Tag Archives: Ferrari

News

Ferrari is bringing back the manual gearbox

According to Carsales, Ferrari may bring back the manual transmission after 12 years. The manual transmission will appear in exclusive limited edition models, and the last Ferrari to be equipped with a manual transmission was the Ferrari California.

In an interview with Carsales, Ferrari’s head of product development, Gianmaria Fulgenzi, hinted that Ferrari could make such a move due to strong customer interest. This will also mean the return of engines with less torque, and the first model that could be equipped with a manual gearbox will be a future model from the Icona series, which will join the current Monza SP1, Monza SP2 and Daytona SP3.

“We will soon reach the performance limit with our cars. In Formula 1, it takes 2.3 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h. With the SF90 XX, we are somewhere around 2.5 seconds or 2.4 seconds, and that’s with all-wheel drive. For an ordinary driver, such accelerations require that they are physically stronger, that is, that they have stronger neck muscles. Don’t think that all our customers want to train every morning just to be able to drive our cars,” said Fulgenzi.

Ferrari will not be the first to bring back or keep a manual transmission in its range. Porsche also recently announced that, if there is enough interest, it will offer a Carrera S with three pedals. It will be the third 911 to be offered in a combination of manual and automatic transmissions.

Source: Carsales

News

McLaren is returning to WEC

The company is increasingly returning to the most famous endurance championship, the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship, and one of them is McLaren. The company intends to develop a car in the next year that would compete with teams such as Ferrari and Aston Martin, who are also returning to the WEC after a break.

McLaren last won the WEC in 1995 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and now they have announced their return to the same place with a new car. “The legendary victory at Le Mans in 1995. The glory of the triple crown. Ready to leave our mark on the world endurance scene once again. Hypercar. World Endurance Championship 2027,” McLaren announced.

The McLaren racing team, which merged with the Forseven company, will enter the LMDh hypercar class, where participants use their own combustion engines, and their option should be a V6 twin-turbo engine with 680 hp. This engine is used in the road and racing versions of the Arthur model.

The British company will become the 11th manufacturer to compete in the WEC. There are currently eight manufacturers split between the LMDh and Le Mans Hypercar classes. Genesis will join them next year, while McLaren and Ford will enter in 2027.

Source: McLaren

Auctions

1977 Ferrari 512 BB ‘Wide Body’ is up for auction

Between 1973 and 1984, Ferrari produced the Berlinetta Boxer (BB) series of sports cars. The first BB model, the 365 GT4 BB, was a replacement for the Ferrari Daytona, and was also the first in a series of road-going Ferraris equipped with a mid-mounted flat-twelve engine. In 1976 Ferrari revealed the second model from this series, the 512 BB, and by 1981 only 929 units were produced. Now one of them, a 1977 Ferrari 512 BB ‘Wide Body’ is up for sale.

This car is finished in Rosso Chiaro with Nero leather upholstery and Red carpets, and is in almost factory condition with less than 6,000 miles on the odometer. When the car was purchased in 1977, the first and only owner sent it to Maranello where it was upgraded with wider wheel arches to house 9J front and 11J rear alloys instead of the original 7.5J and 9J, the area between the B and C pillars was reshaped and adorned with deeper NACA ducts. The engine cover was removed and modified with a Competizione-style wing, the side lights were moved inside the front grille, triple air vents were added to both rear wings, while the carburetors were supplemented with a special, twin-pipe sports exhaust.

The 512 BB is powered by a 4.9 L F102 B flat-12 engine with 340 hp (250 kW) and 331 lb-ft (449 Nm) of torque. It accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 6.2 seconds with a top speed of 262 km/h (163 mph). The engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission that sends power to the rear wheels.

The car comes with a ‘suitcase’ tool case and history file and is estimated at £150,000 – £170,000. The auction will be held on 9 April 2025.

Source: H & H Classic Auctions

Gallery:

1977 Ferrari 512 BB 'Wide Body' is up for auction