Ferrari just invented a new gearbox for the 12Cilindri that's both manual and automatic
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Ferrari has created and patented an incredible new transmission system for its V12 supercar, the Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale.
This is Ferrari’s first three-pedal car in 14 years, and to mark the occasion, it did something big.
From an engineering standpoint, this gearbox is a game changer.
But there’s an elephant in the room that must be addressed.
We’re not sure whether this is just a coincidence or something they’ve done by design, but Ferrari brought back its first new V12 supercar with a manual just a couple of months after the launch of the Luce.
Purists, by definition, always want whatever we had yesterday because they think it’s better than what we’ll have tomorrow.
But when you look at recent history, these transitions have always been gradual.
It doesn’t feel gradual now.
In the space of 10 to 15 years, we’ve gone from engine-driven vehicles with V8s, V12s, and complicated gearboxes, to transmission-less, engine-less, software-driven cars.
Ferrari
A modern car has more in common with a smartphone than with a vehicle from 20 years ago.
That’s why the 12Cilindri Manuale feels like a breath of fresh air.
It has a ‘real’ engine, an 830-horsepower V12, and a ‘real’ gearbox.
Except this manual gearbox isn’t actually ‘real’.
Ferrari
In theory, the Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale features both an automatic and a manual transmission.
In practice, it’s still fitted with the same 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission as the ‘standard’ car.
When you open the 12Cilindri Manuale’s door, you’ll find a gated shifter and three pedals, but there are no mechanical cables or linkages connecting the shifter to the gearbox.
Instead, Ferrari invented a by-wire system that simulates a manual transmission perfectly.
Ferrari
When you shift into gear, sensors read your hand and foot movements by-wire, translating them to the automatic clutch packs.
The shifter physically clicks against the gates, the clutch pedal requires a heavy 30 lbs of force, and you can actually stall it or drop the clutch if your timing is bad.
However, it is all electronic because none of that is actually happening mechanically.
Interestingly but not surprisingly, the car is actually slower in manual mode.
Ferrari
This is partly because a dual-clutch transmission is always faster than a manual transmission, but also because manual mode only uses gears 1 through 6.
In automatic mode, the car will hit 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, and the top speed is 211 mph.
Production is limited to 1,499 units, with an MSRP of around $700,000.
Deliveries begin in early 2027, but the car is already effectively sold out.