The Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale is a limited-edition version of the company's V-12-powered grand tourer that features a clutch pedal and gear shifter, but it isn't a traditional manual transmission. Instead, it's a high-tech rewiring of the 12Cilindri's existing rear-mounted dual-clutch transmission. The E-Shift system allows drivers to take control of gear selection by pressing the clutch pedal and then slotting the open-gate manual gearshift between six forward speeds.
Control is done through the combination of smart software and the new gear selector and clutch pedal. Although "clutch" pedal might be a better descriptor, given the lack of any physical connection between it and the two clutches within the transmission. Resistance has been produced by spring rates chosen to replicate the force required for a conventional pedal, but the mechanism just operates electronic switches.
Similarly, the gearshift is designed to match the action and weighting of Ferrari's old manual transmissions, but sends instructions to the gearbox brain through microswitches. "It is not just about moving from one gear to another," said Gianmaria Fulgenzi, Ferrari's product development chief, as he introduced the new system at Ferrari's design studio in Maranello. "The transient phases are the key: the sound, the slight friction, the engagement of the lever itself."
View Price on AmazonBased on the versions of both clutch and shifter I experienced in a static car at the technical preview, this seems convincing—at a standstill at least. The shift action was smoother and more satisfying to use than I remember the sometimes notchy actions of Ferrari's later true manuals being; that was an era when the company wanted to persuade buyers to choose its robotized "F1" system.
Despite their mechanical precision, the clutch and gearshift will only be an interface to the software that needs to then work out how to make the Manuale's DCT deliver manual-like behavior. Bringing the clutch up too quickly from rest will indeed cause the V-12 to stall, although Valentin Marguet, the engineer who led development of the system, confirmed this is done by simply stopping the engine rather than risking damage by connecting it to the stationary driveshaft.
If you can do something with a manual gearbox, we want to make it possible to do the same thing here," Marguet explained. There are limitations to that philosophy. The Manuale will not let its driver do anything that would physically damage the driveline, so it won't be possible to "money shift" into an inappropriately low gear when the car is running and over-rev the engine.
Source: roadandtrack.com
