Lamborghinis – one of the world’s most iconic supercars. We’ve all dreamed of owning, or even just driving, this amazing iconic car.
In the past, sports cars would almost exclusively sell cars with manual transmission. However, in recent years this has changed and most supercars, including Lamborghinis, now only sell automatic transmission vehicles.
There are a number of reasons why Lamborghinis are automatic, many factors come into play such as cost, popularity, and performance. With manual transmission in performance cars often being considered the enthusiasts choice, it is interesting to know why Lamborghini chose not to produce manual vehicles.
Why are Lamborghinis automatic?
Following the retirement of the Gallardo model, Lamborghinis are now all automatic. One of the main reasons for this being that people are simply no longer interested in buying or driving a manual car.
According to AutoGuide former CEO Stephan Winkelmann stated that “Close to zero percent of Gallardos were ordered in manual”.
So, with demand for manual Lamborghinis being almost nonexistent, they decided to only offer cars with automatic transmission going forward. Another reason as to why manual transmission was scrapped is that it would cost too much for them to produce manual cars.
In an interview with MotorTrend Stephan Winkelmann said that Lamborghini had considered bringing back manual transmission for the Huracán and Aventador models, but it was just too expensive to be considered viable.
The Aventador’s ISR seven-speed box is so distinctive that no other manual gearbox already in existence would work, so a new one would need to be built at considerable cost.
Finally, it has also been argued that drivers simply aren’t good enough to drive a Lamborghini well using a manual gearbox. In an interview with Road & Track; Chief Technical Officer of Lamborghini, Maurizio Reggiani, said: “Unfortunately, it’s the demand of the control of the chassis. If you want to control the chassis, you must control the power. If you want to control the power, the clutch must be under the control of the brain of the car, not your brain.”
Simply put, an automatic is necessary in order to be able to handle the car well for a smooth and enjoyable ride. The car can drive itself better than you can.
Have they always been available only as automatic?
In short, no. Lamborghinis used to be sold with manual transmission up until 2013, the last manual Lamborghini being the Gallardo LP560-2. So, whilst you cannot buy a brand new model with manual transmission, manual Lamborghinis have been created before.
Can you shift gears manually if you want to?
Although Lamborghinis are automatic, you can still shift gears manually if you wish to in many models as they are semi-automatic. According to Lamborghini Palm Beach, the Lamborghini Urus “comes with standard paddle shifters that allow you to make gear changes without taking your hands off the wheel. You can also utilize the ANIMA system to adjust drive profiles on the fly to make those automatic shifts more aggressive as well.”
Lamborghini Palm Beach goes on to say that the automatic gearbox is superior to manual as manual gearboxes have been known to wear out far quicker and that the Urus automatic gearbox offers eight speeds – something a manual one is unlikely to be able to do.
What kind of automatic transmission does Lamborghini use?
There are two kinds of automatic transmission that Lamborghini uses. Most Lamborghinis, such as the Aventador and Urus, use an automatic-manual hybrid which – Lamborghini Palm Beach claims – has shift speeds that rival the DCT transmission type.
The Huracán uses DCT, which stands for dual-clutch transmission, this type of transmission simply means there are two clutches. The main benefit of this being that they can shift extremely quickly, which comes in handy when dealing with the high speeds a Lambo can provide.
What does the future hold for Lamborghini?
With many modern cars turning towards electric or hybrid engines, you might wonder if this will also be true for supercar giant Lamborghini. When asked about this in an interview with MotorTrend, Maurizio Reggiani had this to say:
“The next generation of Lamborghini, the successor to the Aventador, will be V-12 naturally aspirated. We can add a hybrid or plug-in to respect all the rules of fuel consumption and emissions.”
At the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2019, Lamborghini unveiled Sián, their first hybrid supercar to go into production. With speeds of over 220 mph (350 km/h), it is arguably the fastest Lamborghini yet.
It is not hard to imagine that one day the future could mean Lamborghini may change completely to electric engines. After all, who could have predicted they would scrap manual transmission?