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I'm with Aknowles on this one. Yes, I know all Formula 1 cars now have automatic transmissions. Yes, I know that the PDK can shift faster and more cleanly that any human could ever do. I respect the technology and can see why the majority of purchasers will want one. However, I guess I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to sports cars.
I came from an era when all racing cars (and virtually all real sports cars) had standard transmissions. It required a high level of skill to drive one both quickly and smoothly. It involved double-clutching to ensure that your downshifts matched revs in the new gear, a skill which required practice and experience with your particular car.
I learned how to double-clutch (or as we used to refer to it, double de-clutching) with my very first car and continue to use that technique on every downshift I make. It has become second nature and, frankly, it is a skill that I take pride in having mastered. While some find the learning process tedious, it was something that I saw as separating real drivers from mere posers: I enjoyed learning that technique as much as I did learning other performance driving techniques such as trailing-throttle braking (in order to set up a smooth transition into some corners). Necessary for day to day driving? No. But a performance-driving skill nonetheless and one that is becoming virtually a lost art.
Traction control is something else that I can do without. Like an automatic transmission, it reduces your 'connection' with the machinery that you are controlling. Interestingly, several years ago Formula 1 eliminated traction control on starts - not because it was less efficient, but because it reduced the impact that a skilled driver could have on his car's performance at the start of the race.
To me, the more that the need for skill is eliminated from driving performance cars, the less the reward will be in driving them. Those who can afford to purchase the latest technology will be faster than someone with less money who is unable to purchase the same technology. Skill (except skill at earning money) will have virtually nothing to do with performance. In fact, the term 'performance driving' will become a misnomer - there will be only 'performance cars' and 'performance passengers'.
Am I backing a losing horse? No doubt. But in my view it is about more than merely fighting progress through the advance of technology. Yes, a singer using autotune can sound pitch-perfect on every note. But so what? I would rather listen to an unimproved Frank Sinatra than Michael Buble any day. The latter's recordings sound dull and lifeless to me. Inhuman and machine like. The former's were natrually brilliant, notwithstanding the occasional flaw.
Brad
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