diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/importAnalysis.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/importAnalysis.ts
index 2d2624baf31457..7bd3ea21ede726 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/importAnalysis.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/importAnalysis.ts
@@ -544,7 +544,7 @@ export function importAnalysisPlugin(config: ResolvedConfig): Plugin {
         )
 
       // pre-transform known direct imports
-      if (staticImportedUrls.size) {
+      if (config.server.preTransformRequests && staticImportedUrls.size) {
         staticImportedUrls.forEach((url) => {
           server.transformRequest(unwrapId(removeImportQuery(url)), { ssr })
         })
diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts
index 52343334701f5d..22fe38e974264a 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/server/index.ts
@@ -114,6 +114,13 @@ export interface ServerOptions extends CommonServerOptions {
    * @default true
    */
   bindShortcuts?: boolean
+  /**
+   * Pre-transform known direct imports
+   *
+   * @experimental this option is experimental and might be changed in the future
+   * @default true
+   */
+  preTransformRequests?: boolean
 }
 
 export interface ResolvedServerOptions extends ServerOptions {
@@ -702,7 +709,10 @@ export function resolveServerOptions(
   root: string,
   raw?: ServerOptions
 ): ResolvedServerOptions {
-  const server = raw || {}
+  const server: ResolvedServerOptions = {
+    preTransformRequests: true,
+    ...(raw as ResolvedServerOptions)
+  }
   let allowDirs = server.fs?.allow
 
   if (!allowDirs) {
@@ -723,7 +733,7 @@ export function resolveServerOptions(
     allow: allowDirs
   }
   server.static = resolveStaticOptions(server)
-  return server as ResolvedServerOptions
+  return server
 }
 
 async function restartServer(server: ViteDevServer) {