tommallett

Ferrari is famous for reasons more numerous than it is sensible to mention, equally, there are a number of features which are synonymous with Ferrari’s road cars. Teenagers dream about the red paint, screaming V8 and V12 engines, the prancing horse badge and of course, the metallic clickity clack of Ferrari’s famous exposed, and polished gearbox gate. Ferrari’s manual gearbox, more than any other manufacturer, is instantly recognizable.

I remember driving a Ferrari for the first time, and it is the gearbox that I remember most. They have not always been the easiest to use, requiring accuracy and on occasion some heft, depending on the age of car. The writing had been on the wall for a while. When Ferrari launched the 355 with an F1 gearbox in 1997 it was a popular option immediately, despite its lack of refinement. By 2011 virtually all Ferrari’s sold, even those models with a manual option, are paddle shift. It has been moving that way for a while. Even in England, where we cling to tradition with a limpet-like grip, we have eschewed the manual gearbox. When we consider that Ferrari’s main areas for expansion over the coming decades are China, India and the developing economies, where manual gearboxes are not even popular on the smallest hatchback, it is no surprise that changing gear manually has become a thing of the past.

At least I have been left with a lasting memory. It is a 60 mile blast back home in a Black F430 coupe early one morning in 2008. I needed to get back to university for a 9am lecture and I was ‘on it’, and enjoying myself. As I rounded a corner I happened upon a similarly early rising farmer on his quad bike. I won’t forget the look on his face for a long time. The nose of the Ferrari dipped and I shifted from fourth to second in two heal ‘n toe down-changes. A 458 would probably have done it even better, but in the F430 I got the pleasure of knowing I had nailed those changes. It took 2 seconds, but I’ll remember it for longer than any perfectly executed 458 shift.

So, it is with a little sadness that it dawned on me that future generations will not be exposed to one of the most evocative sounds and sights in motoring. 599 GTB production has ceased and the manual option on the Ferrari California has been deleted, while the 458 Italia was launched with a double clutch gearbox only. I think I shall need to move with the times, the signs have been there for over a decade and it has been a long time since three pedals was the default choice.

How does anyone else feel about this? I guess I am going to take some solace in the fact that Lamborghini still make a manual gearbox which, in my opinion, is rather nice to use.