[VIDEO] Cammisa Puts Ferrari’s New Simulated Gated Manual to the Test

Oct 24, 2026

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[VIDEO] Cammisa Puts Ferrari's New Simulated Gated Manual to the Test

What’s my purpose on this planet? How does one age gracefully? Would Sir Mix-a-Lot rather have a woman with a small butt, or no woman at all? This everchanging world can keep you up at night with these and countless other existential questions.

Before you say anything, no, this episode of one of, if not the, best automotive show on the ‘net isn’t actually about Corvettes – this one was, and the level of incredible it put on display made Bob Parr look ordinary! What it does though, is extensively and entertainingly cover one of the hottest topics facing a conflicted Corvette Nation in 2026; manual transmissions.

Last weekend we admitted that the days of manuals being the ‘standard’ transmission are well and truly over. We asked fans how much they’d pay to bring back an optional stick shift in a future Corvette. A convincing 66% of responders indicated they’d be willing to part with anywhere between $1,000 and $25,000 (skewed heavily to the $1k-5k side of the graph) to get a third pedal installed by the factory when the C9 Corvette arrives in the coming years.

Because of the minimal hardware changes, the lack of required overhead and no need to recertify with the EPA, the most likely way for the stick to reappear between the ‘Vette’s seats is through a “synthetic” by-wire system that simulates a traditional clutch pedal and shift pattern using cleaver programming and the current dual-clutch transaxle.

In July, Ferrari announced that it’d be the first automaker to offer this new-wave manual transmission in a limited run of its 12Cilindri front engine super GT – if you’re curious, the answer to the poll mentioned above is a whopping $200,000 in Ferrari-ville… buyers are voluntarily adding the cost of a new Corvette ZR1 to their 12Cilindri to get their mitts on one of the 1,499 planned units with the simulated “Manuale” transmission.

Jason Cammisa on the History of Automobile Transmissions

Full reviews of the 12Cilindri Manuale (12 Cylinder Manual in Italian) hit the web this week. A naturally aspirated 396 cubic inch, 819-horsepower V12 from Maranello makes things interesting enough on its own, but the real curiosity was wrapped up in the first factory manual transmission from the Prancing Horse in a decade and a half. How does it work? How does it feel? How convincing is its programing? Everyone wanted to know if this could be the tech that saves a beloved aspect of enthusiast driving in an age where budgets for specialty vehicles have been cut razor thin.

On top of attempting to adequately answer all those questions, in the latest episode of Icons by Hagerty, “professional idiot,” Jason Cammisa drops his best demonstration/history lesson since explaining flat-plane crankshafts with an amped-up drummer friend for Motor Trend when the Shelby GT350 hit the scene.

Between romps in the not-nearly-as-pretty-as-its-predecessor 12Cil, Jason takes us on a journey through the surprisingly parallel Histories of the Manual and Automatic transmission in a segment heavy with innovations from General Motors and an F355 Berlinetta F1 that makes you question why the new Ferrari doesn’t sound nearly as good (we know one’s a V8 and one’s a V12, but the 12 doesn’t come off nearly as stirring as what Lamborghini is putting out there right now) before settling on a theory; the Ferrari’s manual/dual-clutch mashup might not be as pure as what you can get in a Miata, but it’s still possibly the perfect solution. It blends the pros of both automatics and those of manuals in a way that the engineers of 1939 could only dream of.

Check out the whole thing below – it’s definitely worth 37 minutes of your time – then let us know how you’d answer the existential Corvette question of our times; if it was the only way to shift your own gears, would you give a synthetic manual a shot in your next ‘Vette for a reasonable upcharge, or would you rather keep the stick in the past where it will be fondly remembered as the genuine article?

Source:
Hagerty.com

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10 COMMENTS

Chazoo Oct 24, 2026 At 11:30 am

Excellent – very informative!
Mike Taxter Oct 24, 2026 At 1:25 pm

Wouldn’t this system be great in the C9?!!
IPD Oct 24, 2026 At 2:18 pm

Saw this a couple days ago. This is the only type of offering that may be offered in the Corvette in the future. The “pure” manual is 100% dead for GM’s M/R offering. It will probably cost at least a 10k premium.

Ironically, the take rate might be much higher than any pure manual. Owners don’t have any downside to selecting this option–as they can leave it in full auto as much as they want. And based on how resale values in the market have been–cars with the option will retain higher resale value than those with out it.

I myself want nothing to do with rowing gears (I love paddles), and even I might opt for it–just to hedge my bets on residual value. Undecided. Maybe if GM offers paddles & this….
CBJ Oct 24, 2026 At 8:14 pm

“when you look at the numbers, even with enthusiasts vehicles like Corvette, manuals aren’t faring well. “We used to offer the Z06 and ZR1 in manual only and sold them in volume. But as soon as we offered the automatic, most everybody gets the automatic. So it’s hard to argue that you have to a manual transmission.” Tadge Juechter, from Corvette Forum, November 2020
Rc Oct 25, 2026 At 7:54 am

Corvette population has aged out-bad knees, backs, and hips. The younger buyers wouldn’t know how to drive a manual and don’t know what they’re missing. Took my M7 Grand Sport to my dealer and no one in the service lane knew how to drive it. Some middle aged lady from accounting had to come out and drive it to the back lot. Corvette mechanic later brought it out to me and chuckled about what happened.
Andy Authers Oct 25, 2026 At 11:46 am

Do it, GM. You sold Ferrari magnetorheliological shock absorbers so get the new manual. Corvettes and Ferraris are similar and should stay that way as long as they serve their customers.
IPD Oct 25, 2026 At 12:03 pm

RC, younger generation isn’t missing anything. Least of all worn syncros and blown shifts that grenade the engine.

Smugness about younger buyers not driving one is like smugness about being the only person in the room who speaks Choctaw. Nobody cares to use your VCR anymore. Nobody cares about your “mix tapes” being burned on a CD. Technology advances.

If anything, you’re asking for trouble having an M7 serviced by someone other than yourself. They’re liable to damage it just from unfamiliarity. And it isn’t going to get better. All of those “glitches” that prevent damage on the Faux-manual don’t exist on the genuine thing. And Faux-manual is the only thing more and more will have experienced–in the future. Manual will eventually be a liability for ownership unless 100% DIY. And why not? People own them for love, and soon that will have to extend across the entire spectrum of ownership.
Kevin Oct 25, 2026 At 5:28 pm

Isn’t this a Corvette page??? WTF is a POS Italian shit stain doing here??
Mike Taxter Oct 25, 2026 At 7:32 pm

Come on Kevin. With all the angst about not having a manual in the C8 this is a good look at what can be done and has been done. I think a lot of C8 and potential C9 buyers would like to have this option.
So I think it’s a worthy POS shit stain article.
Chazoo Oct 25, 2026 At 7:59 pm

Well-deserved retort, Mike. 😉👍