Why Did Lamborghini Drop Manuals?

"Victorious Secret" (victorioussecret)
03/07/2014 at 12:31 • Filed to: None

Chief engineer Maurizio Reggiani brought up the fact that just five percent of Gallardo orders were for a manual. Mid-sentence, he was interrupted by company CEO Stephan Winkelmann who commented that the 5 percent statistic was ancient. "Close to zero percent Gallardos were ordered in manual," he said.

From the horses mouth. You fanboys weren't buying them. See? Real people with real money weren't giving a damn about them anymore, so how can you expect the company to keep offering them?

In fact, orders for a manual transmission were so few and far between admits Winkelman that every time one came in they had to go back and re-check the order form, confirming with the dealership that a mistake hadn't been made.

Source

DISCUSSION (55)

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:32

THERE IS NO GOD

Victorious Secret > Brian Silvestro
03/07/2014 at 12:33

Thats because I haven't been promoted yet.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:33

Well duh. The people with the biggest motors for their mouths on this site recommend a used miata for EVERYTHING so obviously there's no money in being an enthusiast. Besides - think of how many miatas you could buy for the price of a single lambo? Why.....you might even buy one........new *GASP* *SHOCK* *AWE*

GhostZ > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:33

As long as there are cheap, used cars with Manuals, no one will buy expensive new cars with them in. That's the simple truth.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:33

From what I heard it was just below 2% of the orders were manual. Nobody with money in their pockets wants manual transmission in their cars. So like you say, it makes no sense to produce them.

Party-vi > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:34

Because money. People aren't buying Lamborghini's because they are triumphs of engineering or performance vehicles anymore. They're buying because they want to Instagram a picture of themselves with it and then park it.

Joe_Limon > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:34

Test drove a flappy paddle cvt yesterday... Saddest vehicle of my life.

Victorious Secret > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/07/2014 at 12:34

Buying a new Miata?

Please, no one on this site would dare do such a thing. They're too purist for that kind of nonsense.

Victorious Secret > Party-vi
03/07/2014 at 12:35

With 22" spinners, neon lights, and ejecto seatos cuz.

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:35

You keep what you kill

For Sweden > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:36

Because the valet at the country club can't drive manual.

Victorious Secret > Brian Silvestro
03/07/2014 at 12:36

So you're sanctioning the murder of Gamecat?

...

...

RazoE > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:37

Rich = / = Driving skills

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:38

..
....
......

Victorious Secret > Brian Silvestro
03/07/2014 at 12:38

Penis.

dogisbadob > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:40

It's funny how Kobe Bryant shook the world 10 years ago when he wanted an automatic on the Bat. And now they only come in automatic!

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:40

Kinja'd!!!

Victorious Secret > dogisbadob
03/07/2014 at 12:41

This just proves that Kobe is omniscient. He knew. He predicted.

Victorious Secret > Brian Silvestro
03/07/2014 at 12:42

Thats definitely not a penis.

ddavidn > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:47

Because we have no money. And if we did have money, we'd be lazy bastards and buy automatic Lamborghinis.

Just a theory.

McLarry > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/07/2014 at 12:54

That's crazy...You can't get a new NA these days.

MonkeePuzzle > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 12:55

the issue is that we lowly folks can only afford one Doug Demuro style, when they are older. So we need the rich (lazy) folks to order manuals so we can buy them later.

Sad, but you can't fault the company for not appealing to less than one percent of the 1 percenters

MonkeePuzzle > Joe_Limon
03/07/2014 at 12:55

wait, if its a CVT what are the paddles changing?

Joe_Limon > MonkeePuzzle
03/07/2014 at 12:59

Simulated gear ratios. Honestly I would have preferred a smooth ratio adjustment, and have it change the ratio relative to the force put into the paddle.

DatBomb > For Sweden
03/07/2014 at 13:01

if i had a lambo, no valet would touch it no matter what transmission is in it.

DatBomb > ddavidn
03/07/2014 at 13:03

Might as well make a model with backseats for the owner to sit in while being driven around the track.

McLarry > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 13:04

Because rich people.... If 'regular' people are letting the manuals slip away, rich people seem to care even less. Make a Venn diagram showing the even smaller subset of 'people who buy Lamborghinis' and the set of 'automotive enthusiasts' and you'll get two almost independent circles held together by Jay Leno and a handful of other folks. Some people don't really care about the substance of what they buy...they just want it to be pretty and expensive.

DatBomb > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 13:06

What if they made a cheaper Lambo around $100k and came in stick?

Kinja'd!!!

sry/not sorry. someone had to.

MonkeePuzzle > Joe_Limon
03/07/2014 at 13:06

I would prefer the same, thats THE reason for having a CVT. A slider or dimmer switch would make more sense

alexotics > dogisbadob
03/07/2014 at 13:20

I didn't know about this. I knew about his car collection, but this... as a fan of Kobe for the past 15 years, this saddens me. Should of bought a beater, taught his wife how to drive stick, and then get her the Murci.

MazdaMonkey > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 13:24

The kind of people who buy new Lambos are not MT people. Not even close.

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 13:25

You sure?

Slave2anMG > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 13:37

It's hard to drive a manual if you're using one hand to hold on your toupee...

dogisbadob > alexotics
03/07/2014 at 14:05

Yeah, but he has the last laugh now :p

alexotics > dogisbadob
03/07/2014 at 14:33

True. But he still should of waited a year or so for the E-gear box to come as stock on the Murci. I'm sure now he has some crap automagic box in there. Actually, is there any more info on DUBbed out Lambo?

dogisbadob > alexotics
03/07/2014 at 15:04

I heard those early e-gears were utter shit though, so probably if not definitely worse than Kobe's autobox. Did those e-gears ever get any better? At least the Huracan will finally have a DCT; hopefully it finds its way to the Aventador soon.

alexotics > dogisbadob
03/07/2014 at 15:10

Whatever E-Gear was in the Gallardo Spyder wasn't all that bad. The four wheel drive system would bog down when manoeuvring at slow speeds, but gearbox-wise it was fine. I later did a roadtrip in an LP560-4 and the gearbox was phenomenal actually. So to answer your question, I think they got their act together a few years after the first gen E-gears. At full acceleration though, any Lambo will give you a kick in the pants on upshifts.

dogisbadob > alexotics
03/07/2014 at 15:14

I wish I got to do a road trip in a Lambo :)

alexotics > dogisbadob
03/07/2014 at 15:24

This was years ago. Those kind of fun things only happen once in a very long time.

My dream would be to own a Lamborghini LP560-2 50th Anniversary. Rear wheel drive and a manual. In Lamborghini's words; "the last RWD manual they ever made" and unfortunately limited to 100 cars (30 for the US). It has the SL wing and seats, lightweight wheels, and oh my would it be a treat.

Victorious Secret > Brian Silvestro
03/07/2014 at 17:08

I can provide visual proof

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 17:10

*looks at time*

Yeah, 4 hours later.

Victorious Secret > Brian Silvestro
03/07/2014 at 17:14

I was busy with some...things. 3 things. Actually 4.

What can I say, I'm a multitasker.

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 17:15

Well you are god, so that makes sense.

Victorious Secret > Brian Silvestro
03/07/2014 at 17:17

Paperwork hasn't come through. I'm still God's bitch

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 17:17

Well that sucks. Should I go watch the new 300 movie? I loved the last one.

Victorious Secret > Brian Silvestro
03/07/2014 at 17:23

Leave your brain at home and enjoy. Its good.

Brian Silvestro > Victorious Secret
03/07/2014 at 17:24

I'm in it for the gifs!

Manuél Ferrari > McLarry
03/07/2014 at 20:14

True but with a couple caveats:

1. I've researched the Gallardo to death on Lambo forums. A big part of the problem for this specific car was the ergonomics. The footwell is so damn narrow that the 6MT cars are uncomfortable to drive. The 3 pedals are too close together and the dead pedal is narrow and unusable. I have not been able to find a 6MT car in person to see the issue first hand but I recently went to the Lambo dealer and sat in an E Gear car. I was able to see why there is an issue - the car's footwell is narrower than it should be.

I'm struggling to find a good image on the web to show what I mean. This is the best one I could find. You can kind of see how the plastic on the left side juts out and makes the footwell narrow. I've seen posts on Lambo forums about owners trading in their 6MT cars for E Gear cars due to this issue.

Kinja'd!!!

2. There are rich people who prefer sticks. The problem is that truly wealthy people don't seem to care much about them. Rich people may be able to afford an exotic car brand new but have the financial sense to wait a year and buy the car with 2000 miles on it for $50K less. You can be rich and still care about saving $50K.

But truly wealthy people are the ones that don't give two shits about spending $300K instead of $250K to have something brand new. And all that matters to exotic car companies is what people want when placing orders for new cars.

The upper 1% of all income earners didn't only cause the recent global economic collapse, they've also killed the stick in exotic cars.

McLarry > Manuél Ferrari
03/07/2014 at 20:33

I thought about starting my post with a disclaimer that I hate sweeping generalizations, but that I was about to make one :P unfortunately didn't make the editing cut...

Had no idea on the first caveat... I've always thought the Gallardo was the go-to Lamborghini for the autophile... My impression was the folks springing for the Murcielago and now the Aventador were more in it for the pomp and circumstance. I guess your second point was more what I was trying to address, but I didn't go so far as to different 'rich' from 'filthy rich'...the real drivers of the market are the folks who buy new, not the folks who buy used. I guess you have to be 'rich' to buy even a used Lamborghini, but it was referring to the 'buy-it-new' crowd in my comments.

Manuél Ferrari > McLarry
03/07/2014 at 20:54

The footwell issue is a bummer. I'm very curious to drive a 6MT car to see how bad it would be for me. I'm not giant but also not small - 6' with a 10.5 shoe size. My feet are wide enough to not work well with the 3 pedal cars if the issue is as bad as some owners say it is. The other day I tried driving my car without using the dead pedal to see how bad it was. I was surprised at just how uncomfortable it is to let your foot rest on the clutch pedal when you're not using it.

The first generation Gallardos keep going down in price and you can find them with the 6MT. It's much harder to find second gen cars with the gated shifter in the color you like, it seems downright impossible unless the car is a Balboni or one of the post-Balboni RWD models that came with a stick to make it the "affordable" Gallardo. It seems like the 6MT was popular with some first gen buyers due to E Gear issues, then E Gear was improve in the 2nd gen car and people flocked to it to avoid the narrow footwell issue.

I share your impression about the V12 Lambos. They do seem to be the choice for creating an event every time you drive. The Gallardo was an actual sports car that you could drive just to drive, while also creating a mini event.

I don't understand why the filthy rich people do what they do and like what they like because I've never go to know someone who is uber wealthy. I'm doing pretty ok for myself and know others who are as well. But I don't know anyone who lives in a $5M house or laughs at saving $50K. I can't even understand how people get that rich unless they're old money and living off interest or sold an Internet company or successful mobile app. And there are only so many people that fall into one of those categories, right? It's all very confusing to me. I lived in Newport Beach, CA for years and saw ultra wealthy people all the time, but I always wondered what they did to get there.

Sunray09 > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)
03/08/2014 at 11:52

If you are at the helm of a car capable of triple digit speeds..two pedals...and a steering wheel is enough for some people to think about. My last standard was a 300Zx Turbo..before that a Honda Prelude..both were silky smooth and as easy to drive as any automatic...except for holding on the 17th Avenue Hill in Calgary...Hated those lights in the middle of the hill..

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Sunray09
03/08/2014 at 11:56

I think you're right. I personally love manual gearboxes but if I had a car that powerful I think I'd specify the paddle shift just so I had more time to hold onto the wheel. I'm not a pro driver and I never pretend to be! It's safer to know your limits isn't it!

I can't say I know those lights in Calgary! I'm a little far away. I'm from Devon, England!

Well Spoken Waffle > MonkeePuzzle
03/09/2014 at 15:37

isn't that what the accelerator pedal does?

MonkeePuzzle > Well Spoken Waffle
03/10/2014 at 00:24

well yea and no. perhaps in an electric car wjrre spee dof the engine is in direct relation to speed of the wheels. but in this case accelerator only controls engine speed. what impact that has on speed of wheels and thus of car is controlled by the gearbox, and in this specifoc case thats a set of gears in constant integration rather than switching between cogs to vary input and output. So to take full advantage of that continiously variable setting a slider for selecting the output of the gearbox would make good sense, if some adjustment.is needed at all. In most cvt they just adjust themselves.

Chippy569 > Victorious Secret
03/10/2014 at 03:52

Manual transmissions exist in this weird space of cars where the driving experience is meant to be sporty and engaging. In your average person's commuter sit-in-traffic-jams car, a torque converter automatic is comfortable, easy, and thoughtless. In your technological-cutting-edge hyper car, the most advanced racing-inspired dual-clutch sequential is a logical choice. It's only in the segment of cars meant to be driven for the joy of driving, for performance-oriented cars, (say your M3, WRX, BRZ type of segment,) that manuals still make sense. Lamborghini, and more importantly the people who buy a Lamborghini, do so looking at it more like the hyper car than the joy of driving car, which is why they opt for the paddles.

I mean, I drive a 190E-16v with a stick, and having paddles in that wouldn't make sense. But I don't think driving a P1 with a stick would make sense either. The place where this disparity best comes to light is in the Golf GTI, having both DSG and stick options. I bet that in that car the stick is the better choice ultimately.