After decades of high-performance automakers distancing themselves from manual transmissions, Monterey Car Week 2026 included a surprising number of stick-shifted sports and supercar debuts, ranging from the aspirational Porsche 911 Carrera S to the unattainable Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1. Unfortunately for do-it-yourselfers, Lamborghini doesn’t have any plans to join those ranks, as we learned in an interview with Stephan Winkelmann, chairman and CEO at the Raging Bull.
Technology Takes The Front Seat
Lamborghini Revuelto SV Live Image MontereyBrett T. Evans / CarBuzz / Valnet
Lamborghini most recently offered a manual gearbox on the 2014 Gallardo, but its Huracán replacement came exclusively with a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission. Since then, the company’s lineup has been electronically shifted only, ranging from the seven-speed ISR automated manual in the Aventador and the eight-speed DCT in the Revuelto to the eight-speed torque-converter unit in the Urus. At the time of its demise, the manual gearbox was such a rarely selected option at Lamborghini that Winkelmann himself checked every such order to ensure its owner hadn’t inadvertently ticked the wrong box on the form.
Currently, the automaker has doesn’t intend to return to those days, but its reasoning makes sense considering high-dollar manual transmissions are almost always relegated to extremely expensive and rare models like the aforementioned GMSV and the $1.5 million McLaren McL 6GT. “For me, this is something which is not on our priority list, because we have a lot in the pipeline,” Winkelmann said.
[The manual gearbox] is mostly for collectibles, and today we don’t have any plans to do so.
–Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini Chairman and CEO
Among those projects in the pipeline are higher-performance variants of its existing cars, as well as continued development of the internal-combustion engine. The Revuelto, for example, just debuted in outrageously performance-oriented SV form at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, featuring the automaker’s most powerful engine in history. Its 1,065 horsepower and 1,051 pound-feet of torque come via a free-revving, naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 and a trio of axial-flux electric motors, blending internal-combustion emotion with electric capability.
The Hybrid May Not Be Manual-Capable
Lamborghini Revuelto SV Live Image MontereyBrett T. Evans / CarBuzz / Valnet
We asked Winkelmann if the company’s “high-performance electrified vehicle” powertrains were compatible with manual gearboxes, and while the CEO didn’t have an answer, we suspect that it could present a difficult packaging problem. Currently, the V8 in the Temerario and the V12 in the Revuelto are mounted in a north-south configuration, with the transmission hanging off the back and sending power to the rear wheels exclusively. Previous Lamborghini supercars had their engines mounted in the opposite direction, putting the transmission right behind the passenger cabin, within easy reach of the manual shifter.
It seems unlikely that Lamborghini would be able to reconfigure a theoretical manual transmission without extensively redeveloping its existing lineup, and it’s equally unlikely that the automaker would design an entirely new platform and powertrain concept just to put a gated shifter back into its cars. Winkelmann’s succinct answer also seemed to close the door on any faux manual shift mechanisms, the likes of which are currently found on the Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale – the gear knob and clutch pedal aren’t actually connected to the transmission, which means a computer and robotic shift rods are still doing most of the work.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Although Luddites (your author included) may mourn the lack of a manual transmission in Sant’Agata Bolognese, that doesn’t mean Lamborghini won’t still be putting out some exciting vehicles. The automaker confirmed that it would introduce a new version of the Temerario later this year, which we suspect will be a retractable hardtop convertible called the Spyder. However, it’s also possible that Lambo’s little bull will get an even more powerful and performance-oriented trim like the Performante, a trim that was previously available on the Huracán and just introduced for the Urus SE.
Those additions – and Lamborghini’s perpetual penchant for incredible driving fun and impressive technology – should soften the no-manual blow quite a bit.
Base Trim Engine
6.5L V12 Plug-in Hybrid
Base Trim Transmission
8-Speed Automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
All-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
1,001 hp
Base Trim Torque
534 lb-ft @ 6750 rpm
Fuel Economy
TBC
Infotainment & Features
8 /10
