The Manual Lives on (at Least in the Corvette)!

Published on May 2, 2014 in News by Frédérick Boucher-Gaulin

I have great news for those of you who love a good old stick shift: our favorite transmission may be dying, and the vast majority of cars on the road today are automatics, but the manual is not dead yet!

Due to the advances in technology, a lot of high-end sport cars don't even offer a manual, claiming superior performance this way: Jaguar F-Type, Porsche 911 Turbo, Lamborghini Aventador and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, among others...

But at Chevrolet, the Corvette is still offered with a clutch and a stick. This manual transmission is a seven-speed unit, and about 40% of the Stingrays sold in 2014 are equipped with it. The other 60% bought their 'vettes with the 6-speed automatic (there is a 8-speed slushbox coming for 2015).

To add to that, around 55% of all 2014 Stingrays feature the Z51 performance package: bigger brakes, firmer suspension, limited-slip differential, aerodynamic improvements and 19 inch wheels up front and 20 inchers in the back.

GM sold 19,915 2014 Corvettes. Breaking down those number, there are around 8000 manuals, and 4000 Z51-equipped stick-shift Corvettes.

This will certainly help my used car search in a few years...