Hard
to imagine, but it's quicker than an Enzo (!) around Fiorano, Ferrari’s
test track. This ultimate 730-bhp V-12 Ferrari with a rear-mounted
7-speed dual-clutch gearbox is Ferrari's fastest, most powerful road car
ever, with a claimed 0–62 mph time of 3.1 seconds and a top speed of
over 210 mph.
Within the coral-colored brick walls of Ferrari’s Maranello operations, a new supercar is starting to roll off the line. The replacement for the 599GTB Fiorano and its numerous offshoots, the new F12berlinetta will be Ferrari’s most expensive, quickest, and most powerful model when it goes on sale in the U.S. early next year at an estimated price of $330,000. Its reign as Ferrari’s flagship will be a brief one, as the Enzo replacement is expected to break cover at the Paris auto show this fall and go on sale in mid-to-late 2013.
But back to the F12. It’s a traditional Ferrari in that it seats two and has a V-12 mounted ahead of the driver. And yet tradition isn’t among the reasons Ferrari gives when asked why the F12 isn’t mid-engined or why it’s made of aluminum instead of carbon-fiber composite. As to the latter, Ferrari claims that carbon fiber is much harder to produce and get right, carbon-fiber structures usually make for difficult ingress and egress, and aluminum is easier to repair. This might sound like Ferrari trying to convince us that the world is flat, that drum brakes are better than disc brakes, that bianco is nero, but we expect the F12 to weigh in at about 3800 pounds, less than the 4085-pound Lamborghini Aventador we tested earlier this year.
Within the coral-colored brick walls of Ferrari’s Maranello operations, a new supercar is starting to roll off the line. The replacement for the 599GTB Fiorano and its numerous offshoots, the new F12berlinetta will be Ferrari’s most expensive, quickest, and most powerful model when it goes on sale in the U.S. early next year at an estimated price of $330,000. Its reign as Ferrari’s flagship will be a brief one, as the Enzo replacement is expected to break cover at the Paris auto show this fall and go on sale in mid-to-late 2013.
But back to the F12. It’s a traditional Ferrari in that it seats two and has a V-12 mounted ahead of the driver. And yet tradition isn’t among the reasons Ferrari gives when asked why the F12 isn’t mid-engined or why it’s made of aluminum instead of carbon-fiber composite. As to the latter, Ferrari claims that carbon fiber is much harder to produce and get right, carbon-fiber structures usually make for difficult ingress and egress, and aluminum is easier to repair. This might sound like Ferrari trying to convince us that the world is flat, that drum brakes are better than disc brakes, that bianco is nero, but we expect the F12 to weigh in at about 3800 pounds, less than the 4085-pound Lamborghini Aventador we tested earlier this year.
