Originally Posted by OrangeJuleas (Post 1545698)

I guess over the course of almost a century (and yes I know early manual transmissions weren't the same as the nice synchronized ones we have today), we have somehow gotten used to the idea of having a manual gear shifter in a sports car.

When 8, 9 and 10 speed transmissions become common, the appeal of shifting might decline, but it is pretty engaging. I don't drive automatics as hard as I do manuals because to me they are designed for getting you from point A to point B.

I think we all accept that automatics have come a long way and know deep down, that they are now just as fast as a manual shift, with similar fuel economy (if not better). They are superior in every way except for excitement. That's why people buy 80's Japanese sports cars - they aren't as refined but they put you in control.

:offtopic:

As for the other pedals? Well, have you ever seen a Model T's pedals?

http://autoprova.net/yahoo_site_admi...133819_std.JPG

Go ahead and guess what each of those three pedals and the lever are for. I'll wait...





...ready?

The left pedal engages low gear. It needs to be fully depressed to engage the gear. In the middle, it is in neutral. When in neutral, you can push the lever forward, then remove your foot from the left pedal and high gear is engaged.

The center pedal engages reverse gear.

The right pedal engages the engine brake.

So where is the gas pedal, you ask? Good question!

http://media.caranddriver.com/images...ticleimage.jpg

That's right, on the steering wheel. Which means that once you were in gear, you could drive without feet!

And look the way that went. We moved on to bigger and better once we created better transmissions. But damn, that is an engaging transmission. Once you learn how to drive it, you could control it very well. Ford sold 15 million of these things.

The point is, we will lose it eventually and it will only be another page in the history books. But its presence in sports cars is so ubiquitous that we are finding it hard to give it up. One day cars will drive themselves better than we can, and you will definitely have people who miss "manual steering". Soon....soon...

Originally Posted by LBC Por Siempre (Post 1547403)

Now did they just say Under 7 minute "RING" time, or did they actually publish a time like Porsche did. McLaren rarely or if ever list their times Around the ring.

Originally Posted by serialk11r (Post 1614983)

Some people say this car is ugly, seriously? Just look at the rear bumper. It's basically just a wire mesh and a license plate that lets you "see the gizzards" as Chris Harris says. Most beautiful thing ever, Because racecar.

Originally Posted by dem00n (Post 1616814)

The car looks too busy on picture, it really smooths out in real life.

Originally Posted by Sonolin (Post 1617951)

Seriously wtf thats the first thing I hear about on the internet

"This hundreds thousand msrp supercar is ugly"

Id bet more design dollars went into that car than engineering on ours.

Originally Posted by chrisl (Post 1618154)

That may well be the case, but that doesn't mean that everyone is going to like it. Styling and aesthetics is very much a matter of personal opinion, and people can have different opinions (without anyone being jealous, or incorrect, or tasteless).