Three-Pedal Astons
In all fairness to Aston Martin, it never really stopped offering cars with manual transmission. Sure, grand tourers are primarily for spirited cruising, but the British automaker knows that the third pedal makes a huge difference. Besides, if one were to stick with tradition, a manual was always going to be the way to go, as most DB5s, DB6s, and V8 Vantages were built that way.
That makes Aston Martin one of the very few ultra-luxury automakers that still offers its customers the option to exercise their left legs. While there are no manuals at the moment, the limited-run Valour was offered with that back in 2023, and the rarer and more focused Valiant followed suit a year later.
Aston Martin
How About Now?
The Valor and Valiant were built to commemorate Aston Martin’s 110th anniversary, and those were bound to be ultra-exclusive cars from the start. But if we’re talking about the more mainstream models, the last one offered with a manual was the Vantage AMR. So, why hasn’t there been another Vantage, Vanquish, or DB model with three pedals and a stick shift?
Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark recently spoke to Road & Track about that, and the reason isn’t because of the lack of demand or any of that. Rather, there’s something that gets in the way that makes it expensive to develop.
The Challenge
Hallmark says it’s advanced driver assists that are getting in the way of Aston Martin putting manuals in its more mainstream models. “The problem we have is not getting a manual gearbox; it’s getting an electronic and modified system to be able to work with a manual box. Why? Because when you’ve got ADAS—because this car’s got all the safety systems of a production car, if we put a manual in, you couldn’t have the adaptive speed control and the anti-crash intervention,” said the executive.
Why not just take out ADAS, then? Unfortunately for Aston, it’s a requirement in Europe, so it’ll have to develop a system suited for manuals. According to Hallmark, doing that will be apparently costlier than building a new manual for the cars. Also, the current electronics architecture of the cars doesn’t support manuals and ADAS being paired together, and doing that will cost money. Mind you, Aston isn’t exactly flush with cash at the moment, either.
It Needs a Business Case
At the end of the day, the automotive business is exactly that, a business. Sure, Aston can build it, but how many will actually buy it? Yes, the internet is awash with people who say every car should have a stick. However, the percentage of people who actually purchase one is a lot smaller than the number of people who clamor for one. The higher up the price range you go, that number gets slimmer. Mind you, there are cars with manuals that do have these assists, but those are sold by automakers that have far, far more money than Aston.
Does Aston Martin want to build one? Well, who doesn’t, but Hallmark is being cautious. “When you look at how many cars you need to sell at what incremental price to offset the cost of the box and the electronics, it’s a marginal case.” The executive understands why Ferrari did what it did with the automated manual, as it’s apparently the more cost-effective solution in the 12Cilindri Manuale. But if Aston were to build a car with a stick, Hallmark said, “So our dilemma: Do we do a fake manual? Or don’t go manual? So that’s the problem.”
Now, this doesn’t mean that Aston Martin will never build a car with a manual ever again. We’re pretty confident it will make another one, but it’ll probably be reserved for the top-shelf stuff.
