28 Cars You'd Buy If You Could Get Them With a Manual Transmission

You can't get a manual transmission in many cars anymore. We know this. But there are some cars out there that are just begging for a stick shift.

The new Toyota Supra is basically a Z4 underneath, and since you can't get the six-cylinder Z4 with a manual, it's the same story for the Supra. It's too bad—there's no doubt a third pedal would improve the driving experience.

The C8 isn’t quite there. It has neither the limit-handling grace of a 718 Cayman or the ESP-assisted Stealth-Fighter moves of a Ferrari 488 Pista.

What it does have is the ability to show Rolls-Royce how to tune a chassis: the new Vette genuinely rides like full-size luxury car. No car with sporting intention this side of McLaren’s Super Series of cars with trick hydraulic suspension even comes close to the suppleness of the Corvette.

Astonishing magnetorheological-damper ride quality aside, the C8’s driving experience is a radical departure from previous Vettes because its controls are delicate. The electrically assisted steering is light, the shift paddles don’t require much effort from your fingers, and the (brake-by-wire) left pedal won’t stress your thigh muscles. The experience is more Ferrari than C7, which was a big brute of a thing that had a heavy clutch, a shifter that could sprain a limp wrist, and enough driveline lash to remind you what the gritty side of Detroit still looks like.

Read our entire C8 Corvette review right here.

If you need a set of rear doors, the 3-Series is another great choice from BMW. The latest versions may have lost a bit of their sharpness, but overall, they still provide smiles behind the wheel. This one's brand-new, and it's for sale.

The Shelby GT500's allure is its relative cheapness and its 760-horsepower output. That is more than enough for a lead-footed new driver to put sideways into a tree. Maybe just get a used V-6 Mustang and paint some stripes on it.

The AMG GT is the sportiest car in Mercedes's lineup, so we think it certainly deserves three pedals. The hardcore GT R variant is probably better off with a dual-clutch, though.

Ford decided it would be a good idea to plop a supercharged V-8 under the hood of the mid-1990s F-150, creating the SVT Lightning. The result was a tire-smoking 380 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, and a blistering 5.2-second 0-60 time. Here's one up for bidding right now on eBay.

With aggressive off-road tires and a Baja-ready suspension, the Raptor doesn't exactly have the best on-road manners. It's also not as efficient at towing as a normal F-150. What it does great, though, is going off jumps and carving through terrain most other vehicles can't. Here's a new one you can own now for under $60,000.

Aston's hopped-up 715-horsepower grand-tourer is good at more than just whisking you and a guest away to some faraway destination in style. Thanks to a twin-turbo V-12 under the hood, it can reach 211 mph if given enough room.

Picking the right options on the RS 3 can mean the difference between obvious boy-racer looks and a classic sleeper. Steer clear of red or blue paint, and skip the black optic package and RS sport exhaust system. Make sure to check the Dynamic Plus package, though; that gets you a higher top speed, a sportier suspension, and front carbon ceramic brakes. This one is listed for under $49,000 right now.

Volvo wagons are some of the most safe, sensible cars you can own. But the Swedish company hasn't forgotten about enthusiasts. It offers a Polestar version with a twin-charged inline-four and all wheel drive. Plus, you can get it in this lovely blue paint.

The GranTurismo has been on sale for a decade, yet Maserati has never deemed it necessary to drop in a manual transmission. The car has received both a torque converter automatic and a single-clutch automated gearbox, but never a proper three-pedal unit.

The CTS-V is a big luxury sedan with lots of room that just happens to have the 640-horsepower supercharged V-8 engine from the Corvette Z06. Seems like a good pairing to us. This one's painted in a lovely shade of grey, and you can own it.

The new Q60 is a good-looking car, that's for sure. It's also fast, and comfortable too. A manual shifter would be a great addition to an already good package, but alas, it makes due with a seven-speed auto instead.

While the last-gen R8 was gifted with the option of a gated six-speed manual for all trims, the latest car makes do with only a seven-speed dual-clutch. We'd especially like it if Audi offered a manual with the rear-wheel drive R8 RWD. That would be a truly complete package.

The 4C has all the makings of a good sports car. It has a carbon fiber monocoque, a mid-engine layout, and even manual steering. What it doesn't have, though, is any sort of manual transmission option. The only gearbox available is a six-speed dual-clutch.

You can still get the "normal" Hellcat with a manual transmission, but if you're thinking about buying a six-speed 797-horsepower Hellcat Redeye, sorry, but you're out of luck. It's auto-only. Same goes for any V-6-powered Challengers.

Jaguar's new entry-level luxury sedan has some great dynamics and stylish looks. You can get it with a manual in Europe, but not here in America. That's a real shame.

Jaguar introduced a manual for the V-6 versions of the F-Type, and we applaud them for that, even though it's since been discontinued. But now it's made us want the V-8 versions (the R and SVR) with a manual transmission. Imagine the possibilities.

Lexus chose to go old-school when it dropped a naturally-aspirated 5.0-liter V-8 under the hood of the RC-F, but didn't give the same treatment to the gearbox. The only available transmission is an automatic eight-speed.

The Giulia's 505-horsepower twin-turbo V-6 is essentially a Ferrari V-8 minus two cylinders. That explains why it makes so much power, and why it sounds so good.

In addition to sounding incredible (you can thank Yamaha for that), the Lexus LFA's triple-stacked exhaust looks plain amazing. Lexus developed some clever internal packaging that made this arrangement possible. And the V-10's howl was just the cherry on top. Here's a white one with around 4000 miles you can own.

The lethargic six-speed transmission was one of the things we didn't like in our drive of the Fusion Sport. Combining a six-speed stick with that 2.7-liter Ecoboost V-6 would surely make for a better overall experience.

While the "normal" Huayra makes dude with just a handful of active aero flaps, the hardcore BC spec cars also get a massive piece of aero mounted above the rear wheels.

Whether it be the 707-horsepower Hellcat or just a normal V-6 powered base model, people want manuals in their Chargers. It would certainly make the car a lot more fun, but according to Dodge, it would require cutting apart the firewall apart to get anything other than an auto to fit. Sorry Mopar fans.

In America, Audi offered only a manual transmission for customers of the last-generation TT RS. This time around, it's the opposite. There's only one choice of gearbox, and it's a seven-speed dual-clutch.

We drove the Kia Stinger on the Nurburgring back when it was new, and found that while its chassis was great, it was held back by its drivetrain setup. We have a feeling a manual would fix at least some of that.

Weirdly enough, you can only option a six-speed manual in rear-wheel drive versions of the BMW M240i. If you need xDrive, sorry, but you're going to have to settle for the eight-speed ZF auto.