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When Ferrari’s engineers gave the world paddle-shifters back in 1997, little could they have imagined the F1-derived technology would find its way onto 21st century delivery vans. But, that’s exactly what’s happened, which prompted me to think ‘what’s the point?’
The
Ferrari F355 F1 was the first production car in the world to feature a semi-automatic transmission with gear changes effected via paddle-shifters. It brought
Formula 1 technology to the road and added some zest to rapid-fire gear changes and added some zing to the overall driving experience.
Compared with today’s razor-sharp dual-clutch autos, those shifts in the original F355 F1 might seem a tad sluggish, but back then in 1997, road cars had never featured anything like it, and Ferrari’s F1-styled transmission was universally praised.