No good news. I know of one Swiss who converted his Lupo, then scrapped it when the paperwork got too much. When I enquired, before starting, I was told that I would need a letter from the manufacturer head office confirming that the car was now exactly to the specification of a manual car. I got the impression that the goal is to update the typenschine field 24 of the papers. However there isn't a typenschine for the manual version of this model that I know of. This was not just a request for an engineers report, that would not be acceptable, or an authorised dealer opinion. The problem I have is that this Lupo has several factory magnesium panels, wheels, sump, gearbox castings, drilled layshafts to save weight, other goodies, like alloy seat frames, alloy McPherson struts, aero mods, etc, that were not on any non e-gear Lupo. Ferdinand Peich of 917 development team fame personally oversaw development of this variant as well as the 917. Even the mirror internals are variant specific.
An Aston Martin converted by the factory with all paperwork, or a Lamborghini converted by the factory, a Pagani, those could work. No one cars if it is just a Lupo
I have met people at car meetings who have paid 150k+ chf, yes there is a K there , to get their very special car through. It is a lot of money, money that could have been better spent on the car, money that doesn't increase the car's global marketability, if anything, the fact you have had to spend that is viewed by some as a black mark. The process starts with a few K here and there, and you just get sucked in. It is a negative process that is an emotional and psychological drain, that leaves you scarred.
As ST4lemans said, the type coding, field 24 of the logbook, encodes the exact vehicle type. If the car is originally a Swiss market car, that is a pretty big stumbling block in my view. An import car can often have an X in that field 24. This happens if the exact model specification, and there are many with a model type, my Audi S6 was one, for example Gallardo suspension lift option would likely mean a different code. Combinations of options can get one code, Swiss pack, etc, not just model. Get a car with an X in field 24, converted before import, and you might be home and dry. No idea about this. Would be great if someone could confirm.
The only problem with conversion before import is that is when after 30 years you will want veteran status, the car goes through a certification process ensuring originality. If the car is say a Gallardo, then veteran status is not that far away, and does anyone know about manual conversions with veterans? Is the situation any easier or worse?
STVA are very likely to know that digit 8 of the Vin is the transmission code on a Lambo. Inspectors might even be split into Marque specialists, I suspect cars are not randomly assigned to inspectors can anyone confirm this? The inspector in Zug who went through my S6 really turned it on, very impressive and helpful actually, when he figured I was a petrol head doing my own prep work, saying that the tailgate latch was off a different model, it was OK, but the proper latch would have been slightly different.