Manual gearboxes are history, says Hyundai's performance chief
The era of manual gearboxes is effectively over, according to Tyone Johnson, Managing Director of Hyundai's Europe Technical Centre in Germany.
In a recent interview, Johnson praised the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N for delivering unmatched driving pleasure and claimed, 'Nobody wants manual gearboxes anymore.' He also noted that modern buyers have little interest in manual handbrakes or analogue dials.
Johnson believes EVs like the Ioniq 5 N will eventually win over even reluctant enthusiasts, despite their attachment to petrol power.
He argued the internal combustion engine's decline shouldn't be mourned, calling most combustion performance cars 'miles away – a disappointment' compared to the Ioniq 5 N.
Acknowledging the emotional appeal of traditional cars, he said, 'I understand some people want the sounds, vibrations — those sensory inputs help the brain understand what's going on.' As a result, artificial sounds are now integrated into EVs to mimic the feedback of combustion engines.
In his view, EVs have progressed more in a decade than combustion cars did in a century.
With a background in Ford and Jaguar's F1 and rally programmes — including the 1992 Mustang Shelby — Johnson said: 'I'm a performance guy. If you want to go fast, there's nothing better than an EV. I don't understand the nostalgia.'
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