5 cars you didn't know were offered with a manual transmission

"Awedgar" (Awedgar) 09/05/2013 at 11:33 • Filed to: None

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With the impending death of the third pedal, let's look at five obscure cars you didn't know were sold with a manual, most of them in Europe.

Jaguar XJR

The Jaguar XJR X306 built in the mid-1990s, was Jaaaag’s first supercharged roadcar, and featured a straight six good for 326hp. This e34 M5 fighter was mostly optioned with the automatic, but a good old manual was offered. This understated yet muscular sedan could sprint to 60mph in approximately 5.8 seconds with the manual. So with a supercharged straight six, rear wheel drive and three pedals, and very low used prices in Europe, this is one underdog of the super sedan market.

Mercedes ML

Aaah the ML Mercedes. Designed to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , used to ferry SoCal housewives to yoga practice. Nevertheless, adding a trio of pedals does give it some off-street cred. However, the manual was only available with the very entry level ML230, powered by four measly cylinders and 150HP, good for a 12 second 0-60 time. Won’t be able to catch a T-rex with that, but maybe a limping brontosaurus.

Volkswagen Phaeton

The Volkswagen Phaeton is a car that one would think enthusiasts would hate, but actually love. This is most likely due to three reasons 1. It’s rare and therefore cool 2. It is over engineered like nearly no other car and 3. You can ‘make tea’ in the backseat without the windows fogging up. The fact that there is a rare manual version makes it all the more desirable. The 6 speed is only available with the 3.2 V6, and unfortunately without the 4motion system. That’s right, the manual phaeton is wrong wheel drive, aka front wheel drive.

Ferrari California

There was a time when an automatic transmission was unthinkable in a Ferrari, and all were offered with a manual. Now, it's the opposite. The Ferrari California is the last Ferrari that gave the customers the option of ordering it with a manual. The last of a dying breed indeed. Can you guess what percentage of those Californias were optioned with three pedals? Less than 1%.

BMW E38 7 series

The BMW e38 7 series was probably the most elegant and accomplished 7 series ever made, using as reliable metric how many 90s movies it was featured in. Tomorrow Never Dies, The Game, The Transporter, the list goes on. A manual was fairly common in Europe with the 728i 6 cylinder, but the V8 manuals are more rare and much cooler. The 730i and 735i aren’t too hard to find, but the much more desirable 740i is the way to go. Equipped with 3 pedals, it can achieve 60mph in about 6 seconds.

Jagvar > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 11:55

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The Phaeton actually loses a lot of its Phaeton-ness in the lowest V6 trim. For example, these are the seats that are standard in the V8 and up. But the standard V6 seats (like those in the picture you've posted) are considerably more spartan.

Awedgar > Jagvar 09/05/2013 at 12:03

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True, there's even a few used Phaetons in Europe with cloth seats!

Rob Evans > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 13:56

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Interesting post. I love me some manual gearboxes, but it very much depends on the vehicle, intended use, and the quality of the gearbox.

So many jaloppers complain about everything being offered with automatic only, but these are the gearboxes that get all of the development and best suit the drivetrain. Just because there is a 6spd manual version doesn't mean it'll feel like an s2000 6spd.

Case in point - E60 m5, 6spd offered, does not match characteristics of the car much and ratios are a poor match for such a peaky engine. 7spd DCT, fantastic to flog. Sure it sucks in traffic, but that's for another post.

Awedgar > Rob Evans 09/05/2013 at 13:59

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Agreed; I think us enthusiasts tend to romanticize manual transmissions a bit, and although I prefer 3 pedals most of the time, it doesn't make sense in all cars

feather-throttle-not-hair > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 14:50

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I'm not sure any of these save the California are available with an M/T in the states. I remember looking for some time for a m/t 7 series.

Awedgar > feather-throttle-not-hair 09/05/2013 at 15:52

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Yeah unfortunately they aren't. I know of several 740i that have had manual conversions, usually taken from an e39 540i as it's the same drivetrain and thus bolts on, and I've actually seen a couple on sale

Rory > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 16:19

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The Landrover Discovery 3/ LR3 was available with a Manual. I remember learning to drive on my fathers 2005 TDV6 HSE.
Though it is nice to have a stickshift diesel big comfy cruiser , the gearshift is similar to those used on commercial vehicles.
So bloody floppy.

Wonk Unit > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 16:38

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I didn't know the California was available with a proper transmission! all these years i've been hating it for no reason!

Awedgar > Rory 09/05/2013 at 17:56

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Did not know about this! Pretty cool car to learn on nevertheless

Rory > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 18:37

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A brilliant car to learn clutch control on, plus it was weird that I was taught to drive off road before being let ON the road.

Atomic Buffalo > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 21:17

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Yes, but enthusiasts are not romanticizing the base-model-only dogs above. The BMW 7 is the only car on this list that isn't an insult to clutch pedal joy.

fintail > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 21:58

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I remember shocking someone with the fact that the MB W140 could be had with a manual:

And of course the W126:

Awedgar > Atomic Buffalo 09/05/2013 at 22:22

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XJR not your fancy?

Awedgar > fintail 09/05/2013 at 22:25

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heard about those two, pretty crazy. Especially when you consider a current S class with a manual..

fintail > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 22:30

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Funny to think about, esp W222. I can't imagine the older cars were much fun with a manual though, it was always in 6cyl models, and it's a big heavy not sporty car.

I see you mentioned cloth seats in a post too - W126 could be ordered with fairly plain cloth, and W140 could be had with velour - a very high grade velour, but it's a cloth.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Awedgar 09/05/2013 at 23:08

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In indonesia, all base model mercedes like C200, E250, B200, is come with..
Manual!

Too bad the S-Class is all automatic.

RiseVbove > Awedgar 09/06/2013 at 06:48

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The ML270 CDI with a Five-pot diesel was also available with a stick and 163 diesel hp ;)

Ce he sin > Rory 09/06/2013 at 07:35

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I came here to comment that you can still get a manual discovery only to run into a snag.

You can't. You get Herr ZF's eight speed automatic like it or not. Which truth be told would suit me just fine were I were in the market for something like this.

The Parts Guy > Awedgar 09/06/2013 at 08:51

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I know exactly where you got that Jaaagggggg

http://www.autoscout24.eu/Details.aspx?i…

Awedgar > The Parts Guy 09/06/2013 at 09:37

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Haha well done

Awedgar > RiseVbove 09/06/2013 at 09:38

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True, a friend of mine had it, sooo underpowered

The Parts Guy > Awedgar 09/06/2013 at 09:43

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Is this where you got the image for the phaeton?

http://www.tflcar.com/2013/06/modern…

Rory > Ce he sin 09/06/2013 at 10:02

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The Auto actually suits the Discovery better in my opinion , yes its fun to shift yourself on a big heavy boat like the Disco, but it is quite slow and cumbersome.
Its very rare here in Ireland to have a regular high spec model equipped with a 6 speed , the majority of the manual models seem to be base , commercial spec discovery Vans.

JJJenningsIII > Awedgar 09/06/2013 at 11:52

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M/T 740i's were sold in the states. A friend's father drove one when I was in middle school.

Blondude > Awedgar 09/06/2013 at 12:34

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Another note about the California. I think you're overstating it when you say less than 1% were sold with a manual. In fact, TWO were sold with manuals and you can't option it with a stick anymore. :(

Awedgar > JJJenningsIII 09/06/2013 at 12:36

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Must have been either converted to a manual, or imported from europe then; definitely positive they weren't sold in the states officially, otherwise I would have one :)

JJJenningsIII > Awedgar 09/06/2013 at 16:51

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Interesting...I did always think it was neat but was not super into BMW's at the time so I did not think twice about it.

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > Awedgar 09/19/2013 at 09:43

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The first generation Discos not only came in coupe flavor, but could be had with a stick. 4x4 5-speed 2-door V8 Powaaar! (When the Lucas liquid wire smoke reservoir was full, obvi.)