The new Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale features a proper clutch pedal and a gorgeous gated shifter, but underneath it is still the same eight-speed dual-clutch transmission running clever by-wire software.The powertrain is untouched, meaning a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 producing 819 horsepower, a 0-62 mph time of 3.0 seconds, and a top speed of 211 mph.Only 1,499 examples will be built, each configured through Ferrari's Tailor Made program, with prices expected to comfortably exceed the standard car's $423,000 starting figure. Now then. For years, those of us who love the wonderful, physical, slightly awkward business of changing gears ourselves have been shouting into the void, begging Ferrari to give us back the manual gearbox. And for years, Maranello smiled politely, patted us on the head, and carried on building cars that shift faster than a human ever could. But something has shifted, if you will pardon the pun. Ferrari, despite a few recent dramas in the headlines, still understands that the whole point of one of its cars is how it makes you feel behind the wheel. And so, after actually listening to what its customers wanted, the company has given its flagship grand tourer a manual option. Except, and this is where things get gloriously tangled, the word manual here is wearing a very large pair of quotation marks. It is doing an enormous amount of work. Because the new 12Cilindri Manuale is not quite the three-pedal purist's dream you might be imagining. It is something far stranger, far cleverer, and honestly, far more interesting than that. Whether it counts as the real thing or a very convincing party trick depends entirely on which enthusiast you happen to be arguing with at the time. How Ferrari's Clever New Manual Actually Works Let me explain what is going on here, because it is genuinely fascinating. Buried within the 12Cilindri Manuale is the very same eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox you will find in the standard car. Nothing has been swapped out for a dusty old H-pattern manual. Instead, Ferrari has developed a system it calls Manuale By-Wire, and this is the magic ingredient. It allows the driver to row through the first six gears, plus reverse, exactly as they would in a traditional stick shift. You can even stall the thing, which frankly is the most delightfully human detail of the entire project. The whole concept borrows heavily from the sort of thinking Koenigsegg applied to its CC850, blending the lightning speed of a dual-clutch with the tactile joy of shifting yourself. To operate it, you flick the car into Manual mode, press the clutch pedal, and yes, there really is a clutch pedal down there, then move the shifter through an exposed metal gate. Ferrari has fitted a classic gated shifter topped with a polished metal knob, the kind of thing that used to define these cars back in the good old days. The company insists this preserves the analogue feel and natural rhythm of a real manual, and I am rather inclined to believe them. Behind all of this pantomime, there is some serious engineering doing the heavy lifting. A pair of Hall-effect sensors watches the movement of the shifter, while a compact electric actuator refuses to let a gear engage unless you have properly selected Manual mode. There is a brand new three-pedal layout too, complete with an electronic clutch pedal. A sensor reads exactly how far you have pressed that pedal and then translates your inputs into hydraulic commands for the dual-clutch transmission. It is, in essence, a beautifully elaborate illusion. And I mean that as the highest possible compliment. Here is a clever touch. Start the car with only the brake pedal pressed and the gearbox behaves like any normal dual-clutch, slipping quietly into Drive all by itself. Start it with the clutch pedal depressed, however, and it boots straight into Manual mode, ready for you to make a mess of your downshifts. You can flick between automatic and manual operation whenever you like while driving, though Ferrari has reserved seventh and eighth gears purely for relaxed, high-speed cruising. Which makes sense. Nobody wants to be manually hunting for eighth gear on a motorway. Crucially, Ferrari has not touched a single thing about the engine, and thank goodness for that. Sitting up front is the same glorious naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12, producing a frankly ludicrous 819 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. All that theatre with the gearbox has done nothing to blunt the performance either. The 12Cilindri Manuale still fires itself to 62 mph in just 3.0 seconds before charging on to a top speed of 211 mph. So no, adding a clutch pedal has not turned this into some slow, sentimental museum piece. It remains a properly ferocious machine. As you would entirely expect from something this special, Ferrari is not building very many of them. The production run is capped at 1,499 examples, and every single one will pass through the company's Tailor Made personalization program, so no two will be quite alike. Pricing has not been confirmed yet, but let me offer you a hint. The standard 12Cilindri already commands somewhere in the region of $423,000. This one, with all its bespoke touches and clever gearbox wizardry, will most certainly not be leaving the showroom for pocket change. So what do we make of all this? Well, you can spend all afternoon arguing about whether a shifter and pedal that share no mechanical connection to the gearbox truly qualifies as a manual. Some purists will scoff. Others will point out, quite reasonably, that a dual-clutch is essentially two manual gearboxes bolted together anyway, and that the only things missing here are the physical rods and linkages. Personally, I think the whole debate rather misses the point. What Ferrari has done is fascinating, and the technology behind it is genuinely clever. Giving drivers the chance to shift their own gears again is never a bad thing, provided the feel has been nailed. And if anyone can nail the feel, it is the people in Maranello. Mamma mia, indeed.
