Ferrari’s 12Cilindri was already a very deliberate kind of supercar, built around a naturally aspirated V12 at a time when much of the performance world is moving elsewhere.
The new 12Cilindri Manuale adds a more theatrical layer to that formula, bringing back the ritual of a gated shift and clutch pedal through a modern electronic interface rather than a traditional mechanical manual gearbox.
At a glance
- Ferrari has created a 12Cilindri Manuale with a gated manual-style shift interface and clutch pedal.
- The system uses manual shift-by-wire command and a clutch-by-wire pedal linked to the car’s 8-speed dual-clutch transmission.
- The naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 is rated at 819 hp, with a claimed 0-62 mph time of 2.9 seconds and a 211 mph top speed.
A manual Ferrari for the shift-by-wire era
The headline is simple, but the engineering is not quite old-school.
Rather than returning to a conventional manual transmission, Ferrari has developed what it calls a manual shift-by-wire command, paired with a clutch-by-wire pedal.
The driver uses a gated 6-speed manual-style shifter and a clutch pedal, while the inputs are translated into digital signals that operate the 8-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
It’s an idea that sits close in spirit to Koenigsegg’s Engage Shift System, giving the driver the rhythm and physicality of a manual without abandoning the speed and packaging of a modern transmission.
For Ferrari, the point is clearly emotional as much as technical.
The 12Cilindri Manuale isn’t trying to rewind the supercar by two decades, but it does bring back one of the great tactile signatures associated with front-engined V12 Ferraris.
The V12 gets more voice and more heat to manage
Power comes from Ferrari’s familiar 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12, here quoted at 819 hp at 9,250 rpm and 500 lb-ft of torque at 7,250 rpm.
Those figures sit slightly above the regular 12Cilindri, keeping the Manuale firmly in Ferrari’s most serious performance territory.
Ferrari claims 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 211 mph, numbers that underline how little the manual-style interface appears to compromise outright pace.
The company has also modified the exhaust system to amplify the V12’s character, a meaningful change for a car where sound is central to the experience.
Cooling demanded deeper work.
Ferrari redesigned the entire cooling system to meet the requirements of the engine and its ancillaries, a reminder that adding theatre to a modern high-output V12 is never just a matter of changing the cabin hardware.
Aerodynamics tuned for different driving priorities
The 12Cilindri Manuale also receives changes to its aerodynamic package, with particular attention paid to the underbody surfaces.
The car can be configured for either low drag or higher downforce, giving Ferrari room to balance speed and stability depending on the setup.
That flexibility matters because this is not a nostalgia exercise with a decorative shift gate.
It’s a V12 supercar with serious numbers, and the chassis and aero package need to support both the sensation of involvement and the realities of 211 mph performance.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Ferrari |
|---|---|
| Model | 12Cilindri Manuale |
| Engine | 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 |
| Power | 819 hp at 9,250 rpm |
| Torque | 500 lb-ft at 7,250 rpm |
| Transmission interface | Manual shift-by-wire command with clutch-by-wire pedal |
| Gearbox | 8-speed dual-clutch automatic operated through a 6-speed gated manual-style interface |
| 0-62 mph | 2.9 seconds claimed |
| Top speed | 211 mph claimed |
| Aerodynamics | Underbody aero revisions with low-drag and high-downforce configurations |
The 12Cilindri Manuale should appeal most to drivers who want modern Ferrari performance without losing the ceremony that once defined the marque’s most memorable V12 machines.
It’s not a pure mechanical manual in the traditional sense, but it may be the most realistic way to keep the gated-shift experience alive in a contemporary Ferrari supercar.
