A Ferrari 458 Italia with a manual gearbox? Yes, it's possible

Many motoring enthusiasts blame the major car manufacturers for exterminating manual gearboxes, especially in supercars. It is true that some, such as Aston Martin, are embracing this type of transmission through special editions, but a small workshop known as European Auto Group (EAG) has wanted to go further. The Ferrari 458 Italia was the car chosen by EAG to fulfil the dream of many fans of the Prancing Horse brand: fitting it with a open-gate manual gearbox with six speeds and a third pedal, an unprecedented event in the history of the 458.

The last Ferrari offered with a manual gearbox as an option was the now-dated California, of which very few units were produced. However, this small North American workshop has managed to apply its passion to the Italian supercar, a model never associated with this type of gearbox, and the very fact that it has made this possible is sure to attract many owners.

For the moment, European Auto Group has only released a short teaser video of this long-awaited manual Ferrari 458. However, considering the progress they have made, it is not far-fetched to think that we will meet this car sooner rather than later, a vehicle that should have stayed faithful to the manual transmission from the very beginning.

There is no data available about this conversion or the process that had to be carried out to achieve it, but we can imagine that it has not been simple. The video shows the clutch and the gearbox itself, which adopts the characteristic open gate that has always featured on the brand’s manual models.

It is true that the paddles used to change gears in the automatic transmission are still present on the steering column, but they will be removed once the process is complete. What has not been removed is the fabulous 4.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 capable of producing 570 CV of power and 540 Nm of torque, figures that will be managed through that manual gearbox.

https://youtu.be/UyMbAOZm_w4

The intentions of European Auto Group with this modification of the Ferrari 458 are unknown, as we do not know whether it will be a change applied to just a few units or whether it will be available to any owner who wishes to make the transition. But whatever the case, EAG has undoubtedly marked a before and after by applying this transmission to a model as acclaimed as the Ferrari 458 Italia.