2005 Ferrari 575 M Preview

Driving Ferrari's 575 M Maranello

You can go 202 mph in it--but it still takes two years to get one and costs nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

Gearbox

The F1 transmission, as we've alluded to already, is adapted from the 360 Modena, but it has been greatly improved upon (according to Ferrari) to handle the much more substantial 508 horsepower and 434 foot-pounds of torque (vs. 400 horsepower and 275 foot-pounds of torque in the 360).

The advantages to the F1 gearbox are that it allows upshifts with you foot still planted on the throttle, it keeps your hands on the wheel and because of the three modes (Sport, Normal and Automatic), allows the driver even more flexibility than he might find in either an ordinary standard shift or in an automatic.

During actual use we found the gearbox to be quite similar to the one in the Maserati Spyder, as it is in fact based on the same mechanical devices. Here's how it works: A hydraulic device sits right on the gearbox and solenoids (switches) receive "instructions" from a computer that monitors both driver inputs and the state of the car at the time of a shift, then controls the clutch, gearbox and torque to make sure the shift is clean. The actual event of a shift is created by the hydraulic actuator.

Our only complaint with the system is that shifts seemed a bit lazy in Normal mode, and you'd find yourself waiting a hair too long for downshifts to happen when the engine wasn't racing above 6,000 rpm. Above that point, especially in Sport, the transmission is suddenly very quick, with down- and upshifts exceptionally sharp for a production car (real Formula 1 cars can shift about ten times faster, by the way). Ferrari purposefully engineered the gearbox to shift more quickly at higher revs, reckoning that at high revs you will be driving that much harder and truly need the next higher gear.

As for using this gearbox, we can't imagine why you wouldn't grow accustomed to it in a day. Reverse is a bit tricky, true (with your foot on the brake, reach down and pull a lever backward, a warning will sound to indicate reverse; then push the brake again and flip the right paddle to engage first gear), but otherwise shifting easily and quickly becomes second nature.

Would we miss a clutch? Sort of. There are times when having a stick on the transmission tunnel is really fun, but more during lazy straightaway cruises than in tight corners when having both mitts firmly on the wheel really does make your heart race a little less.