Skip advert
Advertisement

New Ferrari F12 Berlinetta revealed

Ferrari replaces the 599 GTB with the new F12 Berlinetta supercar, its most powerful road car ever. Full details and official pictures here

Meet the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. It’s an all-new V12-engined supercar, which replaces the 599 GTB and surpasses its performance with some authority.  A brand new 6.3-litre 12-cylinder engine boasts 730bhp and 509lb ft of torque; that makes it comfortably Ferrari’s most potent road car ever, over 60bhp healthier than both 599 GTO and Enzo. It also comfortably trumps the 690bhp Lamborghini Aventador while matching its torque figure. Peak power arrives at 8500rpm – 200rpm short of the F12’s no doubt sonorously soundtracked rev limit. With a 1525kg dry weight (55kg lighter than the 599 GTB), its similar to the Aventador, despite not matching its Italian foe’s carbonfibre construction. The F12 is made from aluminium, and it’s smaller than the 599 - 47mm shorter, 20mm narrower and 63mm lower, to be precise.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Far from beating its supercar rivals in the power war, the F12 possesses some very clever (and clearly motorsport inspired) aerodynamics. The dramatic sculpture lines you can see on the car’s side profile serve a real purpose, directing air from front vents, generating significant downforce, while there’s Active Brake Cooling, which directs air to the brake cooling ducts at high speed. There’s also a blown diffuser at the rear of the car. All together, there’s 123kg of downforce at 124mph – up 76 per cent on the 599’s figure – and a big reduction in drag, down to 0.299Cd. Whether all this makes the F12 appealing to the eye or not is personal opinion…

There’s Ferrari’s usual plethora of technology under the skin, too, with carbon-ceramic brakes, new magnetorheological suspension and a wealth of tried-and-tested control systems, including E-Diff, ESP and F1-Trac.  Ferrari’s seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox is standard-fit, and with closer gear ratios than in the four-seat FF, it helps hustle the F12 to 62mph in 3.1sec, hitting 124mph in a mere 8.5sec (a second quicker than an Enzo) onto a 211mph top speed. It’s also the quickest road car ever around Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, with a 1min23sec lap. And being a replacement for the 599, rather than a reborn Enzo, this is no road-going racecar – there’s plenty of luggage capacity and a plush leather and carbonfibre-clad interior. The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta gets its full reveal at the 2012 Geneva motor show, which takes place next week, when we’ll have further details and plenty of pictures. To read more about the F12 and Ferrari’s future, click here

All of the 2012 Geneva motor show news is here

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Best Ferraris – Maranello’s masterpieces from 458 Speciale to F80
Best Ferraris
Best cars

Best Ferraris – Maranello’s masterpieces from 458 Speciale to F80

Ferrari is a brand with more than its fair share of illustrious highlights, so we’ve recapped some of the best Ferrari road cars we’ve driven
11 Jul 2025
Ferrari has no plans to reintroduce manual gearboxes
Ferrari manual
News

Ferrari has no plans to reintroduce manual gearboxes

Ferrari reckons if you want a manual, you should buy a classic, and has no plans to bring back the stick
1 Jul 2025
New 2026 Ferrari Amalfi revealed – physical buttons return in the 631bhp Roma replacement
Ferrari Amalfi front
News

New 2026 Ferrari Amalfi revealed – physical buttons return in the 631bhp Roma replacement

The Ferrari Amalfi picks up where the Roma left off, as a more capable, debugged super GT that’s finally brought back buttons
1 Jul 2025
Can Ferrari really sell a €407k supercar with a V6?
Ferrari 296 Speciale – front
Opinion

Can Ferrari really sell a €407k supercar with a V6?

The new 296 Speciale has arrived, but is a V6 the right choice for what is meant to be Ferrari’s most thrilling road car yet? The team discusses this …
13 May 2025
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
News

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV

If you have to have an SUV, a Stelvio QV is acceptable. Now it's being heavily discounted.
8 Jul 2025
Ferrari F80 2025 review – near-1200bhp tech tour de force tested on road and track
Ferrari F80 review
Reviews

Ferrari F80 2025 review – near-1200bhp tech tour de force tested on road and track

Maranello’s latest hybrid hypercar and successor to the LaFerrari blends mind-bending capabilities with deeply intuitive character
10 Jul 2025
New cars at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed – all the debuts from Aston to Zenvo
Festival of Speed 2025
News

New cars at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed – all the debuts from Aston to Zenvo

The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway. Here’s what’s in store from the biggest British motoring event of the year
11 Jul 2025