Volkswagen also shares parts with the A3 through the A6 models, so I was surprised that the A3 didn’t have a manual transmission standard/option, yet all Volkswagen’s do. With the release of the new Lamborghini Huracan I won’t be surprised if the new R8 V10 loses the manual option too.

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The three Japanese luxury brands have essentially phased out all manual transmissions in their line up. I know Acura is now officially overseen by U.S. management as of the beginning of this year, so I’m not sure if the ILX will even remain a manual. Infiniti hasn’t released its official Q60 coupe since it shares engines with the Fairlady Z and Lexus decided the IS models don’t need manuals anymore.

For the American brands, Ford had options on almost all their sedans and coupes besides the Taurus. Chevrolet and Dodge also had a great line-up for a manual transmission package on their cars. As for  luxury U.S. cars, Buick and Cadillac had at least one or two options performance cars with manual options.

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Lotus, Porsche, and Subaru were my all time favorites. They still offer manuals as standard and their line-up’s were amazing. The BMW range disappoints me, it looks like they are slowly trying to let go of the manual. However I’m glad the M6 and M5 still have that option available.

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Pretty 2012

#2 Aston Martin DBS Carbon

OK how can a pretty car become prettier than it was before?! Well simple sprinkle some carbon fibre over it and watch it become prettier. I swear this is one of my all time favorite cars. Aston Martin definitely reinvented itself with the DB9 and made an even greater comeback with the DBS.  Its great to see Aston still has a few tricks up its sleeve.  The sprinkles of carbon fibre are found on the exterior (diffusers & mirrors) and interior dash. Custom diamond spun wheels  for the carbon edition as well as a paint job that literally takes 27 hours to finish as well as 7 coats of paint! My only problem with this car is that a manual transmission wasn’t offered for this edition.

 

Engine: 5.9L V12

Power & Torque: 510 HP & 420 ft-lbs

0-60: 4.3 seconds

Top Speed: 191 mph

Price: $ 287,576 (1in 25)

Tires: 245/35F 295/30R

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Pretty 2012

#5 Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster

So pretty

The v12 Vantage is one of my favorite cars in the world with another can from Aston Martin as well that will be on this list as well. Its shape, style, and powerful engine make it look like a sleeper Aston Martin–if thats even possible–driving on the street. Everything about this car is remarkable and I’m glad Aston Martin reshaped their brand to bring back cars we always loved. I’m not a big fan of roadsters, except for the S2000 and other select few cars; but I can live with the V12 Vantage it looks good. 

Engine: v12 -5935cc DOHC frontmid longitudinal

Power&Torque:  510 bhp/ 420 ft.lbs

0-60: 4.4 sec

Top Speed: 190 mph

Price: $~195,000

 

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