Sizzler,
We are almost on the same wavelengh.
My Cobra will have an auto for all the reasons you've mentioned. I've been in Cobras with both autos & manuals and much prefer an auto. My Cobra will be for the road with the occasional club track day. My goal is to have a car that handles will, goes fast & is compliant enough to absorb badly maintained back roads that are so typical in country Oz so my fillings don't fall out.
I'll take your point that Cobras are too light to warrent 6 speeds. I certainy won't be sourcing a Maybach 7 speeder(if anything GM), my point was that there are more & more high HP motors with these types of autos behind them. In Oz we have cars using AOD's that are a similiar weight & power to some of those Euro cars with 5 speeds and the Euros are always quicker b/c of the extra cog. I'll also agree that for the quarter, no stick will ever beat an auto, but my car will be for the street, not the strip. That is why I'm investigating 6 speeders. They are more efficient than a four speeder.
When I was a kid my bike had 3 speeds, now they have at least 18. A gear for every occasion I suppose...
Cheers