patent drawings<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
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In effect, both lever and clutch serve as actuators for the DCT, with all their associated mechanisms dedicated to making you feel like you\u2019re 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\u2019 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The action itself\u00a0is 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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019ll 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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\u2019re 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\u2019s straight-line performance ought to be unhindered by the innately slower process of working lever and pedal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Naturally, this \u2018fun\u2019 comes with a price tag. Even before you enter Ferrari\u2019s Tailor Made programme – as all 1,499 examples of 12Cilindri Manuale will do by default – the model\u2019s premium over standard is 190,000 euros, meaning you\u2019ll 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\u2019s achievement has little to do with practical ends, it\u2019s 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 \u2018bellissimo\u2019.<\/p>\n
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1 \/ 18<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thank goodness for Ferrari\u2019s most loyal and deep-pocketed customers. It is they, according to the firm, that put…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[59,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-673098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-gb","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}