First it was the M5 and now Audi's playing the same game: it's dropping a manual gearbox option from its European line-up (and yes, that does mean Blighty) but keeping a three-pedal option for US customers.
According to the Audi focused folks at fourtitude.com, the six-speed gearbox is no longer available in some online configurators for Europe, which presumably means that we'll be stuck with the seven-speed S Tronic DSG as the only gearbox option when Audi refreshes its S4 and S5 for the 2012 model year. Which does seem a bit of a shame.
Not that we're saying that the S Tronic is a bad transmission, of course, merely that it would be nice to still have the choice...
Audi 's US product planning boss Barry Hoch confirmed the news in an e-mail to Fourtitude:
"They (Europe) lose the manual. We keep the manual! 100% confirmed, although I don't know what other markets also get to keep it. I don't want to fear for my life when I leave the office. The manual transmission enthusiasts are... umm... passionate individuals. Save the Manuals!"
Perhaps we should start a similar campaign on this side of the Pond...