New Aston Martin Vanquish Goes Against The Tide, Will Offer Manual ‘Box

The new mid-engine Aston Martin Vanquish looks likely to be sold with a manual transmission.

While speaking with Car Sales, Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer was asked whether the new Vanquish would get a stick-shift. While he didn’t specifically say ‘yes’, it seems as though he wants to see the option of a manual.

“I’ve already made a commitment that I want to be the last manufacturer in the world to offer manual sports cars and I want to honour that commitment,” Palmer said.

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High-performance cars have been moving away from manual transmissions in recent years in the pursuit of quicker acceleration and faster lap times. The previous-generation Aston Martin Vanquish was sold exclusively with a 6-speed automatic in its early years, though from 2014 onwards an 8-speed auto became the default transmission.

While it may seem a little odd to introduce a stick shift on a car like the Vanquish, Aston Martin has made no secret of the fact that the new Vanquish will be much faster and more driver-focused than previous iterations. Offering the vehicle with a stick-shift would also make it stand out against rivals such as the McLaren 720S and Ferrari F8 Tributo that are dual-clutch only.

That’s about as high as manuals will go, though: when Palmer was quizzed about whether the Valhalla hypercar could also be sold with a manual, he responded that “no, now that car will only come with a paddleshift transmission.”

The new Vanquish will utilize an aluminum platform and a twin-turbocharged V6 with a small electric motor, and while the company hasn’t said how much grunt it will have, something in the vicinity of 800 HP or so seems quite reasonable.