Shifting priorities

Just like the much-maligned SUV, the automatic gearbox has long had a stigma attached to it. If given the choice, petrolheads would typically take a manual as the preferred option, maintaining its extra layers of connection make it the superior transmission. The connection part may hold true, but this is another area where rapid advances in technology and engineering know-how have challenged the motoring status-quo. Dualclutch and conventional auto ’boxes are now so fast and intuitive that they’ve become the default option for highperformance machinery.