What if there's no more 6 speed manual gearbox?

It certainly looks like it could happen eventually, but i doubt it could happen within the next few years... Ok, the 612 has NO manual option whatsoever, but that's just one example... i doubt they'd faze out manual gearboxes anytime soon... If they do, though, i think prices will go back up for some existing cars...

 

I loved Yahoo's list of must have car options. Under SMG transmissions they touted the huge advantage of the SMG in allowing the driver to keep his/her eyes on the road while shifting. Apparently their drivers need to look down at the shift knob for each shift with a standard manual!

 

If there is no 6 speed, then I am FURIOUS! I am starting to be upset now. Even though a manual transmission is an option on the new cars like the 575, I still rarely see one. Though F1 transmission is a lot of fun, I think I will only do manual transmissions. Even with Luca in charge, I am doubting the future of the 6 speed

 

DES,

Actually the 612 would appear to have a manual as well as F1A, here's a quick cut and paste from the new brochure:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Are you SURE there's no manual option for the new 612?

Back in September, I was cruising around Maranello in a rented 360 Spider, and I spotted the 612 test mule pulling out of the factory grounds. Of course I gave chase, and I think the driver thought I was one of his guys. A couple kilometers later, he pulled into a residential area, hopped out, opened the passenger door, and began fiddling with a laptop on the passenger seat, apparently doing a test data download. Anyway, I parked and was able to get two pics before he realized I wasn't a Ferrari co-worker. As you can see in one of the two pics below, there CLEARLY was a 6 speed manual in the 612 test mule:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Great pic Eilig - there are no pictures of the 6 speed in the brochure, only the reference to performance.

 

I myself have always been a die-hard manual 6-speed lover myself.... that is UNTIL I drove the 575M F1. I think the extra torque of the V12, when coupled with the F1 tranny, plus the revised shift algorithms, is just amazing.

The extra driver involvement of the manual though is still just not possible to beat. It would be a travesty to build Ferraris without at least having the option of a manual.

Here's the other pic of the 612 test mule I saw in Maranello:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

two more examples are the enzo and the stradale. manual gearboxes are old technology so eventually they will be discontinued.

 

I love both technologies, and enjoy either one given my mood and circumstance. It would be a sad day indeed if that option were not available though.

 

i stand corrected folks, i thought i read somewhere that the 612 only came with an F1-style transmission with some sort of automatic option... Sorry.

 

I thought the same Des

 

Maybe it was posted here, then...?

 

As you can read below (Ferrari press release) the 612 will come also with a 6 speed manual gearbox!

----------------------------------------------------------
A 65° V12 engine with a displacement of 5748 cc which is rounded off to give the figure 6 (litres) in the 612 model designation. The V12 represents the very pinnacle of Ferrari engine design, thanks in particular to improved fluid dynamic characteristics of the intake and exhaust manifolds, generating a blistering 540 bhp at 7250 rpm. The six-speed mechanical gearbox is available with both a manual and a new generation electro-hydraulic set-up, known as the F1A, designed to marry fast manual gear shifting with comfortable automatic use.
----------------------------------------------------------

 

Yes both the Enzo and Challenge Stradale are available with "F1 only"... but think about it from this angle. Both of these cars are marketed as "race cars for the street" and "the application of F1 technology to a road car." So of course they are going to have only F1 tranny available, naturally.

But for "regular, road going" Ferraris, I still think Ferrari will keep the 6 speed manual around for a while -- since they are marketing to a much wider group of folks.

 

i would not be happy.

 

"Imagine if in the future Ferrari decides to stop making new road cars Ferrari with the 6 speed manual gearbox"

"How would you react if there's no more 6 speed manual gearbox"

Kind of out there with the question,
You might as well ask....

Imagine if in the future gravity stops and all Ferraris leave the planet, what would you do.

 

I drive my car for the interaction ie: the manual gearbox. If I don't want to manually shift I drive another car, but to me and for me my experience in driving a Ferrari is the manual gearbox and I would not personally be satisfied with driving an F1 style transmission.