New 12Cilindri Manuale is the first Ferrari with a clutch pedal since the California
Ferrari is set to offer the thrill of a manual gearbox again after a 14-year hiatus.
The 12Cilindri Manuale is the first Ferrari fitted with a clutch pedal – as well as the famous ‘canceletto’ open-gate shifter – since the California and is the first manual V12 from Maranello since the 599 GTB.
It will be limited to 1499 examples and, at €590,000 (£508k), costs 50% more than the regular 12Cilindri.
Departing Ferrari commercial chief Enrico Galliera said a manual gearbox has been the number one request from the firm’s client base in recent years.
Describing the Manuale as a car that “brings incredible performance and incredible emotion”, he said Ferrari had waited until it could offer something not just rewarding but also innovative and “without compromise”.
The innovation refers to the most unconventional element of the new Manuale: it has no linkage between the gearlever and the gearbox slung across the back axle. Indeed, the car is homologated as an automatic.
But while the eight-speed dual-clutch ’box (DCT) of the regular 12Cilindri is retained, here it can be controlled by-wire through inputs the driver makes with the clutch pedal and gearlever.
The potential genius of the system is that the position of the clutch pedal informs the level of engagement of the clutch packs in the gearbox. It means the system is able to replicate everything from languid clutch-riding, if you are babying the 819bhp 12Cilindri Manuale off the mark, to brutal clutch-kicking to initiate slides.
It is even possible to stall the car, though authenticity is not pursued to the extent that the system will accept an errant downshift – the driver cannot send valvetrain shards to the heavens by inadvertently slotting first instead of third.
“The DCT remains but we have built up on top a new layer of interaction for the driver, to bring back the legacy experience,” said project lead Valentin Marguet. “Whatever goes through your hand on the lever or your foot on the clutch is built on mechanics. There is no artifice and the electronics are there only to communicate to the car.”
It means the Manuale can also be driven in full-automatic mode, which Ferrari expects many owners to revert to in stop-start traffic.
Because the manual element has only six speeds, to preserve the aesthetics of the open gate, the powertrain needs to revert to automatic mode to reach the car’s highest speeds in seventh and eighth gears, and also to hit its claimed 2.9sec 0-62mph time with the help of launch control.
However, the removal of the standard paddle shifters puts the onus on manual mode, which can be initiated below 60mph simply by depressing the clutch and selecting a gear.
The action of the clutch pedal is the result of an intricate series of rollers, rockers and bearings working with a stout spring. This mechanism defines the all-important feel of the pedal action and has been the subject of painstaking development.
There is then a separate link that connects the arm of the pedal to a sensor that relays its position, in turn informing the engagement of the clutch packs inside the gearbox proper, all in an instant and with millimetric precision.
As a result, a clean upshift or deftly rev-matched downshift should reward the driver and clumsy use of the system will do the opposite. Ferrari says it is not possible for the driver to damage the gearbox.
The entire system weighs only 5kg. Gas nitriding on steel is used in places in the mechanism where wear resistance is critical in retaining a tight feel and minimal play throughout the car’s life, and aluminium is employed elsewhere.
The centre console has also been redesigned, with minimalistic buttons for automatic operation and a subtle floating effect for the aluminium gates. The ball gearknob shows the traditional shift pattern, only backlit in white or orange, depending on mode.
Conceptual work for the system began in 2022, with the development team using a rig to perfect the ergonomics of the pedal box and the nature of the shift, which is broadly modelled on a 599 GTB’s.
As well as the new transmission, every Manuale will come with silver Scuderia shields, a model designation on the flanks, and faint, Daytona-style pinstripes across the nose and on the active aero winglets on the rear deck.
All examples will also be offered as part of Ferrari’s Tailor Made programme, with special paint and upholstery colours available.
Deliveries will begin in early 2027, with Galliera conceding the Manuale is effectively already sold out.
How does it feel?
Only when we drive the Manuale will the success or otherwise of Ferrari’s unusual approach become clear. For now, we’ve had to make do with a rummage of the controls in a static car.
There’s no question that the anodised gearknob, into which the illuminated gate pattern is seamlessly sunk, feels evocative in the palm. The varying, mechanically generated resistance and elasticity of the throw are also convincing, weight building and ebbing away as you would expect thanks to the system rockers, springs and a solenoid that exists below.
The throw itself is also accompanied with a metallic ‘zing’ more pronounced than it ever was in period. Perhaps the throw is a touch more economical than it was the last time a V12 Ferrari came with a manual ’box, but this will better suit the 12Cilindri’s throttle response and immediate steering. It’s unlikely to make the driving experience feel baggy or anachronistic.
In the footwell, the clutch action is lighter than it is in the manual V12s of yore but only marginally. It still needs 10-15kg of force and has a smooth, linear motion.
Ferrari says it hasn’t accounted for the effects of warming fluids after a cold start, so the system won’t convey the almost ‘living’ feel of the old manual cars. Engineers say accounting for this kind of variable would have introduced unnecessary complexity at the expense of consistency.
