End of an Era: Ferrari California Now Available with Manual Transmission

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed)
Mar 22nd 2010 at 9:02PM

The overwhelming majority of Ferraris ordered these days are not equipped with manual transmissions. Oh, you shift the gears yourself: the last time Ferrari had a fully automatic, torque-converter transmission like those found in most family sedans and SUVs was the 456 GTA that ceased production seven years ago. But the clutch pedal in Maranello's finest is going the way of the Dodo, replaced by high-tech sequential and dual-clutch transmissions.

The last stand for those still intent on stirring the gears on their Ferraris themselves comes in the form of the California, a model which enthusiasts deride as too heavy and awkward. Still, Ferrari has just made a six-speed manual an option on the California, but it comes at the cost of both performance and fuel efficiency: compared to the less than four seconds the dual-clutch California takes to get to sixty, the manual version takes 4.2, while fuel economy drops from 17.8 to 15.8 miles per gallon. So you can have your cake, but don't expect to be eating it too.

Tags: california, ferrari, ferrari california, manual transmission, stick shift, transmission

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

verdegrrl Mar 22nd 2010 11:52PM

My garage contains a number of cars with a variety of transmissions. That includes one stickshift Ferrari, and one F1. The F1 is a much better track car (allowing you to "stack" shifts when entering a corner) for maximizing lap times, while the manual is clearly much more fun (although challenging) to drive. The DSG type transmissions I've encountered thus far do not allow for this stacking, so despite the hype, they are not as well suited for the track as transmissions that allow you to skip gears. They do make an excellent alternative for a conventional automatic if one were going to order a car with an automatic in the first place. It will be interesting to see if the 458 can overcome some of the limitations encountered with the Porsche and BMW M3 dual clutch systems.

pollard.bar Mar 23rd 2010 8:03AM

I have had an Audi R8 V10 for almost a year now and would like a convertible.
But, I can't choose between the fantastic R8 Cabriolet, on sale here in the UK in a month or so, or the equally fantastic Ferrari California, also on sale here in a month or so..