The 12 Cilindri, Ferrari’s newest flagship GT vehicle, is the most potent pure-combustion vehicle the company has ever put into series production. Ferrari’s chief marketing and commercial officer, Enrico Galliera, stated that the 12 Cilindri “opens a new chapter in Ferrari history” when it was unveiled on the sidelines of the Miami Grand Prix to mark the company’s 70th anniversary in the US.
The 12Cilindri, which takes over from the 812 Superfast, increases power, adopts a striking new style language, and offers a number of significant new innovations. Importantly, though, it continues to use Ferrari’s 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 after the Maranello-based business made significant investments to bring its largest engine up to code in order to meet demand.
Galliera said: “It is already compliant to Euro 6e [emission standards], so it is possible to keep selling the car all over the world for the time being and then we will see what happens in the future. The work that has been done on this engine to remain performant and compliant with the regulation is absolutely stunning, which is probably one of the reasons why there are not many manufacturers that keep investing in the V12 engine.”
Unusual for Ferrari, the hard-top coupé and open-roof Spider versions were unveiled simultaneously, with prices in Italy starting at Euro 395,000 and Euro 435,000, or around Rs 3.55 crore and Rs 3.90 crore, respectively. Since Galliera “doesn’t believe our business is done by numbers,” the company did not provide expected sales figures for the new GT flagship.
Less than 20% of the business’s output would come from the Purosangue SUV, as previously disclosed. However, Galliera stated the company simply made this information public to demonstrate that “we were not becoming a utility vehicle producer.”
He emphasised that Ferrari’s growth objectives are not dependent on higher production volumes for specific model lines, but rather would arise from the company’s forays into new markets and its increased profitability per vehicle sold. This suggests that the production volumes of the 12 Cilindri will be comparable to those of the 812 it replaces.
Highlights of the Ferrari 12-Cilindri Design
“We are starting a new era – a new design philosophy – with this car,” said Ferrari chief design officer Flavio Manzoni. He added that the 12 Cilindri is “a clear departure from the line of the previous generations, especially the 812 Competizione, which was very sculptural, muscular, technical and so on”.
Here, he said, the aim was to “create a cohesive whole, integrating all the technical devices and aerodynamic needs into a clear vision”.It is obviously a progression of the 812 in that it has a cab-rear profile, strong haunches, and a low, probing bonnet—all of which are design cues for its large power plant—but artistically, it is entirely different from the 812.
At the front, most obviously, the 12 Cilindri is defined by a sharp wraparound band incorporating the headlights. That’s a nod to the legendary Ferrari 365 GTB/4 of 1968, but Manzoni is adamant that this is not a “nostalgic approach” but rather one that shows how Ferrari is “thinking about the future with full respect to the past”. He said: “Every time Ferrari has created an icon, it’s because they wanted to make something new – not something inspired by the past, but by the future.”
However, Manzoni and his group continue to prioritise visual drama. The unpainted carbon fiber body parts are meant to stand out more against the car’s paint job. The new wheels, which are each milled from a single block of metal, are an inch larger for a more commanding presence. The bonnet opens rearward for “an even more spectacular effect.”
The rear of the new car has a feature that stands out: two flaps that are integrated into the bodywork, one on each side of the boot lid shaped like a delta wing, increase downforce when the vehicle is moving while maximising trunk space and giving the vehicle a more polished appearance when it is stationary.
Ferrari says that when the 12 Cilindri is travelling at 300kph, these flaps need to be raised by only 25mm to stabilise the car. Otherwise, though, the 12 Cilindri is a comparatively minimalist proposition, compared with the likes of the 812 Competizione, and bosses say this emphasises Ferrari’s ‘form follows function’ approach to design. “Ferrari never does things that are unuseful or fake,” said Manzoni. “When you look around, most cars in the world have so many fake elements: air intakes, outlets, fake exhausts, fake diffusers… We could never imagine a diffuser based on our stylistic ideas.”
Ferrari 12-Cylinder Engine
The ‘F140HD’ V12, with its outputs increased to 830bhp and 678Nm, can propel a 12-cylinder car from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.9 seconds, and it can reach a maximum speed of around 340 km/h.
The conrods have been significantly lightened by forty percent, the camshaft by three percent, and the pistons by two percent when compared to the engine of the 812 Superfast. Together with shorter manifold tracts, modified cam profiles, and sliding finger valvetrain followers inspired by Formula 1, Ferrari has been able to increase the Superfast’s redline from 8,900 rpm to an incredible 9,500 rpm.
The soundtrack and performance that resulted are described by the company as “the purest expression of Ferrari’s soul.” In spite of regulatory uncertainties surrounding combustion cars and in light of Ferrari’s shift towards electrification, the company chose “some years ago” to replace the 812 with another V12-powered GT, according to Gianmaria Fulgenzi, chief product development officer at Ferrari.
“It was a brave decision,” he told our sister publication Autocar UK, “but not too difficult, because we love the V12, we know that our customers love the V12, and our volumes generally are not too high. “So we believe in the possibility of keeping the engine alive in a world where the regulations are changing very fast.”
Ferrari 12-Cylinder Foundations
The wheelbase of the 12 Cilindri has been shortened by 20 mm to 2,700 mm, which is the most noticeable and important structural modification. Ferrari claims that compared to the 812, this enables an increase in agility and reactivity. The addition of freshly manufactured tires from Michelin and Goodyear, measuring 275mm wide on the front axle and 315mm wide at the rear, as well as the usual installation of rear-wheel steering both increase cornering behavior and straight-line stability.
As for the chassis, it is reported that by reducing the number of castings from 22 to 17, torsional rigidity has risen by as much as 15 percent. Said to give up only 1 percent in stiffness, the Spider’s highly strengthened sills compensate for its absence of a permanent roof.
The 12 Cilindri features brake-by-wire technology, a first for a V12 Ferrari, which enables variable brake force application to all four wheels. Additionally, a new ABS-Evo system, borrowed from the 296 GTB, contributes to improved heavy braking repeatability and shorter stopping distances. These technologies combine with the most recent version of Ferrari’s Side Slip Control technology, which detects movement in three dimensions quickly and precisely, to maximize performance and traction under all circumstances.
The 12Cilindri weighs approximately 35 kg more than the 812 Superfast, at 1,560 kg dry, due to slight weight increases for the wider wheels, the hood, and the active rear aero. (1,620 kg for the Spider). Fulgenzi asserts that this is a result of Ferrari’s attempts to guarantee a wide range of characteristics. By the way do read our news story The Rs 1.53 Crore BMW M4 Competition Facelift Revealed
Highlights of the Ferrari 12 Cilindri interior
The layout of the cabin is almost exactly like that of the Purosangue, with the driver and passenger sequestered in their own opulent “cockpits” complete with individual digital displays. On the other hand, the 12Cilindri has a 10.25-inch center infotainment touchscreen with an anti-fingerprint protection coating, unlike the Purosangue. It still lacks an integrated navigation system, though, preferring to use third-party mapping software that can be viewed via smartphone mirroring.
A row of physical switches has been placed to the center console in the style of Ferrari’s former open-gate manual gear selector, while the steering wheel, like previous Ferrari models, features a variety of capacitive controls in addition to the classic manettino driving mode selector. Manzoni described this as “the technical jewel of the interior.” The coupé comes standard with a panoramic glass roof, and the Spider’s top can be folded in just 14 seconds while traveling at up to 45 kph. A loss of 100 liters in boot space is the trade-off.
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