the 8 speed auto that will appeal to older drivers physically unable/unwilling to operate a clutch and younger ones who don't know how.
There are many high performance cars that are simply unavailable with a manual transmission - where people can choose auto or manual they do so because they suit the car (and generally have a paddle shift too). I am not sure it's because they're disabled or decrepit!
I have owned both and for high performance, paddle shift is better.