Ferrari just brought the manual V12 back from the dead, and we could not be happier
A clutch pedal in a naturally aspirated V12 Ferrari, in 2026
Pinch us. Ferrari has put a clutch pedal and a proper gearlever back into a naturally aspirated V12 supercar, something we honestly thought we would never see again. The new 12Cilindri Manuale is being pitched as the purest expression of driving, and to us it sounds like an absolute dream. After the online backlash Ferrari's electric era has stirred up, this feels like a gift to the faithful.
Manual, but by wire
Here is the honest bit, and it matters. This is not the old-school mechanical gearbox with a metal gate. Instead, Ferrari has developed a new Manuale By-Wire system: underneath sits the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, but it electronically emulates a six-speed manual, giving you a real clutch pedal and a gearlever for the first six gears plus reverse. Press a button and the same car reverts to a full eight-speed automatic. So it is a clever hybrid of analogue feel and modern tech rather than a purely mechanical throwback, exactly the kind of system Ferrari hinted at in a recent patent.
The V12 is the real star
Whatever you make of the gearbox, the engine is glorious. The 12Cilindri Manuale keeps the 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12, making 830 hp and revving all the way to a spine-tingling 9,500 rpm, with peak torque arriving high at 7,250 rpm. Performance is predictably savage: 0-100 km/h in 3.0 seconds and a top speed of around 340 km/h. There is no turbo, no hybrid assistance, just twelve cylinders and revs, which is precisely the point.
Rare and very special
Ferrari will build just 1,499 examples of the 12Cilindri Manuale, making it a genuinely limited and collectible take on its front-engined V12 flagship. Given how starved enthusiasts have been of manual-style shifting in modern supercars, expect every single one to be spoken for very quickly, and to hold its value handsomely.
AutoNext Take
We adore this, and we suspect the internet will too, which makes a nice change after the pile-on aimed at Ferrari's electric Luce. Purists will grumble that a by-wire manual is not the same as a real gated H-pattern, and they have a point, but they are missing the bigger picture. Ferrari has looked at what drivers actually love, the involvement of a clutch and a stick paired with a screaming naturally aspirated V12, and found a way to deliver it in a modern car. If the feel lives up to the promise, this could be one of the most desirable Ferraris in years. Bravo, Maranello.
This is the production version of the manual-by-wire shifter Ferrari patented. For the real analogue thing, see the manual 599 GT Speciale one-off. It is quite the contrast with the EV backlash that cost Ferrari's marketing chief his job.
