Manual Ferrari 599 'GTO' | Spotted
The open-gated Ferrari V12 looks set to return - time to remember a past master
Maybe you’ve heard the rumours already. After the most divisive launch in its storied history, Ferrari is apparently following the Luce with a proper V12 heartthrob: a manual 12Cilindri. Well, sort of. See the latest leaked patent images show a six-speed, open-gated arrangement like the good old days - but still somehow hooked up to the eight-speed DCT. Even given Ferrari’s technical nous, that sounds like a formidable technical challenge. But the diagrams are there, Maranello has already confirmed it has something special in store for July 4th, and you just know the demand will be extraordinary. Ask Porsche about that; nothing to turn the tide when things aren’t going well like a manual special edition. Best get thinking about the heritage liveries coming for the ‘six-speed’ 12Cilindri now…
Should it happen, the new car will be the first manual V12 Ferrari since the 599 GTB. It’ll be the first with a gearlever in more than 15 years, in fact, the California being the last Ferrari available with a clutch pedal (alongside the much more commonly specced DCT). So it’ll be a pretty big deal, and the Luce fiasco (claim the rapper name now) will all be forgotten. For a fortnight.
But while we might like to think that Ferrari customers of the '00s were all speccing their epic naturally aspirated engines with manual gearboxes, the fact is they weren’t. This was back when Ferrari was good at Grand Prix racing, remember, so the automated F1 transmissions were being heavily pushed - and enthusiastically taken up - by the majority of customers. Who wouldn’t want to be like Kimi Raikkoenen in 2007?
It means that the majority of 599s, 430s, 612s and the like have two pedals, and those with three now command a premium. Because a 20-year-old physical manual can still be nice to use; a 20-year-old automated manual tends not to be. Which is why conversions are now popular, taking away the automated element from various SMGs, e-gears and F1s to make more manuals. A cause to be celebrated from where we’re sitting, making great cars even better, and bringing us neatly to this stunning Rubino Micalizzato 599.
If it were a GTB, it should be F1-equipped, as 95 per cent were. The last manual 599 we saw was half a million pounds, and that was a while ago. As a GTO it would only be F1, as they’re simply worth too much to meddle with. The reality is a fascinating hybrid of everything: it’s a 599 GTB, with an open-gated manual as well as a fortune spent on GTO upgrades. A long way from original, albeit a project that promises manual Ferrari V12 thrills like little else.
It has quite some story to tell. Sold new to Saudi Arabia in 2008, this LHD 599 has been in the UK for most of its life, with MOT history back to 2011. And although the manual conversion - undertaken by the selling specialist and boasting the latest software - is the big news, there’s plenty more to be excited by.
The V12 is now at GTO-matching 670hp, the best part of £20k was spent on a GTO steering rack, all the aero is from the GTO, as is the suspension, the wheels, the brakes… you get the idea. While not official, it is, to all intents and purposes, a manual 599 GTO. Which is potentially even more exciting than whatever the new one is, especially with the 599 having aged as elegantly as it has.
The asking price is £194,995; more than twice what a standard GTB would cost, if hundreds of thousands less than a factory manual or GTO. It’s two-thirds the price of an Alonso Edition even. While the spec and the modifications might limit the general appeal, a specific group of manual V12 die-hards - us lot, basically - shouldn’t need the attraction explained too much. It’ll be an awful lot easier to get hold of than whatever the new Ferrari is, too…
SPECIFICATION | FERRARI 599 GTB FIORANO
Engine: 5,999cc V12
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 620@7,600rpm
Torque (lb ft): 448@5,600rpm
MPG: 13
CO2: 490g/km
First registered: 2008
Recorded mileage: 25,700
Price new: £205,788 (2006, before options)
Yours for: £194,995
Not that I’ve got the wonga to drop on it anyway, I’m probably around the ballpark of a 360 manual orange a F355 manual at a push (the former of SWMBO is reading this, the latter if not!)
I'd prefer a GTO, F1 and all. This is a lot for a modified car.
No disrespect to the financial obligations the current scribes have to meet. We all have reality to adhere to.
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