Ferrari Has Truly Said Goodbye to the Iconic Silver Shift Knob
Chief technology officer once claimed Ferrari had “given up on manuals,” highlighting the brand’s performance-driven mindset.
The #savethemanuals movement has existed for a while now, yet no one but Porsche seems to care. Less than a year after a shattering statement by Ferrari’s technology officer, we realize they truly meant business. Go figure…
Ferrari officially bid farewell to the manual transmission on October 2016, joining other performance vehicle manufacturers such as McLaren and Mercedes-Benz. While we expected a near-eradication of the old-school transmission, we figured it was only a matter of time until Ferrari came back to its senses and brought the shiny silver knob back to life.
We expected something along the lines of “After many emails, faxes, and phone calls from our most prominent tifosi, we realized Ferrari must keep the manual transmission alive, and offer a passionate driving experience.” Well, that didn’t happen. Whether Maranello received a complaint or two, we don’t know, but we do know that Ferrari is selling more cars than ever, and aren’t looking back.
Modern dual-clutch transmissions are technological marvels, delivering incredible performance, efficiency, and a much higher level of driver engagement. Especially compared to the early generations of the semi-automatic transmissions. But, is this enough for the purists?
Lets not forget, the generation of hardcore “heel-toers” and third-pedal-lovers is quickly fading. To put it in other words: they’re dying. For the few who are still alive, Porsche has claimed to manufacture a manual transmission as long as there’s a demand for it.
So there you have it. Ferrari has truly given up on manuals, and they’re not looking back.
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