Will Ferrari ever make another manual transmission? | Page 5 | FerrariChat

Will Ferrari ever make another manual transmission?

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by Owain, Jan 1, 2013.

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  1. bobzdar

    bobzdar F1 Veteran

    Sep 22, 2008
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    It's just using spent exhaust to recapture energy - same way a turbo does but it stores it as electrical energy instead of using it to mechanically compress air.
     
  2. merstheman

    merstheman F1 Rookie

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    Jim has spoken about the basic mechanics of TERS here before, in one of his threads about P4/5C
     
  3. DrewH

    DrewH F1 World Champ
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    I see that the 2014 Corvette Stingray that was just unveiled has a 7 speed manual stick shift. I wish the 458 had that option.
     
  4. jvmax

    jvmax Formula Junior
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    "I didn't realize that Ferrari's line for 2013 had no manual shifting vehicles...BUMMER! I absolutely love the way my 308 shifts...too bad, but I will say I enjoyed the flappy paddles in the 430 I drove, but otherwise, I'll stick to 3 pedals!!! "

    So on my short list of 3 pedal exotics are a 430, Gallardo, R8. I miss my 360 manual, the 430 looks to be a big improvement of the 360. Unfortunately, with the 430 and gallardo i am looking at a 5-9 year old car. The Audi R8 I can still buy new today, but there is something about the F car that makes it special. I have heard the Gallardo is basically an Audi, but I sure like the 2006-2008 Gallardo Spyder with a manual.
     
  5. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    #105 TheMayor, Jan 16, 2013
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2013
    Why? You like driving slower?

    If you like driving slower with a manual, buy a 360 or F430 stick and save yourself thousands.

    BTW: The chevy comes with a nanny transmission that blips the throttle and matches revs --- just like the Ferrari F1. The only difference, you need to press the clutch pedal so you can pretend to be an ace heal and toe driver. Yes, you can turn it off. But, what's the point? If it's better, faster, and easier with the nannies, what is it you're trying to prove? You're not as good as the systems built into the car?

    Why should the optimal car package be sacrificed for less than 2% of the market? McLaren looked at the same issue and made the same decision. But, only Ferrari gets the flack. With the new DCT system, the two box design are no longer compatible in the same package. Any guess which one will bite the dust?

    HINT: They don't offer cassette tape players in cars anymore either.
     
  6. ScuderiaWithStickPlease

    ScuderiaWithStickPlease F1 World Champ

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    Optimal package given a certain set of subjective criteria . . .

    PS Just to be clear, I consider the 458 to be a phenomenal car, as are more than a couple of paddles-only models.
     
  7. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    And if it was much slower than the McLaren because the package was compromised to keep less than 2% of the buyers happy, everyone here on Fchat would be just fine with that?

    Forget it.


    It's a cruel world out there in the performance world. You either keep up with the Jones or you find yourself a caricature of yourself.
     
  8. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

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    #108 parkerfe, Jan 16, 2013
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2013
    Porsche is able to give its buyers a slick 7 speed manual that blips the throttle and matches revs using the same gearbox from its PDK-DCT sports cars, why can't Ferrari? I agree that a DCT makes for faster lap times on the track; I would want one in a race car where winning was the goal. But, for a DD type street car, where fun is the goal, a three pedal manual rules.
     
  9. ScuderiaWithStickPlease

    ScuderiaWithStickPlease F1 World Champ

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    I wouldn't want that even if the stick market amounted to 20% of total. '

    We all memorize(d) 0-60mph, 1/4 mile and Ring times, not how many mm the stick moves from gear to gear, how many units of force the clutch requires, or how far off the floor the bite point is. Performance rules. We all get that.

    I think we're in a faulty Either Or, in the sense that most reasonable manual fans simply want a manual variant of a car that's optimized for DCT, not to drag down the cutting edge in the name of stick shifts. Short of some packaging issues that may well be prohibitive, I wouldn't know, I don't see how a manual option decimates the massive performance advantages offered by DCT.

    It may not be worth Ferrari's time to develop a manual car, but that's another issue.

    True enough.

    I think manual fans are simply wondering if there's room for a manual option without stalling Ferrari. It's this automatic linking of a manual option to the potential decimation of Ferrari that makes me wonder if something's wrong with the argument behind the DCT-only policy (I have no problem with the very real possibility that it's simply not worth Ferrari's time to offer manuals but, again, that's a different matter.)
     
  10. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Porsche makes a lot more cars than Ferrari. Porsche also sees the writing on the wall: Dealers say that manuals don't sell anymore.

    The fact is that Ferrari has been offering the "option" for years and the F1 has won. It's not economically feasible to offer a manual in a modern high performance design without compromises that most customers would not put up with.

    The election is over and the people have made their choice. We have seen the enemy and they are us.
     
  11. ScuderiaWithStickPlease

    ScuderiaWithStickPlease F1 World Champ

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    The People have walked back choices that took interaction and "mechanicability" out of a product in the name of performance and other parameters. Problem is, regulation more or less takes the return of the manual option off the table altogether.
     
  12. texasmr2

    texasmr2 Two Time F1 World Champ
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    In the form of lazy F'ing drivers, no offense (maybe alittle) to those who cannot shift their own gears, did I just say that?
     
  13. vaccarella

    vaccarella Formula 3

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    There's a succinct and well written piece on the demise of manual shift on the UK's Piston Heads site. Plus pages of forum punditry afterwards. I like two of the writer's analogies:

    PH Blog: manual labour - PistonHeads
     
  14. 4rePhill

    4rePhill F1 Veteran

    Oct 18, 2009
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    Let's put an alternative perspective on this:

    In the UK, HMV (for those who don't know, they sell CD's and DVD's) are going into administration!

    Why? - because the sales of CD's and DVD's are on the decline due to digital downloads!

    So what does this have to do with anything you ask?

    The future is digital and electronic, with no mechanical involvement whatsoever!

    The future generations want everything NOW!, IMMEDIATELY!, ASAP!, with the minimal amount of physical effort required.

    why would they want a device where you have to fit a disc every hour and a half or so when they can have 10 hours of music plus, without having to change anything, all they have to do is press a button!

    And it's the same with cars!

    They don't want to have to push a steel pedal down, whilst wiggling a steel rod around, in order to to shift gears! - that's just far too much effort, it takes too long and it's archaic!

    "Ah!" you say, "so why don't they simply make automatics only?", because they still want to feel that they're in total control of the machine! (and it gives them the feeling that they have a link to racing cars!).

    Those bemoaning the loss of the manual transmission are the modern equivalent of the customer in this 1980's clip from: Not The Nine o'clock News:

    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSINO6MKtco]GRAMMOPHONE - Rowan Atkinson - Not The Nine o'Clock News - YouTube[/ame]

    Time and technology both move on!. If it didn't, you'd still be listening to your 78's on your wind up gramophone through it's single trumpet speaker!

    Like it or not, it's called progress! - and it happens regardless of all complaints!
     
  15. Shark01

    Shark01 F1 Veteran

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    Wait....what? You can buy a brand new 3 pedal Gallardo today.....2013......better hurry though.
     
  16. jvmax

    jvmax Formula Junior
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    I think no more manual lambo's starting 2013?
     
  17. ScuderiaWithStickPlease

    ScuderiaWithStickPlease F1 World Champ

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    I don't think most advocates of manuals are ignorant of the history of technological progress. Nor is the above a reasonable example, as moving on from 78s and single speakers did lead to changes almost everyone wanted.

    It's pointless to continue to try to make an objective point on a subjective matter. There's literally no right or wrong here. Pointing out that manuals are most likely to go, or that manual fans have no issue letting go of other archaic techs, does not alter the fact that this is a personal, subjective choice.

    It's only progress if, on a personal basis, you like the new status quo. (How many fans will embrace the self-driving automobile when it comes? It could easily be faster, cheaper to operate and insure, dramatically lower the need for roads and maintenance, drop commute time, allow people to work while "driving", etc. All good things in one person's context, horrific in other's.)
     
  18. vaccarella

    vaccarella Formula 3

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    Phil, before you embarked on your rant, you obviously didn't read the point I was making:

    1. Nobody rides a horse any more because it's a useful, viable means of transport. And yet plenty of people put an awful lot of time, money and effort into keeping their nags for the sheer pleasure of it.

    2. Plenty of vinyl junkies out there and there's satisfaction and a geeky pleasure in the inconvenience and imperfections of the format that outweighs the guaranteed quality and accessibility of CDs or downloads

    This is why we like manual transmissions in some of our cars.

    Another perspective: The engineers wanted the astronauts in the early days of the Mercury programme to have almost no control over the craft and no portholes. The test pilot astronauts rightly rejected this.
     
  19. Newman

    Newman F1 World Champ
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    Dec 26, 2001
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    I took my 12 year old (at the time) nephew for a ride in my boxer and the moment I shifted into second gear he looked at me and said "you have to do that?" with a confused look on his face. Yes I have to shift the gears. His brother just sat there in silence, possibly a life altering experience for him when it was his turn for a ride. Two different people with very different wants but the same genes. There will always be people that want manual transmissions. Ferrari would only make a 230,000,000 euro profit annually instead of a 232,000,000 euro profit if they offered a manual gearbox for those who are true drivers, what a shame.
     
  20. RedTaxi

    RedTaxi F1 Rookie
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    New Porches with manual gearboxes are still rather popular too.
     
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