Recently, Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali explained why there are no more Lamborghinis with a manual transmission. That’s not an isolated case at all. Major supercar manufacturers like Lamborghini, McLaren, and Ferrari have phased out manual transmissions since 2010. In modern high-performance vehicles, dual-clutch automated transmissions are the rule, not the exception.
Those that drive a manual for the sake of driving a manual were left to scavenge the used supercar market to satisfy their needs. As a result, supercars like the Ferrari 430 with the optional F1 6-speed manual transmission have experienced a dramatic increase in demand and price.
This effect is so great that Texas tuning shop European Auto Group has made it their business to convert Ferrari 430s from automatic to manual. Since the 430 also had a manual option, all required parts for the swap are already available for purchase directly from Ferrari. Everything is 100% OEM except modifying the ECU to recognize and operate with the manual gearbox.
That part involves more programming and electrical wizardry that we can comprehend. The tuners have developed such an extensive knowledge of Ferrari powertrains, they’ve done a nearly impossible task.
European Auto Group has created the only existing and functioning Ferrari 430 Scuderia with a manual transmission. Matt Farrah from The Smoking Tire went down to Texas to drive the car and show us just how special it really is.
Scuderia is the lighter and more powerful version of the 430, unveiled in 2007 by Michael Schumacher. The 4.3-liter V8 engine is tuned to work with higher compression ratio, adding 20 horsepower for a total of 510 hp and 347 lb-ft of torque. However, the car only came with the new Superfast 2, single-clutch, automated transmission.
High compression increases the chance for pre-ignition or knock, which can cause the engine to fail. Ferrari engineers used a complicated system called ion-sensing knock detection. It uses the spark plugs as sensors to monitor cylinder pressure and modify the timing if knock is detected.
The ignition system was designed specifically for the Superfast 2 transmission. Making it work with the manual gearbox is an incredibly difficult task. The EAG team had to redesign the ECU architecture and reprogram both engine and transmission to allow them to communicate and work effectively.
The project is still work in progress. Driver assistance features like ABS and traction control don’t work yet. There are parts of the interior missing while work is being done. And we hope the design of the leather-wrapped spacer for the shifter is not the final version.
That said, the Scuderia manual is working as designed shifting gears perfectly every time. Ironically, thanks to Superfast 2, which has better synchronization, the Scuderia manual shifts faster and smoother than a Ferrari built 430 manual.
It’s the only Ferrari of its kind and one of the fastest and most powerful to use a manual transmission.