Few engineering combinations stir the soul quite like a twin-turbocharged V12 mated to a manual gearbox. It sounds like a recipe for greatness — and it is — but it’s also a recipe for serious mechanical headaches. The torque figures these engines produce, often well north of 600 pound-feet, place enormous stress on any transmission asked to handle them. Either the gearbox needs substantial reinforcement just to survive a hard launch, or drivers must treat it with the delicacy of a surgeon, as anyone who has driven a Porsche Carrera GT will tell you. It’s no surprise, then, that most automakers have steered well clear of this particular combination.
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