Aston Martin putting manual gearbox in park from 2022

Aston Martin will say goodbye to the manual transmission next year when limited production of the hardcore Vantage AMR wraps-up.

Gaydon’s only three-pedal model currently offered, former Mercedes-AMG and now Aston boss Tobias Moers was quoted by Australia’s motoring.com.au as saying that the manual ‘box in the AMR was “not a good journey” and that the sports car landscape has changed considerably since the roll-out of the current Spectre DB10-inspired Vantage four years ago.

“We did a few assessments about that car [manual] – you don’t need it anymore. And you have to maintain it with the new regulations, year-by-year with the emissions because it’s a bespoke powertrain. It makes no sense,” Moers said of the AMR that debuted last year with a Graziano seven-speed manual, an option not even the standard Vantage offers.

At the time, former Aston chief executive officer Andy Palmer said: “The Vantage AMR not only honours that commitment but sets us apart from our competitors in continuing to offer a three-pedal option.”

According to Moers though, the majority of buyers have gravitated towards automatic transmissions over the last few years, with the previous generation Vantage having been the sole mainstream model to offer first a six-speed and then a seven-speed manual.

Of the brand’s current models, the DB11, DBS Superleggra and DBX are all fitted solely with automatic gearboxes with a manual never having been considered from the outset. The end of the AMR and the manual ‘box will reportedly coincide with the unveiling of facelift Vantage next year.