The only thing one needs to be an enthusiast is to be enthusiastic about driving.
You can be a driving enthusiast without a car.
But an enthusiasts car should provide the things that enthusiasts look for in performance cars. With current technology today, CVT's don't provide that. Adding power to those things, or extended high load performance will wreck them quickly.
Traditional hydraulic planetary gear Automatics are making headways into Circuit racing with the mainstream usage of electronic throttle blades that allow rev-matched downshifting of the transmission. A notable weak point. They also do not do well with extended loads as the fluid heats up FAST. And any mods you do to increase torque handling usually result in increased heat output. So you have to have a VERY good cooling system or the fluid will break down and the clutch packs and steals will glaze. Drag racing where stalled auto's are used the most simply doesn't generate near the load Road Racing does.
Straight up manual transmissions are perfect for road racing and performance driving with less cost. The clutch can wear out, but the gears and synchro's themselves don't generate that much heat compared to the traditional automatic. Still, for endurance racing a cooler is useful.
Electronic SCT and DCT boxes are more performance oriented, but more expensive to maintain and fix. This is basically a computer taking away the control of the clutch, and shift lever. They are now actuated by hydraulics. So shift timing can be much more precise and faster. This is at its heart the same method mechanical design as a regular old H-pattern.
