Mazda MX5 NC

Turbocharged Honda K24 up front, BMW ZF 8HP 8-speed out the back, and a DCT Shifter Carbon Edition sat exactly where it should be, the centrepiece of the whole cabin. Haltech Elite on the engine side, CANTCU on XHP Stage 3 driving the gearbox, all talking over CAN. Pull the shifter and the upshifts land in milliseconds. Bump it back for a downshift and the 8HP blips the throttle like it knows what you want before you do. Taking a sequential-style shifter and bolting it to a torque converter auto sounds wrong on paper. In the seat, it's the best of every world: the brutality of a proper sequential, the drivability of a daily, and shift times nothing with three pedals can touch. Easily one of the best NCs running a DCT Shifter setup.