Why the new Corvette doesn’t offer a manual transmission
After taking six decades to move the Corvette to mid-engine, Chevy ventured beyond clutch pedals without hesitation.
Corvette executive chief engineer Tadge Juechter tells those who bemoan the lack of a manual transmission in the new mid-engine C8 that requests for a dual-clutch automatic (DCA) began years ago. The stick-shift take rate, by the way, fell from more than 50 percent at C7’s 2014 launch to less than 20 percent this year. Add to that the DCA’s ability to upshift without interrupting power delivery, a feat no manual gearbox can accomplish.
Juechter also informs skeptics that a clutch pedal would cramp the C8 driver’s-side footwell, and that routing shift linkage through Corvette’s tubular aluminum spine would compromise its structural integrity. Instead of following tradition, his engineering team sought out and implemented functional improvements whenever possible.
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...l-transmission