Ferrari revives gated-shifter feel with new 12Cilindri Manuale

Ferrari launched the limited-edition 12Cilindri Manuale in Milan on Friday, July 3, 2026, presenting a special-series version of the 2024 12Cilindri that is limited to 1,499 examples. The car is pitched to drivers who still want the theater of a Ferrari V12 and the tactile drama of a gated shifter, even as the brand moves deeper into electrification and digital control.

The reality check is in the hardware. Ferrari says the Manuale By-Wire system is built around a manual shift-by-wire command and a clutch-by-wire pedal, while the underlying eight-speed dual-clutch transmission remains in place. Ferrari describes the setup as a way to restore “raw physical intensity” to the heart of the V12 experience, but it is not a conventional stick shift and does not bring back the old mechanical gearbox layout.

The new model keeps the 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12, with reports placing output at about 819 to 830 horsepower and a 9,500 rpm redline. That specification keeps the car firmly in Ferrari’s performance-first lane, with the manual cues serving as a layer of sensation rather than a fundamental change to the drivetrain. The company is selling a curated analog experience, not a reversal of the engineering that now defines modern supercars.

That distinction matters because the 12Cilindri Manuale arrives after Ferrari’s first electric vehicle drew a mixed initial reception. On June 22, 2026, Enrico Galliera said Ferrari was not forcing clients to buy the Luce EV in order to qualify for the company’s next limited-series models, an issue that had already stirred debate among collectors and loyalists. The manual V12 launch reads as a reassurance to traditional buyers that Maranello still values internal-combustion emotion, even as the rest of the industry leans harder into regulation, efficiency, and software-mediated performance.

Ferrari’s return to a gated-shifter feel is also being treated as a historical marker. Several reports call the 12Cilindri Manuale the first new Ferrari with a gated shifter since 2012, and RM Sotheby’s identifies a 2012 599 GTB Fiorano completed in Maranello as the last Ferrari fitted with a manual gearbox. That gives the new model a clear nostalgic hook, but the bigger story is how carefully Ferrari has packaged it: as a premium experience feature for purists, not a true return to the old manual era.