Comment by toomuchtodo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by toomuchtodo | Hacker News Reader

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http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/why-you-wont-see-another-... (Sept 2015)

"Ferrari has emphatically ruled out offering a manual gearbox in its next generation of vehicles, for one simple reason: performance. Speaking at the Frankfurt motor show this week, stakeholders at Ferrari said the manual transmission had become obsolete in a performance sense because modern dual-clutch transmissions were much faster and effective in their shifts."

"We never say no, but today we say no," a spokesman said. "We are very convinced with our strategy about the automatic gearbox, it's the fastest gearbox in the market and this is a distinctive component for us. Right now we are not thinking about a manual because the performance is [less]."

Not a CVT, but a manual has no benefit. Either go CVT for efficiency or geared automatic for performance.

EDIT: astrodust: Let not split hairs; Formula 1 allowed the introduction of CVTs in 1993 and then banned them because they were too good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3UpBKXMRto

http://jalopnik.com/http-youtu-be-x3upbkxmrto-one-that-goes-...

That's a sequential shifter, which is a different beast than an automatic.

They've had paddle-driven shifting on their cars for over a decade now which just triggers gear shifts manually. It's not an automatic transmission in the classic sense, there are still gears. Classic automatic transmission systems use a fluid mechanism to transmit power which is where a lot of the power loss comes from.

paddle driven cars may not be an automatic transmission in the classic sense. Nor is it a manual transmission in the classic sense. Maybe clutchless is a better term

It's hard to define 'paddle driven' cars, since of course any automatic transmission car could have paddles that allow manual shifting.

I assume you're talking about the paddle-shifted transmissions found Ferraris, Lamborghinis, BMWs etc. in the recent past. These in fact are the opposite of 'clutchless'. They were basically manual transmissions electronically controlled and with the clutch and shifting actuated by hydraulics.

Nowadays they use some variety of dual-clutch transmission.

Sad to see someone getting beat up on for using the correct term. "Clutchless" does not refer to a missing clutch internally, but the lack of an operable clutch pedal.

They can go that way, because the technology is far enough. A traditional automatic is not suitable for sporty driving. Not only because it may choose the wrong gear at the wrong time. In racing, the balance of the car is highly important. Making an uncontrolled shift within a corner, can spin off the car because of the associated weight shift. You counter that in traditional transmissions with double clutching and heal-and-toe, where you get the rev in the transmission about right, to guarantie a smooth shift and a stable car. Ferrari and the like managed through timed automated gas bursts and other technologies to conquer the effect in automatic transmissions.

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