Manual Transmission Conversions

Sports and performance cars were generally always only available with manual transmissions because the automatic alternatives were woefully slow at changing gears and provided no driving engagement whatsoever. The lack of a clutch meant that enthusiastic drivers could not heel and toe the car to rev match, and a combination of these factors robbed the driver of the feeling they were really ‘driving’ the car. There is something very rewarding about hustling an older car along to its ultimate pace using a deft combination of performance engineering and human skill.

In the early 1990s, Ferrari successfully developed a semi-automatic transmission for its Formula 1 cars, and by the mid-90s, every car on the grid was using similar technology. It was also Ferrari who successfully migrated the technology to a road car for the first time, with the F355 F1 debuting in 1997. It’s arguably the most prominent example of a motorsport innovation making the jump to production cars.

There is no doubt that the semi-automatic technology now being used in Ferrari and Lamborghini cars was better suited for performance driving than the previous torque converter-based gearboxes, and the ability to shift via steering wheel-mounted paddles was a novelty that felt very Formula 1.

However, the F1 and E-Gear systems were far from perfect even then, and manual cars were still desirable for the ultimate driver engagement. Fast forward 15 years, and transmission technology had improved no end, with dual-clutch gearboxes taking milliseconds to change gears and auto-blipping engine revs on downshift. This was the start of a new era and a different experience: the PlayStation era!

So to answer the original question, why would you convert an automatic gearbox to a manual? Well, it only really applies to cars that fell into the timeframe we speak about above, where earlier semi-automatic variants deprived an enthusiastic owner of getting the maximum feel and enjoyment out of their car. With manual variants of most supercars having more value than their automatic counterparts, it proves that this opinion is popular.

Of course, if you have ever heard the noise a Ferrari manual shifter makes as it changes gear with the clicking of metal coming together, or felt the break in power of a Lamborghini as it shifts through the gates, followed by a relentless bark from its engine, then it will all make sense.