Ferrari has done something rather dangerous.
Not dangerous in the sense that the new 12Cilindri Manuale can exceed 340km/h or rev to 9,500rpm. We’ve come to expect that sort of thing from Maranello. Ferrari has done something far more reckless. It has given enthusiasts hope.
For more than a decade, Ferrari maintained that manual gearboxes belonged in the history books. Customers wanted paddle shifters. Performance demanded automation.
Then the 12Cilindri Manuale arrived and quietly threw that argument out of the window. The new Manuale by-wire system, while it isn’t a true manual, exists for one reason alone: emotion. It was built to reconnect the driver with the machine in a way that even the finest dual-clutch gearbox simply cannot.
If Ferrari has already done all the hard work developing the Manuale by-wire system, surely this can’t be the only car destined to receive it, right?, So, this is something like a wishlist: if Ferrari were willing to let the idea spread beyond the 12Cilindri, here are the cars that we feel deserve it most.
Ferrari Purosangue
Let’s begin with the one guaranteed to upset everyone. Before you close this article in disgust, hear me out.
The Purosangue is already the oddball of the Ferrari family. It has four doors, four proper seats and enough ground clearance to survive a speed bump without requiring a structural engineer.
Yet beneath all that practicality sits one of Ferrari’s greatest modern engines, a naturally aspirated V12 that deserves to be enjoyed, not merely operated.
Imagine climbing an Alpine pass, and listening to the V12 climb through the rev range while your left foot and right hand actually have something meaningful to do.
Ferrari Amalfi
This, to me, feels like the obvious candidate.
The Amalfi has already been positioned as Ferrari’s elegant grand tourer, a car designed for crossing continents rather than setting qualifying laps. And what has traditionally made a grand tourer special? Interaction.
Some of the greatest GT cars ever built asked the driver to participate. The journey mattered just as much as the destination. A manual gearbox transforms an ordinary mountain road into an event, even if you’re travelling well below the speed limit.
The Amalfi Manuale wouldn’t need to be the fastest Ferrari in the showroom. It would simply need to be the one you always wanted to take the long way home in.
Ferrari Roma Spider… if it were still around
Perhaps the greatest missed opportunity of recent years wasn’t that Ferrari discontinued manual gearboxes, It was that the Roma never received one. Its understated styling, front-mounted V8 and relaxed grand touring character made it almost tailor-made for three pedals.
Picture it finished in Grigio Silverstone with tan leather, a polished aluminium gear gate and that familiar metallic click every time you slot home another ratio. Bliss.
Sadly, the Roma has already bowed out, replaced by the Amalfi. Still, one can’t help wondering what might have been.
Ferrari F80
Now we’re entering fantasy territory.
There is absolutely no engineering reason for Ferrari to build a manual F80. It would almost certainly make the car slower. The hybrid systems would become vastly more complicated. Engineers would collectively develop migraines… which is precisely why enthusiasts would adore it.
The F40 had a manual. The F50 had a manual. Even the Enzo, despite arriving during Ferrari’s paddle-shift era, still feels like a deeply analogue machine by modern standards.
The F80 represents the next chapter of Ferrari’s technological evolution. A limited “Piloti Manuale” edition. Built to celebrate the art of driving. It would become an instant collector’s item.
Ferrari SP Manuale
Perhaps the smartest place for Ferrari’s Manuale isn’t the regular production range at all. Perhaps it belongs in the Icona and Special Projects programmes.
These cars already exist to celebrate Ferrari’s heritage. They’re produced in tiny numbers, often for clients who value emotion over outright performance. If you’re commissioning a one-off Ferrari inspired by the 250 SWB or the 275 GTB, surely a “manual gearbox” completes the story.
Imagine a modern coachbuilt Ferrari with a naturally aspirated V12, carbon fibre construction, no hybrid assistance and an exposed aluminium gear gate sitting proudly between the seats.
More Than Just Another Gearbox
Perhaps the biggest surprise surrounding the 12Cilindri Manuale isn’t the gearbox itself, but rather what it says about Ferrari.
For years, Maranello appeared to be following the same path as every other performance manufacturer: more technology, more automation, more software. Then, quietly, it decided that perhaps progress wasn’t about removing the driver after all. Some customers don’t necessarily want the fastest gear change. They want the most satisfying one.
Whether the technology ever finds its way into another Ferrari remains to be seen. But if the 12Cilindri Manuale proves anything, it’s that the door has finally reopened.
And once you’ve reminded enthusiasts what three pedals feel like, persuading them to settle for two again may prove rather difficult.
*All photos are credited to Ferrari
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