Manual v PDK pt. 3

Dear Sir,

I write in regard to correspondence in your ‘Views’ section from Nigel Chapman (titled 'Manual errors'), page 14 of issue 211.

In my opinion there is a reason why PDKS sell more and it is nothing to do with being superior (?!) or “new” fashioned (?!): it is because of a disease called “I can’t be bothered”… the easier the better... when we get there almost all people will prefer 100 per cent driverless cars that will open the door for them, and hopefully extend to the exterior of the car seats to ease ingress as getting into a car will then be, for most humans, a chore in itself…

And more to the point: most people who buy cars (including sports cars) do know little and understand very little about them and for the majority their driving skills are poor – they buy them for all sorts of reasons except for the reason why they were designed and engineered: the pleasure, engagement and skill that comes with driving and is necessary for driving. I am certain all these people would and do end up with auto 'boxes in their stables.

Slower or faster in this context is irrelevant: nobody buys a GT3 or a GT4 to be the fastest man or woman on earth – 0.5sec quicker because of an auto box? Totally irrelevant unless you are competing and racing for position or fastest lap.

PDK? There is no skill in it and thus there is no driver’s merit, and if there is no driver’s merit then there is no interest and to me, within this context, they are irrelevant and the main reason why I find Ferraris, Mclarens and Lamborghinis no match for what Porsche keeps offering to all of us who can’t do without a manual gearbox.

Majority is not equivalent to rightness. If you were going to follow this rationale you would end up producing a magazine about Cayennes… the sin! Keep the emphasis on manuals!