LOL Biff can drive a manual transmission better than many of the guys I know.
But, no... Manual transmissions of the size and tech couldn't handle that much torque. Automatic transmissions of this kind use a torque converter which is a fluid coupler. They're better able to handle the stresses of the torque, where you'd strip the gears right out of a manual transmission.
See? I'm full of all sorts of useless trivia!
But, now you know why so many muscle cars came with automatic transmissions in their more potent forms. The manual transmissions of the day simply couldn't handle the torque output. You'd hit the gas once and hear ping ping ping as the transmission lost its lunch right there on the freeway onramp.
I never knew that.
Yup. The torque converter is a liquid coupling, so it can spin up faster and then the other end of it catches up and spins with it. It lessens the stress on the actual gears. You still get the torque, but it's not as immediate.
Manual transmissions have improved a great deal since the muscle car days. Still, an automatic will handle the torque a bit better. That's one of the benefits of a DCT - dual-clutch transmission, typically used with flappy paddles. My BMW M6 is an automatic - but it's an "automatic manual DCT". It uses both fluid and a two-clutch system.
I don't know much about transmissions.
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