Ferrari's Finger On The Future

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday July 18, 1997

Peter McKay

A gear changing system adapted from Formula One makes PETER McKAY - or any driver - the swift and efficient equal of a GP champion.

Porsche and Audi have Tiptronic semi-automatic transmissions, BMW's M3 has its sequential gearbox and now Ferrari is poised to equip its best-selling F355 with digital gear changing - well, with the fingertips, at least.

Ferrari calls it Formula One-style "power train management". Clever F1 gearbox technology dispenses with the clutch pedal and gear lever in favour of two paddles behind the steering wheel rim. Ferrari insists this is the way of the future for production models, not just the exotics.

Maybe not tomorrow but soon after, Ferrari says, all cars will have variations of this simpler, safer and (here's the clincher) more efficient method of changing gears.

In an F355 equipped with the new F1 system, you, me and dear Aunt Clementine can change gears just as swiftly as Ferrari's champion, Michael Schumacher. It is a splendid system for high-performance conveyances, but there's the small matter of price - it adds $20,000 to the F355's sticker. According to Ferrari, it will become way more affordable over time.

This is not an automatic transmission, but rather a six-speed manual controlled by sophisticated software to provide lightning gear changes at the touch of a digit. The two paddles - upshifts are on the right; downshifts on the left - fall easily to (in my case anyway) the second finger on both hands. A miniature lever in the usual place on the centre console allows the driver to select reverse.

After the system's success in F1, the toughest theatre in motor sport, Ferrari started on a production version in 1994.

In F1, where such systems are now de rigueur, the absence of a clutch pedal and conventional gear lever has sped up gear changes by critical fractions of a second.

This performance fillip extends to the road system, too. Any mug can shift as efficiently as a professional driver. Safety is enhanced, because the driver doesn't have to take a hand from the wheel to change gears.

There are factors such as the ability to brake with the left foot, which can marginally improve reaction times and stopping performance. And a driver wriggling a couple of fingers and working two pedals instead of three won't get quite so hot and bothered. There is also a reliability issue; the gearbox is programmed to prevent engine over-revs.

There are a few tricks to operating the system. But a couple of hours among the prolific second- and third-gear corners on glorious winding roads above Ferrari's home in Maranello, Italy - and a few laps around Ferrari's Fiorano test track - presented a convincing case that the Prancing Horse is onto something.

Even a car with the brutal performance of the 282 kW five-valves-per-cylinder 3.5-litre V8 becomes very relaxing to drive. Down-shifting is more precise and accurate.

The clever gearbox has normal or sport modes, one for slippery road conditions, even one which is a lazy man's automatic.

Unlike Schumacher's gearbox, which is programmed for uncompromising performance and nothing else, the F355's tempers the customary Ferrari kick-butt acceleration with user-friendliness and comfort.

Click a shift paddle and, in 0.20 to 0.25 seconds, the system retards the ignition, cuts out one cyliner or more, disengages the clutch, disengages one gear and engages another, re-engages the clutch, and returns the engine to full power.

In sport mode above 7,000 rpm, it is even swifter - 0.15 sec. The best a pro driver can shift in a manual F355 is about 0.20 sec.

In this car with this system anyone - maiden aunts included - can match the acceleration times of the dual world champion.

Here is a further sign that Ferrari is moving with the changing times. Maranello continues to build automotive sculptures which tweak the heartstrings, but owner expectations are higher these days and the cars must be more user-friendly than in the past. The F355 with the Schuey shift should reach Australian showrooms early next year.