I have no idea what to expect from Ford on any future GT350 or GT500 models. However, I can tell you that only about 5% of all private consumer automobiles sold in the US have a manual transmission. Something else to consider, in 2014, the car tech news rags/blogs swore the 2016 GT350 was going to have an auto... but 3 years later the 2017's are out, and still no auto.
When it comes to racing "street cars" on the track or even commuting to work, stick or auto is 100% personal preference. However, when it comes to racing with a dedicated car... the faster and more powerful a car becomes, the more performance gets hindered by a manual trans. It is simply impossible for a human to work a clutch system and shift gears as fast as a computer can.
My advice... buy whatever you like and enjoy it. Everything else is white noise.
When it comes to racing "street cars" on the track or even commuting to work, stick or auto is 100% personal preference. However, when it comes to racing with a dedicated car... the faster and more powerful a car becomes, the more performance gets hindered by a manual trans. It is simply impossible for a human to work a clutch system and shift gears as fast as a computer can.
My advice... buy whatever you like and enjoy it. Everything else is white noise.