Tough decision...

[ohthejosh]

It looks like a donor car to me :)

[KenC]

If the 458 had a manual with traditional gated shifter, and a less ugly dash ( see F355) and a less ugly rear end i'd take it over the E39. But if the E39 was an M5 with the ugly M5 sport seats replaced with regular E39 sport seats id take that every time.

There's something genuinely rewarding about manually shifting the gears and using both feet, but that all gets thrown out the window the first time you experience a 20ms gear change.

[KenC]

its no e30

Coincidentally, he almost got "NO E30" for his license plate.

[Ryan Stewart]

There's something genuinely rewarding about manually shifting the gears and using both feet, but that all gets thrown out the window the first time you experience a 20ms gear change.

Or you realize just how much faster you can get to 100 with those whiz-bang new fangled transmissions.

Id say 4 or 5 years ago the old fashioned manuals were still superior because the SMG boxes were so clunky and slow but anymore with the dual clutches and computing power that puts NASA to shame nothing can compare to the new boxes.

[KenC]

Or you realize just how much faster you can get to 100 with those whiz-bang new fangled transmissions.

Id say 4 or 5 years ago the old fashioned manuals were still superior because the SMG boxes were so clunky and slow but anymore with the dual clutches and computing power that puts NASA to shame nothing can compare to the new boxes.

I didn't really know a whole lot about the car before my buddy had it delivered. We were doing ~90 on the freeway off-ramp, he looks over and goes "check this out." He holds down the downshift paddle and it will automatically engine brake up to redline all the way down to first. It was pretty surprising/awesome.

I guess there were complaints that the 2011 model shifted too smoothly with the dual-clutch. The 2012 model has a little bit more of a "clunk" when shifting gears.

[MR 325]

Who gives a shit how fast you can go, it's fun to drive a real stick shift car.

No amount of money I ever earn or win will put me behind the wheel of a car like that.

[e30e]

Lulz in this thread, fanboys.

[Ryan Stewart]

Who gives a shit how fast you can go, it's fun to drive a real stick shift car.

No amount of money I ever earn or win will put me behind the wheel of a car like that.

I do, that is why I committed the blasphemy of sullying my E30 with an S50.

Any true purist would go back to a carbed 3 speed with a rudder handle for a steering wheel and a crank start, now that is for REAL drivers.