Rezvani has introduced Quick Shift, a $25,000 simulated-manual conversion for the Ferrari 458, Ferrari 488 and Ferrari 12Cilindri. Developed through the California company's new Limitless Engineering division with Studio Carrozzi, the system adds a gated electronic shifter while leaving the factory dual-clutch transmission in place.

Quick Shift arrives as automakers explore ways to recreate the involvement of a traditional manual without installing a clutch-operated gearbox. Ferrari's own 12Cilindri Manuale uses shift-by-wire technology and carries a $675,000 price, making Rezvani's system a considerably less expensive route to a similar kind of driver interaction.

How Rezvani Quick Shift works

The CNC-machined billet shifter uses an open-gated plate, but it has no mechanical connection to the transmission. Instead, the lever communicates electronically with the car's ECU and instructs the existing dual-clutch gearbox to shift.

There is no clutch pedal, so the car cannot stall. Rezvani CEO Ferris Rezvani says the system still delivers fast, precise shifts, and the company says it does not automatically upshift when the engine reaches redline. In a Ferrari 488, for example, the engine can remain at its 8,000-rpm rev limiter until the driver selects the next gear.

The software can also select first gear automatically when needed. That means the driver does not have to manage clutch engagement or prevent a stall in traffic.

It is not a conventional sequential shifter

Quick Shift does not require the lever's physical position to match the transmission's active gear. A driver could leave the lever in fourth gear while stopped, for example, while the dual-clutch transmission selects an appropriate gear for the car's speed.

Each gear has its own identifier in the vehicle computer. Moving the lever tells the software to command an upshift or downshift from whatever gear the transmission is currently using, rather than forcing the gearbox to follow a strictly sequential path.

The system is permanently configured as a simulated manual once installed. Drivers who want to retain the original paddle shifters can do so, but Quick Shift does not provide a switch between automatic and manual modes.

Price, reversibility and future applications

Rezvani says the installation preserves the car's factory safety systems and electronics and does not require changes to the engine control unit. Because it uses no clutch pedal or mechanical linkage, the company says the conversion can be removed in a few hours and the car returned to factory specification without major mechanical work.

Quick Shift is currently offered for the Ferrari 458, 488 and 12Cilindri. Rezvani plans to adapt the technology for select Lamborghini models and eventually the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. The $25,000 price covers the conversion only; the donor car is not included.