2014 Audi R8 comes into focus - rumors

actually you can easily lose control of a car in a straight line. It just depends on how much torque and how much traction you got. it's not just about the driver's skills. Audi's choice of removing manual is probably because 1) manuals are increasingly more expensive to outsource- companies like ZF and Ricardo are making it harder for manufacturers to outsource manual trannies and 2) the cost of maintenance under warranty from burnt cluthes, from a factory standpoint, is outweighing the "drivers pleasure" when it comes down to making a decision like that. Think about how many drivers blow clutches of manual supercars and companies like Audi covers it under warranty. Sad reality is that manuals will be extinct, save from small 4cylinders.

I believe ZF only manufactures automatic transmissions. I also doubt Ricardo is making it hard for manufacturers to come to them with orders considering they are seeking investors due to a slow down in the economy/market. Also an automatic transmission is roughly 5x more expensive than a manual in a $/hp comparison. Clutches are dirt cheap, I paid 400$ for a 400hp SPEC racing clutch, labour was another story but you have more labour on an automatic. A friend of mine paid 7500$ for a CVT transmission on his Altima, and the transmission in the GT-R costs roughly 24,000$. The reason has nothing to do with automatics being cheaper than manuals because that's simply not the case, it has to do with fuel economy, traction/stability control programs/adaptive cruise control etc..Also, market demand plays a big factor, the US is still the main buyer of cars in the world, and the culture here in NA is built around the Automatic transmission, you'd be hard pressed to find a Fiat 500 in manual on a dealer lot.

Actually Renegade's right, supercar with no RWD and without manual? What's up with that? Next for me too!