10 Classic Cars You Didn’t Know Had a Manual Transmission

Back when BMW made cars for hardcore enthusiasts, it offered a five-speed manual in its largest and most luxurious model, the 735i. The combination was as unexpected as it was awesome, but few buyers equated German luxury with a clutch pedal, so not many were sold. It’s the one we’d buy.

The first-gen X5 offered a three-pedal version for the same reason that the 7-series did in the late ’80s—BMW thought enthusiasts would want it. Clearly, not enough buyers took the “sport” part of “sport-utility” seriously, and sales were slow. Yes, we’re aware that BMW called it a “Sports Activity Vehicle.” We don’t care.

Buick’s European-bred family sedan offered a six-speed manual in the 220-hp turbo version. Crazy, right? And the 255-hp GS version had one too. To repeat: There were manual Buicks! (Of course, that’s because they’re rebadged Opel Insignias, manual versions of which weren’t exactly rare.)

A manual minivan might seem unconventional, but it strikes us as the perfect way to fight the blahs and teach kids the importance of a heel-toe downshift. There was even a turbo version with 150 horsepower. Don’t like Caravans and Voyagers? Well, you could get a 1991–93 Toyota Previa with a stick.

Before 1993, every XJS sold in the U.S. had an automatic transmission, but then Jaguar decided to unexpectedly change that. Available only with the 4.0-liter inline-six, the brand’s five-speed manual lightened the XJS and made it fun in a way an automatic never could. Fewer than 200 were sold stateside.

With two cars on this list, Jaguar is clearly unafraid to drop a manual in an unexpected place. Based on Ford of Europe’s Mondeo, which offered a manual, the X-type wagon ended up with one, too, for two years of production. Only 1602 wagons were sold, and far, far fewer were manuals.

The earlier ES250 also offered a five-speed manual, but the second-generation ES was a far more luxurious sedan than its predecessor, making the presence of three pedals just plain strange. Still, we’d rock a stick-shift ES without hesitation. Strange is good.

A manual transmission goes a long way to calm the humility of driving a dorky family vehicle. Did you know the secret to immortality is drinking a quart of pickle juice each morning? Awe, who are we kidding. You’re already on Craigslist looking for a manual Mazda 5 in a new tab. See you in the afterlife.

A 300SL cost about $90,000 in the early 1990s and carried all the refinement you’d expect of that price. What you might not expect is that Benz sold it with a dogleg manual. While that pegs our cool meter, only 397 iconoclastic customers took Mercedes up on it.

Toyota used to sell oddball cars, so let’s take a moment to celebrate one of the oddest. How’s this sound? A big rear-wheel-drive Toyota luxury sedan with the contemporary Supra’s inline-six and a five-speed manual transmission. Oh, what a feeling!