While this is true, I would add the word "today". Tomorrow may, and probably will, be a quite different market.
This is an interesting topic the rarity of a manual transmission Ferrari and what is it worth to the next buyer. Here is a thought, as Luca di Montezemolo essentially was the one to decide to stop offering manual transmissions on Ferraris and now we have a new head of Ferrari Sergio Marchionne. Do any of you think it could be possible for Ferrari to bring the manual back as an option? Thanks
I would love to see a MT Ferrari again. Despite what you might hear, there IS a market for MT cars - just ask Porsche dealers about the availability of the upcoming Cayman GT-4. However, I have a very sad suspicion that Ferrari has secretly agreed never to sell a MT car again to protect investors.
I'll explain... There is a large population of enthusiasts (mostly secondary market) who want the manual transmission. It provides the best connected experience and the best way to improve your skills. The new market is mainly rich people with no skills, who cannot drive a MT. With no new MT cars on tap, enthusiasts are being forced to fight over the ever shrinking pool of remaining used MT cars. Prospectors have taken note of this and have bought up many of these cars to take advantage of the situation - holding the cars hostage for a ridiculous ransom. If Ferrari were to start producing MT cars again, many of those older MT cars would immediately lose their worth as investment, since their only true value comes from having a MT (ie, 599). Basically, all of those investors would be screwed. If Ferrari were to make MT cars again at a reasonable price point, they would sell like crazy - everyone knows this; including Ferrari.
I disagree. 1. Ferrari doesn't care about manual 599 (or any other manual) "investors." 2. If Ferrari started making manuals again, it would not effect the values of previous manuals. Because it's the old exclusivity / rarity variable you misunderstand. There will still be only a limited number of Apertas, GTOs, and manual 599s. Prime example: Carol Shelby's new "continuation" Cobras have had no effect on his real vintage Cobras. 3. "Holding cars hostage for a ridiculous ransom" is a vintage Ferrari tradition. And now that tradition is taking hold on fiberglass 308s, 365 Boxers, rare 599s, Superamericas, and the other cars in limited supply. The market is shifting into new territory.
South, While you make some valid points, I think you're going to get a lot of pushback ie. "...The new market is mainly rich people with no skills...". There are very few new Ferrari buyers who are not financially comfortable and this has been true since the beginning but has had very little, if anything do with skill level. If there is money to be made, taking into consideration economy of scales, strategic market goals, demand, etc., you can be sure Ferrari is looking at it. I think the fact that Ferrari seems to be content walking away from MT's (at least for now) tells you a lot about their view of these issues.
I don't know if I agree with this theory or not. There are some interesting points there. I would add one other point that adds a little bit to your points: its more expensive to develop, manufacture and then support two transmissions vs one. I want to state my opinion, which is there are many new Ferrari owners who are skilled drivers and who can drive stick shift. I think I mostly agree with Zarathustra. As a side note that was your 599th post.
I agree - I apologize if I offended anybody. I'll edit the comment. I still think it would be ideal if Ferrari would make limited editions for those who want to collect and cars for the enthusiast-only crowd.
Good points. I was just focusing on the modern manual cars. You are correct that older versions would not be effected. Regardless, this is a tough time to be a Ferrari enthusiast with the recent price explosions on many of the manual models.
The thing is vintage Ferraris cars built early 70s back have a collectibility and that doesn't seem like it will ever change. What I guess some of us are calling modern Ferraris well that is different. As mentioned some of the appeal is going to be manual transmission and others may just be it was a car you dreamed of owning and now you can. One day what we call modern Ferraris will be collectable. When that is yet to be determined. The other thing is this idea that a car manufacturer cannot build both transmissions is simply not true. Porsche does and so do other manufacturers. Is Porsche a better company than Ferrari? People also say that today's power and torque numbers are too high for manual transmissions. This is also untrue. Look at the new Corvette. Just the other day there was a statement released saying Ferrari is keeping the V-12 and that it isn't going to be turbo charged, but it will get a similar system to the La Ferrari's. Ferrari said the V-12 is part of their tradition. Really, well for me both the V-12 and the gated shifter are part of the Ferrari tradition. So why is one more important than the other? When Ferrari released the F1 transmission it was an option. Ferrari in today's market should make the manual transmission a no cost option. In my opinion both are part of Ferrari's tradition. Thanks.
BMW also offers manuals. Its not impossible to offer both, just more costly. Ferrari obviously feels the NA V12 is more important to its brand than the NA V8 and the stick shift.
A gated shift 488/F12, if they made it, will be much slower than the paddle box. I doubt they will do it.
you're right, the 488 and f12 would be far slower, and I'm sure would not suit the manic nature of these cars. The 612 was the last V12 that felt 'Right' with the gated shifter.
It sure does. I drove mine today. But my 599 6spd feels right too! Maybe we shouldn't get into that again. Lol.
shmluisfc if Ferrari wanted to offer both transmissions on the 488 or the F12, the people that would buy the manual would not care it is slower than the current F1 transmission. The current performance of Ferrari's model line owners cannot even come close to extracting the cars performance on the streets. The delta difference in shift times from F1 to manual makes no real difference on the street. If you are a die hard track person you might go for F1 versus manual. But for most the decision on which transmission one picks is down to one's preference.
The way I see it is Ferrari is about bottom line performance. It's a racing team that sells cars to fund their racing program, which develops technologies that trickle down into their production cars. I personally don't see why Ferrari would go against their racing heritage and history of progress to appease a niche market that wants slower models of their race-bred performers. F1/DCT's are a part of progress. It doesn't make sense to go backwards at this point. If you guys really don't care about speed, I'm sure there's plenty of Ferrari's with manual gearboxes out there that will give you your fix of rowing through the gears. While we're at it, why don't we ask Ferrari to bring back the crank start? Carburetor's had nice throttle response...lets throw those on the wish list too. Evolve or die.
Ferrari is about Ferrari. Performance is just one part of the mystique. The overall driving experience is more than just squeezing out the last millisecond. No matter how much power or how fast a lap time there will always be someone who will best you.
