Good to see Miscellany with a scoop story, well done.
For me true sports car cannot have a auto gearbox. Equally I can understand why it might suit other customer/markets.
So the Ferrari 488 isnt a true sports car?
Surely the issue here is modernity against tradition not manual versus auto. The problem with an auto Trad with flappy paddles is that you are going against the very reason for buying a Trad, the nostalgia bit. If you go for the flappy paddle modern gearbox, what about proper modern suspenion and brakes? Maybe modern aero too? And before you know it you have an MX5.
On the other hand if you are buying a really modern up to date sports car you would want the best up to date technology. F1 cars dont use manual gearboxes because they are slower
