Ferrari 12Cilindri MM: a V12 grand tourer with an H-pattern shifter — real manual or theatre?

The Ferrari 12Cilindri MM could turn out to be the brand’s most divisive special edition in recent memory. According to The Supercar Blog, the debut is expected on July 4, 2026, and the real intrigue isn’t the V12 engine but an unusual H-pattern shifter that mimics Ferrari’s classic open-gate manual transmission.

This isn’t an official reveal yet, just a bundle of rumours, trademark filings and a patent application. The Supercar Blog reports that Ferrari recently trademarked a series of names, including 12Cilindri MM, while brand chief Benedetto Vigna told a dealer conference in Las Vegas about “something new” — a blend of the past with an eye on the future. An electronic interface mimicking a manual fits that formula far better than a true stick shift.

The patent’s key idea is a ball-shaped lever sitting in a slotted H-gate that reads 1 through 6. To the left and right of the lever sit manual, drive, neutral and reverse buttons — meaning reverse isn’t engaged through the gate itself, but with a separate switch. It all runs on shift-by-wire: sensors read the lever’s position and send commands to the control unit, which actually moves the gears. The description mentions resistance on the lever and locking out the wrong gates at high speed. In other words, Ferrari is trying to make the simulation not just pretty but convincing.

The standard 12Cilindri already provides the right foundation: a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 F140 with 830 PS and 678 Nm, 0–100 km/h in 2.9 seconds and a top speed above 340 km/h. It currently uses an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, and that’s most likely what stays under the MM. So this isn’t a return to the 599 GTB with a real manual — it’s a new way to give the owner the ritual of changing gears.

For Ferrari, this is almost the perfect move. A real manual is expensive to develop, hard to certify and potentially slower. An electronic H-gate keeps the speed of the DCT but adds rarity, nostalgia and instant collector status. With a limited run open only to top clients, the price could easily climb far above the standard 12Cilindri.

The risk is just as obvious. Fans may dismiss the whole thing as a simulator, especially if there’s no clutch pedal. But the market for rare Ferraris doesn’t only buy engineering purity — it buys story, status and the right to say “I have that version.”

The 12Cilindri MM may not be a comeback of the manual gearbox — just a comeback of its image. For a regular carmaker that would be strange. For Ferrari, it’s practically working currency.