Ferrari is set to unveil a special model on July 4. This was recently confirmed by the brand’s CEO during a dealer conference in Las Vegas.
It is expected to be a 12Cilindri equipped with a trick manual gearbox and is rumoured to be called 12Cilindri MM. Now, a patent filing has revealed fresh details about the new shift-by-wire transmission.
The document confirms our earlier report in which we had said that Ferrari was developing a Koenigsegg-style Engage Shift System (ESS).
Ferrari’s designs reveal a classic H-pattern shifter mechanism paired with an electronic control unit. It has a typical old-school shifter as well as drive mode selector buttons that you find on a conventional automatic transmission.
An automatic gearbox allows the driver to select gears sequentially, each time engaging only one gear immediately above or below the gear currently in use. According to Ferrari, its new control tower is designed to overcome this limitation.
From what we understand, once in manual mode, the shift mechanism will enable the driver to select different ratios depending on the driving situation, just like a manual gearbox. However, in this case, there’s no physical linkage, and instead, it will trigger an electronic signal.
Now, what this document doesn’t reveal is whether the system relies on a third pedal simulating clutch operation. If you recall, Koegnigsegg’s ESS comes with a traditional clutch pedal.
