Photo: Ferrari
In today's issue:
The first drives of Ferrari's 12Cilindri Manuale are in, and the testers say its by-wire manual is hard to tell from a real one
GM says it will add hybrids "in multiple segments" after pickups more than doubled its third-quarter profit
Rivian passed every EV brand but Tesla in U.S. sales this year, on the R2 and Amazon vans
Filtered from 4,343 items published across 315 sources in the last 24 hours.
THE CLUTCH IS A SENSOR
The first drives of the 2027 12Cilindri Manuale went live today from Road & Track, Car and Driver, MotorTrend, Hagerty and Autocar, all from closed tracks in Italy.
The hardware is the regular 12Cilindri's: the 819-hp 6.5-liter V12 and the eight-speed dual-clutch. A gated six-speed shifter and a clutch pedal send electronic signals to it, the top two ratios are locked out in manual mode, and there are no paddles.
Road & Track wrote that had it been told the car had a real mechanical gearbox, "I honestly don't think I would have spotted the fakery." Asked whether it passes as a true manual, Hagerty's answer was "a resounding yes," and Autocar said "very soon the brain accepts the Manuale as the real McCoy."
It behaves like one. It stalls if you forget the clutch, there is no automatic rev-matching, and a solenoid blocks any downshift that would over-rev the engine, per Car and Driver.
The gripes are about the software. You can switch from automatic back to manual only below about 43 mph, sixth is the tallest gear in manual mode so U.S. highway cruising takes nearly 4,000 rpm, and Hagerty tricked it into a violent first-gear engagement once, per Hagerty.
It costs $670,000 against $461,000 for the standard car, per Road & Track, and every one of the 1,499 is already accounted for, per MotorTrend.
When Ferrari revealed the Manuale in July, we called it a simulator, not a replacement, and said demand would tell the story. Demand has: the run is sold, and the reviewers agree on the mechanism and mostly shrug at it. The fake gearbox is also what makes the car pay. Because the Manuale can still run as an automatic, Ferrari claims the same acceleration, fuel economy, emissions and drive-by noise figures as the regular car and skips recertification, and Hagerty puts the extra revenue from the run at more than $300 million. Hagerty expects other automakers to copy the interface. Read Road & Track's full review.
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Also worth knowing
GM Will Add Hybrids After Pickups More Than Doubled Its Profit: "From a hybrid perspective, we will have hybrids in our portfolio in multiple segments, the key segments that we participate," CEO Mary Barra told analysts on Tuesday's earnings call, adding that they won't need extra capital spending or engineering, per CBT News. In January she told Bloomberg Television that GM's focus was gas engines and EVs. GM named no models or dates, and AutoForecast Solutions expects GM plug-in hybrids in late 2027 or early 2028. Third-quarter net income rose 151% to $3.34 billion on full-size pickups and software, even though U.S. sales fell 6.3%, per Automotive News. GM also approved a record $20 billion buyback, which the UAW criticized ahead of 2028 contract talks, per GM Authority. #market
Photo: Chevrolet
Lexus Gives the Hybrid-Only NX More Power as Its Sales Slide: The refreshed 2027 NX, revealed Tuesday without the 275-hp turbocharged gas version, pairs a 244-hp NX 350h hybrid with a 324-hp NX 450h+ plug-in, up from 304, per Lexus. The plug-in's battery grows to 22.7 kWh from 18.1, for a manufacturer-estimated 45 miles of electric range, and it gets DC fast charging for the first time, per InsideEVs. NX sales fell 12% to 50,148 through September, partly because of the brand's inventory struggles, per Automotive News. Lexus is also dropping the bigger TX550h+ plug-in after 2026, which sold a small fraction of what the TX500h hybrid did, per Car and Driver. #analyst
Photo: Lexus
Rivian Passed Every EV Brand but Tesla in U.S. Sales This Year: Rivian sold 41,009 vehicles through September, ahead of Hyundai's 39,121 and Chevrolet's 38,298, and moved from 10th place a year ago to second, per Autoblog, citing Cox Automotive. Its third-quarter sales rose 45.7% while total EV sales are down about 30% for the year. The new R2 sold 3,456 in its first quarter and the Amazon delivery vans sold 8,469, up 220.9%, while the R1S and R1T fell 31.8% and 27.2%. GM still ranks second if its brands are combined, per Electrek, and Tesla is far ahead at 386,194. #market
Photo: Lcaa9 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The New Fuel Economy Rule Could Reward Building Cars Abroad: Starting with the 2030 model year, NHTSA's new fuel economy rule moves many SUVs and minivans from the light-truck class into passenger cars, and domestic passenger cars must meet a minimum standard that imported cars and light trucks do not, per Automotive News. Policy experts told AN that if a later administration tightens the targets again, automakers could shift parts or assembly overseas to move a model into the imported fleet. For now nothing forces it: Consumer Reports' Chris Harto said today's fleet already meets the 2030 standard, and Congress set the noncompliance fine to zero in 2025. #analyst
Reveals & culture
The 2027 Ford Ranger Trades Its 2.7-Liter V6 for the Bronco's 3.0: An order guide shows the optional twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 replacing the 2.7 on the XLT and Lariat, four-wheel drive only, per Car and Driver. Ford has not released output. The engine makes 380 hp in the 2027 Bronco, and the Ranger's 2.7 makes 315 hp, per Autoblog.
Photo: Ford
A Chevy Bolt With 471,000 Miles Got a Used Battery for About $1,800: The 2019 Bolt's recall replacement pack, fitted at about 138,000 miles, lasted more than 330,000 miles before two modules went out of balance, per InsideEVs. Out of Spec Renew swapped in a low-mileage used pack in about four and a half hours, and estimates a retail customer would pay $2,500 to $3,000 for a pack plus $800 to $1,000 in labor.
Photo: Gregory Varnum / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick links
Ferrari's CEO Gave Tesla's Roadster Unveil a 10 Out of 10: Benedetto Vigna scored the launch 10 out of 10 for technology and for presentation and said "even in an old world, you can still innovate and dare," per Reuters. Tesla reports third-quarter results after the market closes today, a day after Musk said on SpaceX's earnings call that both companies had formed committees of independent directors to study a merger, per Business Insider.
Subaru Will Stop Selling Gas Cars in Europe After 2027: The Outback, Impreza, Crosstrek and Forester leave European showrooms by the end of 2027, leaving only EVs developed with Toyota, per Motor1. Monday's lead was Subaru's first in-house EV platform.
Leapmotor Starts Building EVs in Spain: B10 production began Oct. 16 at Stellantis's Zaragoza plant, on the October schedule noted in our issue on Stellantis's Paris plans, per Automotive News. Chinese brands took a record 14.5% of European sales in September, per Automotive News Europe.
Acura Is Chasing 200,000 U.S. Sales by 2030: Acura told dealers it will get there with hybrids and crossovers after retreating from a strategy centered on EVs, per Automotive News, a week after it confirmed an eight-seat flagship and an off-roader.
Stellantis Workers in Canada Vote 97.3% to Authorize a Strike: The vote follows Saturday's report that China-built Jeeps could go to Canada. Unifor is not yet in a legal strike position, and talks stalled Sept. 11 when Stellantis agreed to potentially sell its idled Brampton, Ont., plant to defense contractor Roshel, per Automotive News.
Recalls & legal action
Ford Recalls 102,159 F-Series Trucks Whose Gauge Needles Can Stick: Analog speedometers and tachometers on 2025-2026 trucks from the F-150 to the F-750 can stick or move erratically, which Ford traced to a Visteon supplier process, per Autoblog. The replacement module isn't expected until Dec. 7 to 11.
The week in attention
How many separate outlets ran a headline naming each company over the last 7 days, across the 560+ sources we monitor. Press releases and Reddit are excluded, so this counts what got written about, not what got announced.
Penske Automotive: 17 outlets this week, against none in a median week over the previous 9. Most of it: "Penske Automotive Group to Be Taken Private by Penske, Mitsui - WSJ".
Zenos: 13 outlets this week, against none in a median week over the previous 9. Most of it: "The Zenos E10 is back, packing 380bhp into just 790kg: 480bhp per tonne, anyone?".
Delorean: 14 outlets this week, about 1 in a median week. Most of it: "Tesla’s flying car dreams get a rival as DeLorean enters electric air racing".
Ineos: 12 outlets this week, about 2 in a median week. Most of it: "2027 Ineos Grenadier Helmsman Launches New Special Edition Series Inspired by 'The Elements'".
Quieter than usual: Aston Martin (18 outlets against about 31), NHTSA (14 outlets against about 21).
Most covered overall: Tesla, Volkswagen Group, Toyota Motor.
Worth a listen
One episode from Car Curious, our sister car-podcast platform, picked out of everything the shows published in the last day.
S12 Ep3: My Ferrari 456 started my love affair with beautiful cars! (Fuelling Around - Stars Talking Cars!, also at YouTube): Hypnotist Paul McKenna explains how a Ferrari 456, one of Maranello's front-engined V12 grand tourers, started his love affair with cars.
Fuelling Around - Stars Talking Cars!
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