A by-wire manual system sidesteps packaging difficulties while delivering tactile ritual
Fourteen years after retiring the clutch pedal in pursuit of pure performance, Ferrari has returned it — not through nostalgia, but through engineering ingenuity. The 12Cilindri Manuale, limited to 1,499 examples and priced at €590,000, answers what has quietly been the most-requested feature among Ferrari's clientele by translating human intention into electronic command rather than mechanical force. It is a rare moment in which a performance-first institution pauses to ask not what is fastest, but what is most felt.
- Ferrari's most-requested feature went unanswered for over a decade while the brand chased lap times — now it arrives in the most unconventional form imaginable.
- A clutch pedal connected to nothing mechanical creates an immediate tension: can electronics truly replicate the visceral dialogue between driver and drivetrain?
- The by-wire architecture allows stalling, clutch-kicks, and gentle pull-aways, yet quietly refuses any downshift that would harm the car — the illusion of control is carefully curated.
- At €590,000 and already sold out before a single delivery, the market has answered the question of desirability long before any road test can answer the question of feel.
- Deliveries begin in early 2027, leaving the most important verdict — whether it truly feels like a manual — still unwritten.
Ferrari has built its first car with a clutch pedal in fourteen years, and it is not quite what it appears. The 12Cilindri Manuale is a limited grand tourer — 1,499 examples, €590,000 apiece — and the first V12 Ferrari with a traditional clutch since the 599 GTB. According to departing commercial chief Enrico Galliera, the manual gearbox has been the single most-requested feature from Ferrari's clientele for years. The car is reportedly sold out before a single delivery.
The engineering is where expectations diverge from reality. There is no mechanical connection between the gearlever and the gearbox. Beneath the ritual sits an eight-speed dual-clutch unit, fundamentally automatic, overlaid with a by-wire system that reads clutch inputs and translates them into electronic commands with millimetric precision. Project lead Valentin Marguet described it as mechanics-first, with electronics serving only to relay the driver's intentions. The system can replicate a gentle pull-away, a clutch-kick, even a stall — but will silently refuse any downshift capable of damaging the drivetrain.
The open gate carries six speeds; seventh and eighth are accessed automatically at higher speeds. Launch control, required for the claimed 2.9-second 0–62mph time, also demands automatic operation. The entire manual mechanism weighs just 5kg, built from gas-nitrided steel and aluminium, with a pedal requiring 10–15kg of force and a deliberately consistent, linear feel regardless of temperature.
Inside, a floating aluminium gate and backlit ball gearknob replace the paddle shifters. Every car receives Scuderia shields, model badging, and Daytona-style pinstripes, with full Tailor Made customisation available. What Ferrari has created is a genuine curiosity — a by-wire solution that sidesteps the packaging problem of a rear-mounted gearbox while preserving the tactile ritual enthusiasts demanded. Whether it truly feels like a manual remains a question for the road. Deliveries begin in early 2027.
Ferrari has built its first car with a clutch pedal in fourteen years, and it is not what it seems. The 12Cilindri Manuale arrives as a limited-run grand tourer priced at €590,000—roughly double the cost of the standard 12Cilindri—with only 1,499 examples destined for production. It marks the first manual-equipped Ferrari since the California, and the first V12 with a traditional clutch since the 599 GTB. The request for such a car did not come from nostalgia alone. Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's departing commercial chief, confirmed that the manual gearbox has been the single most-requested feature from the company's clientele in recent years. The car is, by most accounts, already sold out before a single example has been delivered.
Here is where the engineering becomes unconventional. There is no mechanical connection between the gearlever and the gearbox. The transmission itself—an eight-speed dual-clutch unit mounted across the rear axle—remains fundamentally automatic. Instead, Ferrari has layered a by-wire system on top of it. The clutch pedal reads the driver's inputs and translates them into electronic commands that engage the gearbox's clutch packs with millimetric precision. Valentin Marguet, the project lead, described the architecture as mechanics-first, with electronics present only to communicate the driver's intentions to the car. The result is a system capable of replicating everything from a gentle clutch-ride away from rest to a clutch-kick to initiate a slide. You can even stall it. What you cannot do is select a downshift dangerous enough to destroy the drivetrain—the system will refuse it.
The practical constraints are real. The open gate carries only six speeds, preserving its visual purity but requiring the car to revert to automatic mode to access seventh and eighth gears at higher speeds. Launch control, necessary to achieve the claimed 2.9-second 0–62mph time, also demands automatic operation. Manual mode can be initiated below 60mph simply by depressing the clutch and selecting a gear. The entire manual mechanism weighs just 5kg. Ferrari used gas-nitrided steel in high-wear areas and aluminium elsewhere, prioritizing long-term precision over weight. The pedal action requires 10–15kg of force and moves with a smooth, linear feel. Engineers chose not to replicate the variable resistance of warming fluids after a cold start, opting instead for consistency.
The centre console has been redesigned around the new setup. A floating aluminium gate and a ball gearknob displaying the shift pattern sit where paddle shifters once were. The knob backlights in white or orange depending on the mode. Every car receives silver Scuderia shields, a model designation on the flanks, and Daytona-style pinstripes across the nose and rear aero winglets. All examples are offered through Ferrari's Tailor Made programme, allowing buyers to customize their cars to specification.
What Ferrari has engineered is a genuine curiosity. A by-wire manual system sidesteps the packaging difficulties of routing a mechanical linkage to a rear-mounted gearbox while still delivering the tactile ritual that enthusiasts have been asking for. Whether it truly replicates the feel of a traditional manual is a question that will only be answered once the car is driven properly. What is clear is that Ferrari has taken the request seriously enough to spend years developing a bespoke solution rather than simply reviving an old layout. For a brand that abandoned the manual gearbox in the name of performance, that represents a meaningful shift in direction—even if the gearbox underneath remains very much an automatic. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in early 2027.
Citas Notables
The manual gearbox has been the single most-requested feature from the firm's clients in recent years— Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's departing commercial chief
The system is built on mechanics, with electronics present only to communicate the driver's intentions to the car— Valentin Marguet, project lead
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would Ferrari spend years engineering a manual system when the automatic already delivers the performance they're known for?
Because their customers asked for it relentlessly. After fourteen years without a clutch pedal, the request became impossible to ignore. It's not about speed—it's about the ritual, the connection, the feeling of driving rather than being driven.
But it's not a real manual, is it? There's no mechanical linkage.
No, it isn't. But that's the clever part. A mechanical linkage to a rear-mounted gearbox would be a packaging nightmare. The by-wire system lets them deliver the experience without the engineering compromise.
Can you actually feel the difference between this and just using the paddles on the automatic?
That's the question nobody can answer yet. The system can stall the car, replicate a clutch-kick, even let you feel the engagement. But whether your foot and leg experience it the same way as a traditional clutch? We'll have to wait for the first owners to tell us.
Why does it switch to automatic at higher speeds?
The open gate only has six speeds—they wanted to preserve the visual purity of the shifter. At highway speeds, the car needs seventh and eighth gear, so it goes automatic. It's a compromise, but a deliberate one.
At €590,000, who is actually buying this?
People who have already bought everything else Ferrari makes. The car is already sold out, and it hasn't been delivered yet.