While it's hard to go wrong if one is in the market for a new Ferrari, the 458 Italia may have disappointed some purists since it lacked a manual transmission. A Texas-based company plans to change that.
European Auto Group, previously responsible for Ferrari F430 manual transmission swaps, is ready to tackle the next big thing, and that is the 458 Italia. CarBuzz reported on the shop's endeavors and spoke with EAG to understand why the company wants to go through the trouble.
2015 Ferrari 458 Italia
Basically, it comes down to demand, EAG owner Art Bartosik said. Apparently, his business has been inundated with owners "screaming" for manual transmission swaps for the F430. However, Bartosik said he was ready to oversee the challenge of the 458 swap. The newer supercar from Ferrari came exclusively with a dual-clutch automatic transmission, which makes plopping in a manual transmission more difficult. He wouldn't say where the new transmission comes from, but there will be a different transmission in the swapped 458 models altogether.
2015 Ferrari 458 Italia
Wherever it's coming from, EAG didn't get its hands on many. Bartosik told the website it plans for 10, maybe 11 458 swaps.
The final product will give a handful of lucky Ferrari 458 owners a shot at rowing their own gears with the naturally aspirated 4.5-liter V-8 engine singing along. The company already has a prototype car in the works, shown in the video above, but development work is far from finished. If all goes according to plan, customer cars should begin their surgical procedures in January 2020.