Tuesday 3rd September 2013

Ferrari F430 manual: Time for Tea?

A short but sweet video today, with old and new Ferrari in one car

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The Ferrari manual has been dead for a while, but that doesn't mean we miss it any less a few years after its demise. The California was the last new Ferrari to be offered with three pedals but, as nobody bought one, Ferrari pulled the plug. If something isn't selling, there's no point continuing with it, right?

We hope it was with a heavy heart that someone in Ferrari made the call on manuals. Still, in a mark of celebration for the Ferrari with one, driver-operated clutch, here's a quick vid of a manual F430. It's not spectacular (the driving or the video), but the sight of a gearstick sharing a cabin with a manettino switch is so bizarre in a modern Ferrari that it warranted a closer look. Sounds absolutely fantastic too, especially with that pronounced pause between changes.

New manual Ferraris may be extinct (and thankfully the F1 'boxes too), but there's a still a handful for sale secondhand. This F430 coupe is primed and ready for your best heel'n'toe technique...

Turn it up!

[BlackCup]

Christ that guy needs an auto!

[possibletowel]

that noise!

those snuffed gearchanges.....

[Vee12V]

Is it me or is this guy really terrible at driving stick? Love the manual 'box, though.

[matbat]

So the one person that bought a manual should have bought the Auto..... Irony

[purpleperil]

Typical PH - just as I'm looking out for one you start bigging it up so the prices will rise

[Zod]

Oh dear. Some poor changes there!

[Prof Prolapse]

Needs an auto.

[SmartVenom]

Oh good another manual vs paddle thread. Just what pistonheads needs!

[anonymous-user]

Ooo Nice :S How much is it to change the clutch in one of those...

[GranCab]

Funnily enough I was looking at a v. nice manual 430 Spider this morning ...

[Matt UK]

matbat said:

So the one person that bought a manual should have bought the Auto..... Irony

So true. In fact I reckon my old mum could do better!

[Charlie Michael]

Forgive my ignorance - but to my ears it just sounds like he's blipping on upshifts - hardly destroying the clutch.

[Shibbyjames]

This dude is definitely blipping on the UP shifts - not cool.

[MartiniBianco]

Double clutching upshifts, really?

[mlhj83]

Does this driver not understand the concept of rev-matching? Why on earth would you blip the throttle on up-shifts? Poor clutch!

[Shurv]

Not sure about his style of gear changing, but sooo much nicer than a silly paddle shift.I enjoyed the gratuitous tunnel moment ( despite his ham fisted changes). It's such a shame that people have lost the desire to change gear themselves,I've spent years trying to perfect it and consider it an art form all by itself. Modern sports cars have evolved into minimal driver input point and squirt machines.Not sure its the customers who have done this, or car designers forcing our hands.I appreciate it makes the cars faster by speeding up the gear changes,but who on earth drives flat out everywhere in a supercar? It then makes the cars drive crappily around town ( ie normal driving situations) thus rendering them pointless trinkets. I get it though, if the manufacturers make them easy for the average Joe driver to drive,then the wealthy average Joe driver can/will buy them.If they were still beasts to drive, then they'd only sell in small numbers to skilled enthusiasts. A shame they don't make "enthusiast only" manual versions so we can identify who they real man are then!!! When I was a young sales rep (@30 years ago ahem....) one of my customers had an Aston V8 and drove it like he stole it.A colleague of mine asked for a drive and got the answer "if you can drive it properly, you can have it". Knowing the guy, he meant it.My coleague(stupidly)declined the drive. When I asked for the keys, the 2nd word was "off".
Nice to see a manual Fezza and hear it sing.

[traffman]

So what?

When i watched it made sense about why i prefer manual. I watched it , it put a wee smile on my face. If it were the same video with paddle shift it would actually look rather uninteresting.

Manuals are all about the dram , the fuss and interlock you withing the machine.

So what if he was double de clutching , i know theres no need on a modern syncro box.

I doubled declutch the Honda , just for fun , also the van , does make for a very smooth gearchange though.

[Russell996]

Lovely cars in manual, shame Ferrari forgot to remove the F1 gear window in the middle of the rev counter (just a blank LCD) - always annoyed the hell out of me!

[T.K]

Wonderful, and with that gearbox about 10 times more desirable. Waaaap, waaahwaaaaohh, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap

[998420]

Chap needs a remapped BMW Diesel, Automatic.