Old school here. sports cars should be manual. My 94, 99, and 05 were six speeds so my 15 is a 7speed.

 

Your best bet is to just drive examples of each and see which tranny you really like. I currently have an auto in my car after having several manual ones before it. I have just as much fun driving my auto equipped car as I did with the manual ones.

 

A manual is fun and gives you a more old-school, "connected" feel. It's also trickier to use, can get you in the wrong gear, and 7 gears to row through with this engine is really just too many. The new auto is amazingly intuitive and also fun to use. It's great if you do much city driving, it's faster on the track, and auto's are generally more stout (possible heating issues aside). There's a reason Lamborghini no longer even offers a manual, and Ferrari and Porsche aren't far behind. I've owned and raced with manuals all my life. But the new auto's are really amazing. I prefer to move toward the future than stay in the past.

 

Not true. I own 2015 A8. On the other hand I would not recommend A8 for performance driving. The A8 overheats quickly during any type of performance driving. I would go with M7 for sure. Just like many 2015 A8 owners, I do have an open case with GM and waiting for long term solution.

 

I swore until about a year ago that a sports car had to have a manual transmission. Then I started reading how incredibly quick the A8 shifts and how intelligent it was in use, it sounded like the best of both worlds to me. My C7 is inbound so I don't have personal experience yet, but I'm fully expecting the A8 to be awesome.

 

I drove the M7 and the A8. Always owned manual M3s, and I know how to shift. But after adding more power (Twin Disc Supercharger) and going through multiple clutches until I found one that would handle the power (Twin Disc Clutch), I decided against the manual. With the A8, I can shift manually when I want, but have the luxury of the auto trans. I've got a buddy with 40 cars (several Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, and a McLaren) http://www.JMFPgarage.com
I drove many of his cars, and most are auto with paddle shifters. It's the future. PLUS, automatics are KNOWN to shift faster than the manuals.

There was a time when everyone used two sticks to make a fire...then came the lighter. Move forward. Water moves down, people move up...that's natural.

- chip

 

In my case been driving standard shifts for my DD for over 50 years - would have nothing else! You'll love rev match! I was pretty good at heel/toe at higher rpm's but around town at low rpm's often didn't get it just right. Harder to modulate the throttle than just stabbing at higher rpm's! Rev match gets it perfect every time!
For example with 3 overdrives no need to leave a freeway in 7th and row back thru the gears when you'll want a direct 1:1 4th gear for the off-ramp. Just shift directly to 4th (in fact the shifter is spring loaded to the 3rd/4th gate, so just pull back.) You'll be going from ~1500 rpm to ~3000 and rev match makes it a smooth transition! Same when making a turn around town where I am in 5th at say 45 mph and shift directly to 3rd to make the turn. It goes from ~1400 rpm to ~2800 rpm as smooth a silk!

 

This is my fourth Vette and My first manual. I do not have any regrets, although this is not my daily driver.

 

Used to have a manual and now have the A8. Works well for me. Wife likes it, also. At age 70, just do not need to do all that shifting. The A8 is very quick, as is.

 

I went with an auto because I was having knee pain with my manual last summer when driving in town and shifting a lot. I like the auto and use the paddle shifter often. Every now and then I miss the manual, but overall I'm happy with the auto. I don't think listening to anything anyone else has to say on the matter of auto or manual contributes much to making the decision. If I were getting ready to buy I'd try to find a dealer that would let me try both before deciding.

 

You've received a lot of good comments and suggestions here. One thing you may want to consider is renting a C7 - from AVIS or someplace similar - and living with the A8 for 24 hours. This gives you a much better perspective on the car then a test drive.

All of my personal cars have been manuals and I wasn't considering an auto for my new car. I had also never owned a Corvette and was firmly in the "P" car camp. My wife liked the appearance of the new C7 so we decided to rent one just to see if we liked it.

After an hour and a half I was firmly in the "I REALLY don't like this car camp." We took a break for a couple of hours and I went through the driving experience in my head. The car was very fast, braked and handled extremely well. What I decided I didn't like was the steering and the trans - this was an A6.

I went back and played with the steering settings, leaving it in "Track" mode. It was still too light at low speeds and didn't have the feel that I liked but it was the best compromise. I've grown to appreciate the directness of the steering and how easy it is to precisely place the car, but miss the feedback of a hydraulic system.

I never warmed up to the trans. Like every auto I've ever driven, when left in auto mode it was always in the wrong gear - always too high a gear - and downshifting was lazy. I used the paddles in the manual mode and thought that was even worse - there was always a lag between pulling the paddle and the car actually shifting and often a lunge when the car actually shifted.

At the end of the day I warmed up to the car, but only if it had a manual trans. I ordered the car that way with a Z51 package to get the closer gear ratios.

My car is so different from the A6 I rented that it feels like a completely different model. It is always in the gear I want and the power application is perfectly smooth. I enjoy the car tremendously.

There is little doubt in my mind that I could learn to drive the A8 in a more enjoyable fashion, by anticipating the lag in shifting and manipulating the throttle to minimize lunging, but in my mind that is simply compromising for what the manual already does perfectly.

One other thing to consider is that I use a lot of revs, and do not rely solely on the torque produced by the engine. The car will pull like a tractor at low revs, but I'm driving a sportscar, not a tractor. For instance, if I'm on the freeway and want to quickly accelerate, I always drop down a couple of gears, even though I'm aware that just mashing the go pedal will accomplish the same thing.

It's going to be different for everyone - that is just my experience. YMMV.

 

7 speed here, although it is really a 4 speed with 3 overdrives. But with the Corvettes power and gearing, 5th gear is where you will reach top speed.
If you are autox''ing" I would think that the 7speed would suit your need better. It can be a little more connected in the feel department, although not as quick. The A8 will just shift faster and choose the right gear more quickly than a human can in a manual.
My car has never been in anything other than V8 mode as I have it set to sport, something that you have to put the A8 into manual to do. So this is requiring you to shift the gears manually, causing you to lose the A8's ability to do it's thing.
And the 7 speed with NPP just sounds so good.
So +1 HERE FOR THE 7 SPEED.

 

No question a DCT is faster on the track, but that's not an option for us. The A8 is certainly quicker on the drag strip, and maybe even on a road course until it overheats. If the strip is your goal, get the A8. Period.

I don't race my car. If it ever sees the track, it will be just for fun. A difference of a second, or even 5 seconds a lap won't matter to me. I drive my car for fun, and shaving 5, or even 30, seconds off a 5 minute drive on a twisty road doesn't matter in the least. What matters is how much fun I have during those 5 minutes. To me, a manual is just more involving, and more fun. Period. End of discussion (for me). I don't even mind driving a manual in rush hour traffic. YMMV.

 

My 16 is an A8. When I drove it home from the dealer I was in rush hour traffic. At that point I knew I made the right choice. It's also my DD so the A8 works better for me. If I need to drive a manual, I drive my 67 BB vert.

 

If you have always driven a manual Corvette, you will not be satisfied with the automatic... I have had several friends that thought they would like an automatic for a change, but went back to the manual.

Driving the automatic takes away part of the driving experience, not matter how quick it is.

 

This is kind of like the toilet paper over the top or under the bottom discussion. Everyone has a passionate opinion about who's right.

At the end of the day, it's a 'Vette, and the best looking and performing car for under (or even slightly over) $100K. On that we can all agree.

- chip

 

Manual all the things!

 

A8 here, but mainly due to living in a large city with a 2 hour commute. The A8 is an excellent transmission, never searching for the right gear - just in it. That being said, you do loose the "connection" of a manual. Go drive them both - either way you win!

 

I bought a manual in Jan 15 sold it June 29 & ordered an A8 in June, hope to take delivery late Aug or early September.
There is a daylight to dark difference between them. If I could have test driven them both I never would have bought the manual. JMHO

 

Manuals are dying. http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobile...tml/?a=viewall