Order books for the highly exclusive, limited-edition Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale have opened in Australia, and the new Italian supercar gives a proper manual feel despite actually using the same 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission as in the standard Coupe.
The Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale is a front-engined, two-seater ultra-exclusive grand tourer supercar which gives local buyers a rare chance to buy a new Ferrari V12 with three pedals.
The enhancements in the special-edition Manuale are heavily focused on the driver interface, manual gearbox, interior ergonomics, and exclusive styling, while the mechanics remain the same as in the standard Coupe.
The manual version costs $1,204,000 before on-road costs in Australia, which is more than $400,000 above the standard 12Cilindri Coupe. The deliveries are scheduled to commence in the second half of 2027.
Pricing of the Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale
Ferrari has priced the 12Cilindri Manuale at $1,204,000 before on-road costs; for comparison, the standard 12Cilindri Coupe costs $803,500, and the retractable-hardtop 12Cilindri Spider starts at $886,800, both before on-road costs.
Performance remains the same as the coupe
The 12Cilindri Manuale is based entirely on the standard Ferrari 12Cilindri coupe architecture and powertrain and shares the same aluminium spaceframe chassis, wheelbase, and front-mid-engine layout.
It retains the same legendary, naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine (F140HD), which pumps out 610kW and 678Nm, rocketing all the way up to a screaming 9,500 rpm redline.
Ferrari claims the 12Cilindri Manuale can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds, the same as the standard Coupe, and achieves a top speed of more than 340km/h. The manual system therefore brings a very different driving experience without changing the headline performance figures.
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Ferrari’s first three-pedal car in more than a decade
The 12Cilindri Manuale marks Ferrari’s first three-pedal model since the 2012 Ferrari California, and the company made just three manual California examples.
Ferrari won’t build a completely new manual transmission for Manuale; instead, it has created what it calls a “Manuale By-Wire” system.
The system looks like a manual, but works like an automatic. It combines a traditional gated gear lever and clutch pedal with Ferrari’s existing eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, while the engine and gearbox remain mechanically unchanged.
Ferrari has instead worked on the electronic shifter and clutch to recreate the feel and operation of a conventional manual gearbox. There are no mechanical selector forks, selector rods or synchromesh components directly connected to the gear lever.
The clutch pedal also has no physical connection to the clutch assembly, and both controls just act as electronic interfaces.
Ferrari recreated the manual feel
The gear lever moves through a traditional gated six-speed pattern and uses cams, springs, rollers and rotating drums to reproduce the weight, resistance and tactile clicks drivers associate with a manual gearbox.
The company even engineered the sounds produced by the mechanism during shifts. So, the manual lever change gives electronic commands to the underlying automatic transmission system.
The clutch works differently from a traditional manual, too. A conventional clutch pedal hydraulically operates a clutch release bearing, but in the 12Cilindri Manuale, position sensors measure the driver’s clutch-pedal input and send a digital signal to the transmission control unit, which then controls the dual-clutch gearbox’s clutch packs.
So while the driver gets a clutch pedal and a gated gear lever, electronics handle the actual gear changes and clutch operation.
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