For what it’s worth, I have had 2 GS’s, Granturismo S, Sport, MC Strad and GranCab Sport, all from new, so have had the full combo of 4.2, 4.7, auto-manual and ZF Auto.
I always hankered after a non facelift QPV Sport GT with the CambioCorsa box and managed to find one back in May. The intention was to put it away as a project car as I plan to do a QPV RestoMod project over the next few years ranging from expensive to “stupid” BUT I have been using it almost as a DD as it is that good. Ok, my dislike of Skyhook is well documented and the passive set up in the Strad was/is awesome, but it’s one of the best balanced cars I have ever owned and/or driven.
I never liked the facelift and didn’t want auto and have absolutely no regrets in getting a 4.2… ok the RestoMod project plans to amend that, but I will choose to drive it over all my other cars at the moment…
Good luck,
Stu