by crankandpiston.com
Seven hundred and 30 horsepower. It barely seems five minutes since the prospect of 500bhp was causing jaws to drop and eyes to widen. Well, the Ferrari F12berlinetta takes that and adds the power of a top-end hot hatch on top. Which means this will be a seriously fast car. And we get to drive it.
While this is clearly awesome, it’s also a bit daunting. This will be the most powerful production car I’ve ever driven, and as I head to Ferrari HQ at Maranello in Italy for the official launch, I’m desperately hoping that I can tame this ludicrous amount amount of grunt. I’m not a racing driver, and I don’t have the reflexes of a ninja. And I really, really don’t want to bin a car worth the best part of $400,000 through an Italian hedgerow.
So it’s some comfort to learn, during the product briefing at the famous Fiorano test track, that Ferrari has specifically designed the F12 to be approachable, and usable every day. As the successor to the 599 GTB Fiorano, this is a GT car aimed at the customer that’ll pile the miles on, probably taking long trips and maybe even using it every day. It surely can’t be as daunting as I fear.
But wait. Does that mean it won’t be exciting? Perhaps I should be a bit scared. After all, it’s a Ferrari. And it’s got 730bhp. Having been slightly underwhelmed by the fast but uninvolving FF, now I’m concerned that this could fail to get the heart rate sufficiently high.
Before I answer that, some tech detail. The F12 is lower, shorter and narrower than the 599 and, thanks to extensive use of aluminium, is also 70kg lighter. Despite that, the interior space is the same. The engine is a 6.3-litre, naturally-aspirated V12 – related to that in the FF – that revs to 8700rpm and sends power to the rear wheels through a seven-speed, dual-clutch F1 gearbox.
Enough stats. Sat outside Enzo Ferrari‘s personal house in the middle of the Fiorano track are six F12s, and we’ve got the key to one of them. And permission to hoon.
It’s a spicy looking beast, more visually impactful in the raw than in pictures and with some very cool features. The aero bridges on the front wings funnels air from channels on the bonnet down into the flanks to improve downforce and stability and speed, while the rear fog lamps apes that of the Ferrari F1 car. It’s unmistakably Ferrari, but with sharp lines and an aggressive, manic grin on its face, it’s contemporary and outlandish too.
The interior of Ferrari’s latest baby is spacious, solid, stylish but not much different to the likes of the 458 or FF. It’s a shame that the interior isn’t as dramatic as the outside, but it’s still a special place, full of leather and with a sculpted metal centrepiece that holds the gearbox controls. The seat is low (and manually operated in this particular car – more weight saving, I guess) and the F1-inspired steering wheel houses buttons aplenty – modern Ferraris are stalk-free zones.
So. Key in, press the start button on the wheel, twist the manettino switch to ‘Race’ and off I go. The first few corners at Fiorano are taken cautiously, while I try and work out if the F12 will bite. It only takes half a lap to realise that no, it won’t. The front end, despite that enormous engine, is nimble and lithe, the steering light but direct and fast. Ferrari has made the F12 with a 46/54 weight distribution to ensure the handling is optimum, and it’s less than a lap before I feel confident to really lean on the front end as I pitch it into corners previously graced by some of the greatest cars and drivers in history.
The grip is simply immense. Ever been in a fast accelerating car and had that feeling where your organs push against your rib cage? Well, in the F12 you get that laterally. It’s quite ridiculous how much I can lean on the tyres, and then that internal pressure swivels in direction as I hit the gas and realise what 730bhp really feels like. The throttle is perfectly measured to put the power down without doing an instant 180, and the tail gives a precautionary wag when the limit of adhesion approaches. In the hands of someone more skilled than me, the F12 will lap Fiorano in 1min 23sec – a second faster than the 599 GTO and two seconds faster than the Enzo.
I only get three laps, which for a circuit I’ve never driven on before isn’t really enough to get the most out of the car. But it’s a great introduction, and now I get to hit the glorious country roads around Maranello. Sadly, the first half an hour is spent in lazy traffic meandering through the villages that dot the Emilia-Romagna, so hooning is temporarily off the agenda.
But something weird happens; despite being in a 730bhp Ferrari, I don’t feel like tearing my hair out in frustration at the slow speeds. It could be the beautiful surroundings, but I think it’s more that the F12berlinetta is really easy to cruise around in. Despite the mythical levels of power, it’s docile at low speeds and the new dual-coil damper set up soaks up the lumps and bumps of Italian roads beautifully. And below 2000rpm, it’s remarkably quiet. What a contrast to that other high-horsepower Italian monster, theLamborghini Aventador, which is a nervous, twitchy nightmare at anything other than full chat.
Once the truck up ahead stops slowing everyone down, the pace can pick up a little, but not a lot on these twisty roads, as there are still cars ahead of me and too many blind corners. And yet I’m still having fun. Spirited cruising along these tracks at 100kph is enjoyable. The steering is alive, the throttle happy to accept little blips without bunny-hopping all over the place. It’s a genuinely pleasant drive in the country.
And then suddenly there’s a long straight and nothing coming the other way. Hammer time. Three tugs of the left-hand paddle instantly drops down the gears and that blistering feeling of velocity is instantly back. I’m past the remaining traffic instantly, and it’s completely clear ahead of me, which means I can really start to stretch the legs. Or rather, as much as one can stretch 730bhp on a public road. So to clarify, in 1.5-second bursts of full power. Those are epic. But once again, the throttle is so beautifully weighted that when the bends get tighter and turn into hairpins, I can push on without worrying about micro-tolerances in my right foot. It’s never jerky but always responsive. The front end response is instant but the back end stays utterly planted unless you’re brave enough to switch everything electronic off and utilise all that power. It’s such an accessible car that, like the 458, flatters the driver.
It serenades him (or her) as well. The noise from the exhausts is epic – from the outside you’ll hear a two tone duet, starting with a low tenor wail that rises and is joined by a shrieking, hard-edged soprano. On the inside, you’ll get a much more complex, multi-layered sound thanks to the intake sounds that are channeled through tubing into the cabin. Good as the stereo is, you’ll want to turn it off when the road clears.
My fears that the F12berlinetta would be fast but boring are unfounded. It is, obviously, ridiculously quick when it wants to be. But it’s also happy to cruise in comfort. And when you bring the noise, it’s utterly exhilarating. It treads the perfect balance between feeling like a supercar and being usable every day. And I love it.