No manual shifter?

But don't think it's a little sad that we'll not see many more Ferraris with the beautiful, iconic stick? That thing that, to one degree, has defined Ferraris for and age. And bear in mind that when I ask that question it's paddles for me all the way.

 

As its been said in this thread many times over..its the buyers who dictate to Ferrari what sells and what doesn't.

If more manual gearboxs were sold then flappy paddle units, then you would have a manual transmission as standard equipment. But thats not the way of things anymore is it?? The majority of buyers are buying the autoboxes "f1" end of story

 

Is it just me or am the only one tired of this discussion?

Maybe we should go on to a discussion of the tragedy of Ferrari's switch to clear coat paint from the old "single stage" paint that all the classics used. There's just no fun in waxing your car anymore. There's no "skill" in getting that perfect swurl free shine. Its all too easy. Anyone idiot can get a showroom shine now in 20 minutes. It used to take all day. It was something to be proud of. What a pity.

Talking about paint drying would be more interesting at this point.

 

"Beating a dead horse?"

 

Chad, who better than you to comment as you almost purchased a 6 Speed Manual 599.

 

the CS and Scud are not limited production models? I thought they were (?)

Some people think the paddles are ghey. Some don't.

 

Actually, I almost purchased a yellow 550

Chad

 

it is sad that it's gone

the technology argument doesn't make much sense, you can't compare this to humans starting to use light bulbs instead of candles


why not have BOTH manual and paddle shift, unless the manual gearbox cant handle the new car and performance or something, then yeah but if it could i don't see why they couldn't keep both

the paddle shifters are more popular and probably sold more (not sure, did they?), but i honestly think it's for the wrong reasons. i think most people who bought these cars were 40+ year old lazy rich men who didn't want to bother or simply don't know how to drive a manual, not because they wanted to get a 1 second faster lap time at the tracks

 

Oh dear, here we go again...

 

As mentioned in the posts in this thread, low single digit % of the 430's were sold with stick.

 

This subject is an "on the one hand, but on the other hand" type of discussion. Both paddles and stick shifts have their place, and their devotees. There is no definitive answer to this question. To each his own, and that's that. Ferrari uses the latest technology, and judging by the sales breakdown on the F430, they've made a sound business decision. This is analogous to the old question whether Muhammad Ali could have beaten Joe Louis. What's the point? It's been interesting, but I agree with bdelp. Fred

 

I was talking with a friend today who has been in the 458 and he missed the aggressive shifts of F1 Superfast 2. He thinks the twin clutch is too civilised, too smooth. He yearns for F1 and the head snap. Seems any technology left behind has its' mourners

 

He might change his mind and opinion after he has had more time behind the wheel.

 

Unfortunately you're right. I have been fixing Ferrari's for the last--I don't know how long, and I have asked numerous customers with the F1 gearboxes why the chose it over the six speed..the response is almost always the same.."I don't wanna shift gears in traffic". It does make sense with the traffic we are faced with now-a-days.

Don't get me wrong..I honestly can't see driving an F430 with the 6 speed and getting the most out of the car. It is and incredible machine with the F1. I would be hard pressed to choose which one to get, but I think the F1 would get the nod.

The thing that bugs me..is the fact that the majority of buyers are not really drivers. They are wealthy people who want the latest and greatest toy on the block, and the easier it is to drive, the better for them.

But I truly think Ferrari should continue to offer the three pedal cars for use guys who love the pure enjoyment of that perfect heel toe downshift, that wonderful "clack, clack" through the shift gate, and the overall driving experience a Ferrari has to offer.

The F1 system is a marvel, but it gets..well..boring. Might as well just hit the ":auto button" and drive it like you would your BMW. Nothing really special to experience on those weekend drives through the twisties.

I think a sports car should be a little bit difficult to drive, involving, and FUN! the F1 system may fast at the track, but is it really fun? Is it really as involved and take the same talent to drive it? I don't think so..sure it may be faster, but do you come away at the end of the run feeling good about your heel toe in turn 3 at the hair-pin?? I highly doubt it.

 

Here goes. I did order a manual 599 and I did it because I felt that it would be a pure V12 experience, the way Enzo intended. I pictured myself on Saturday morning, with few cars on the road, just me and a stick V12, going through gears and enjoying life. The emotional high on this order lasted about a week and then I called my dealer and we called FNA and I changed the car from a manual 599 to an 599 HGTE F1.

I changed it because I was in love with a myth of the past. I thought that if Ferrari could have used the F1 gearbox in the 60's, they would have done so. We have created the love affair with a stick shift, Ferrari is in love with first place. I came to terms with the fact that their business model is winning, not the appeasement of a particular demographic of customers. Enzo once said that if there was a new piece of technology possible, he would have found a way to get it into the car regardless of how frustrated it made his engineers.

All of this made my decision an easy one, and I chose to honor their brand position of winning. I do understand this is an individual decision and a personal choice, but I'm glad I made this change. I do look forward to getting a vintage Ferrari and that Saturday morning where I can live in the past. But for a 2010 car, I choose the future.

 

Seriously? We buy these cars in part because we can identify with the founder of the company. Passionate, 18 hour days of work and focused dedication that's required to be in a position to own a Ferrari. Our businesses and professions vary but the element of winning and sacrifice remain constant and we choose the finest life has to offer for our short time on this planet. No such thing as a lazy rich man, no such thing.

 

People mention this time and time again. But really, why does it bug people whether people they don't know drive their car a lot or not? Or for that matter, what other owners do? Only a tiny minority of the general population can buy new Ferrari's. Most of them have other priorities/engagements/hobbies that occupy a lot of their time already. Of this minority, again a smaller proportion really enjoy driving and tracking. It only makes sense that a lot of Ferraris are not driven a lot.

Yes, they are great cars and in an ideal world, every owner would be making the most of his/her car and driving it often and enjoying it. I would love it if more owners drove more often, however, given the price of the cars, one has to be realistic and I don't think it should be an issue that bugs people.

 

And that about says it all. So can we please have no more of this "Only useless drivers choose paddles" bollocks that keeps getting spouted in this thread?

 

Interesting comments. Thanks to all.

Sadly I will not buy the new 458 because yhere is no manual. I chose to buy a new Aston Martain and ZR1 instead. Both are six speeds I am also keeping my F430.

Posts are right, the customers have spoken. Why else would they do it?

Yhe interesting thing is Lambo says the sameabout the lack of consumer need for manuals but you can still order them but the dealers are not allowed to order 6 speeds for the floor.

Lee

 

There is more rationale to wanting a new car to have carburetors rather than fuel injection than there is looking for a stick shifted tranny. At least you can have have fun revving the car manually with the hood up and pulling on the spring, and miraculously you won't add a single mile to the odometer!

For all of those who want to experience rowing the gearshift, get an old Ferrari fer crissakes and stop whining! A new Ferrari with its magnificent engine deserves to have its transmission be the best it can be and a stick shifted tranny just won't cut it.

 

+1

 

I'd be interested in knowing the source of this quote. The Enzo I've read about bemoaned the advent of disc brakes and mid-engined race cars. The company he ran churned out street machines that were expensive, fast and stylish, but were never state-of-the-art. Heck, they sold tube-frame cars with mechanical fuel injection until the late 80s!

The 'technology-for-the-road' Ferrari didn't arrive until Luca took over.

 

+1 Enzo was very slow to adopt new tech whether it be disc brakes or mid engines. I believe 328's and TR's were the last cars in the world to use mechanical FI. Luca took the opposite approach mostly for marketing reasons I believe. But, you can't argue with success. A lot more cars have been sold since Luca took over than during Enzo's life. Fine with me, I have cars from both worlds.

Dave

 

The quote was from this documentary, made in 2004. It has a lot of footage with Enzo and the translation. He did state his reluctance to move the engine from the front to the rear in F1 saying "a horse pulls the cart,it does not push it." Then, towards the mid-1980's before his death, his engineers said he became obsessed with trying any new piece of automotive technology that could give his cars an edge. All of this was mainly focused on his F1 pursuits, so your point about the road car technology is well taken. Having just watched the video, I took the quote out of context referring to technology in general and not specific to F1, which was the main focus of the video. I bought the video in Maranello, but there is a website where it may be purchased online. The DVD region code is "0" so it will play on all machines (US or Europe). Thank you for the comment~
http://www.cinehollywood.com/sito/index.php?ProductCode=cdv6141&&site=mc&idSubCategory=34&idCategory=3&special=&site=mc&idSubCategory=34&idCategory=3&special=&offerte_speciali=no

 

No, but it is solid evidence.