There were 33 Manuals imported to the US. I have one. Fantastic car and quite easy to drive.
I have one also. Had some initial problems with the clutch position sensor, had it serviced by FNE, and since then it has been great. Love the sound and fury!!! Shifts like butter once it's warm. So add me to the myth busters list.
Have F1 599. Waiting for the opportunity to change to the 3 pedal car. Will trade in an instant although I really like the 599 after a 550.
Mike- Completely different transaxle set up for front engine cars. Shares some internal parts with the 575M, Enzo and 612. F1 system also shares parts with the 575M and 612. In general, the transaxles for the V12 cars are set up for heavier torque loads than those for the V8s.
Mike- All the 599s and the OTO 612s (and Sessantas) have the same dual plate clutch. Note this is not a DCT, which has two wet clutch packs.
A good way to think about it is that a manual is analagous to having a cabrio/convertible, etc. These options don't improve driving dynamics, but simply make the driving 'experience' more enjoyable for a subset of people that enjoy that sort of thing. Especially in this instance, the 599's manual doesn't substantially degrade vehicle performance. So the analysis is really a subjective one.
For the 599, Ferrari quotes exactly the same acceleration numbers for F1 and manual. That is different from the 575M and 612, where the F1 is quoted as quicker. Whoever drove the manual 599 must have been a real pro, since he could never match the 100 ms shift speed, he would have had to do power shifts. Scary with the drag racer gearing in a 599. Or they never really tested one and just used the same numbers.
That's more possible. Ferrari i think, claims for example same acceleration times for a 1999 F1 Modena with a 2003 manual one. But we all know that earlier models were a bit faster, + the slight F1 advantage
I didnt know the earlier 360 where actually faster, I always thought it was the opposite. I was under the impression that the F1 system got modified by Ferrari on the cars produced from 2003 onwards in order to be faster. A friend's 360 received the upgrade (as being before 2003 model) and it all works much faster. Any opinion on that
Reviving an old thread. I just test drove a 599 with F1, it was a bit disappointing after driving my friend's double clutch 458. I love the looks of the car and the engine, but I think the paddles ruin it a bit. I would love to own a 3 pedal 599, is anyone in North America selling?
I tracked my 599 HGTE last week and the F1 tranny was nothing short of mind blowing... And it can be boulevard cruiser as well... I came from a 3 pedal 360 and so far no seller's remorse...
Anything can be bought for a price. The question is are you willing to spend about 500k more than you have to until the bubble bursts.
This is the only USA 599 manual advertised today (no affiliation): Ferrari 599 Fiorano Coupe 2 Door | eBay
Absolutely worth more but it's only a matter of time until someone decides to start converting the f1 cars to manual and people realize they can buy a 599 for 140k and spend 20k retrofitting the manual and save a small fortune.
There really is nothing like driving a 3 pedal Ferrari. All the graveling is just noise. race mode seems to be optimal... fine, no problem. Did I read a post that the engagement of the transmission could/is a distraction and viewed as a safety issue. Holly cow, whoever posted that; may the car gods have mercy. Just sell the car and get the sex reassignment surgery.
Restating what @brogenville so eloquently wrote about the work he, Wil De Groot, and of course (most importantly with regard to this comment) Trevor did on our conversion: Re: 599 drivability... A lot of people reported a less-than-stellar driving experience on the factory gated cars as we are all aware. In doing the ecu work, the team found that Ferrari implemented the engine control software incorrectly on the factory manual cars. Motronic 7 has a function that controls the rate of decay of engine revolutions during gear changes. This was technically active on 599 factory manual cars, but turns out the execution of the command within the firmware had been broken by Ferrari. The team has reconciled this, and the result sovles for the issues some reported when this discussion occurred in the past. I am very much looking forward to final road testing, now that were on the precipice of salt-less asphalt, and delivery in time for warm weather!
