Ferrari strikes back with new 12Cilindri Manuale

A six-speed manual gearbox in an 830hp V12 Ferrari? Maranello heads gleefully back to the future...

Thank goodness for Ferrari’s most loyal and deep-pocketed customers. It is they, according to the firm, that put the prospect of a manual gearbox at the top of their speculative wish list. Ferrari is well accustomed to keeping them happy; certainly, it knew the Luce would not do so. It was remarkably frank last month when it conceded that its first all-electric car was not aimed at the core enthusiast, and they would not be encouraged to buy one. The 12Cilindri Manuale, Ferrari’s first manual since the California, will require no encouragement either: by now the queue is likely to resemble a siege.

As you might expect, the company firmly rejects the idea that it has launched the model as an automotive quid pro quo, delivered so that it might return to everyone’s good graces, pointing to the two years of development the transmission has required. In fairness to it, it could hardly have failed to notice the clamour for cars like the Aston Martin Valiant or GMA T50. Yet its unveiling so close to the Luce’s reveal can hardly be called a coincidence - and what better antidote to the internet’s affront than a V12 with an open-gate shifter? If only Jaguar had conceived of such a solution.

That solution could hardly be more Ferrari-like in application. Not for it the retrofitting of a conventional manual, nor even the sort of clever mechanical bodge that rendered DIY gear changes from Porsche’s old PDK. News of the Manuale's arrival was preceded by patent drawings that showed there was no mechanical connection between the gorgeous gearlever and the retained eight-speed DCT, which apart from some fairly significant updates to its software, is unchanged from the standard 12Cilindri transmission. When Ferrari calls the new system Manuale By-Wire - with a clutch-by-wire pedal - it is not underselling the description.

In effect, both lever and clutch serve as actuators for the DCT, with all their associated mechanisms dedicated to making you feel like you’re going through the physical process of changing ratios, without actually doing so. That might sound gimmicky - and on the basis that the car still allows you to drive in auto mode should you wish, some purists (the purists’ purist) might conceivably grumble that the car has merely swapped its paddles for a nicer-sounding lever, one only permitted to interact with the first six ratios of the DCT - yet the level of craftsmanship and technical nous Ferrari has brought to bear suggests that it has placed the physical pleasure of working a manual gearbox above all else.

The action itself is apparently modelled on the 599 GTB, the last V12 to feature three pedals, and features at its core a rotating block made from solid-machined high-strength steel. The gear selector is made to self-centre via a system of eccentric rollers and a single spring, with two angle sensors to detect the lever’s position. Yet it might end up being the pedal that really sells the experience, as it not only requires a manful 15kg of pressure to activate, but its position also dictates (again, via sensors) the engagement of the DCT’s own clutch packs. In fact, the algorithms are so adamant about you getting the biting point right that naffing it up will mean you pogoing up the road. Or even stalling, perish the thought.

This fidelity extends elsewhere, too. The manual will not let you engage a gear outside of its range, and the mode itself can only be engaged via the clutch pedal. You cannot flat shift, and if you want a satisfying throttle blip when downshifting, you’ll need to do your own heel and toeing. Granted, the system will not accept the kind of bungled downshift that would threaten the powertrain, but Ferrari is adamant that the configuration is sufficiently mechanical in sensation and precision to reward the kind of sympathetic use that a 599 owner might have brought to bear two decades ago.

Certainly the unit looks terrific, even if it might take a moment to adjust to the spectacle of a very analogue presence in the 12Cilindri’s screen-heavy interior. The centre console has obviously been redesigned to accommodate the aluminium gate, and features buttons to engage its automatic transmission. The knob itself is pleasingly minimalistic, though it is backlit to signify which mode you’re in: white when inactive, amber for fun. And fun, in a decidedly old-fashioned and interactive way, is clearly the point here - even if Ferrari suggests that the car’s straight-line performance ought to be unhindered by the innately slower process of working lever and pedal.

Naturally, this ‘fun’ comes with a price tag. Even before you enter Ferrari’s Tailor Made programme - as all 1,499 examples of 12Cilindri Manuale will do by default - the model’s premium over standard is 190,000 euros, meaning you’ll pay more than half a million quid for one in the UK. For some, that sum might seem extraordinary for a 5kg add-on that replaces the speed and convenience of a paddle with seemingly pointless manual labour. Yet Ferrari’s achievement has little to do with practical ends, it’s plainly about the means. Consequently, no one will know how good a silver bullet its Manuale By-Wire system actually is until the car is driven in anger. Of course, that will have precious little bearing on its success as a strictly limited addition to the lineup - expect the 12Cilindri Manuale to be sold out before you can murmur ‘bellissimo’.

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Deessee

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