It is a leap year, and a what a leap for the Italian master of the art on the 29th day of February. This day will be remembered in history as the day when the world saw the most powerful and fastest Ferrari ever built. Meet the all-new F12 Berlinetta, and by no means is it ‘Berlinetta‘ (Italian for little saloon).
Ferrari popularized the term ‘Berlinetta’ for its small saloons during the 50’s. European Maserati, Opel, Alfa Romeo and American Chevy also produced Berlinetta models. However, this is no ordinary Berlinetta, it has a yellow badge with black horse on the front and the title ‘F12’. Replacing the Maranello beast 599 GTB Fiorano, the F12 Berlinetta comes with its glorious V12 in the front. It is the same engine powering the Ferrari FF, but a little tweaked for making the Berlinetta, the most powerful yet. The 6262 cc and 65 degrees configuration engine now gives a fierce 730 bhp with 690 Nm torque, with 80 per cent torque grunting out at 2,500 rpm. But what makes the Berlinetta fastest road going Ferrari EVER, is that the massive V12 is put into a dry weight of 1525 kg. And the results are dramatic, with the figures like 0-100kmph in 3.1 seconds; 0-200kmph in 8.5 seconds. A top speed of 340 kmph makes this the quickest Ferrari, beating the mighty Enzo at the Fiorano test track.
The Italians did not simply create an insanely powerful engine and put it into a lightweight body. The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta has more to it than that. Scaglietti, renowned expertise on frame designing has built the chassis making extensive use of aluminum in the spaceframe that employs 12 different alloys for attaining reduced weight with 20 per cent improved structural rigidity. And the design of the frame is marvelous with a lowered centre of gravity and a weight distribution of 46/54 front to rear, despite the front mounted engine. It also employs new rear suspensions layout, reduced wheelbase and redesigned transaxle to keep the rear volume low.
Ferrari has made a firm decision of housing the V12, despite the pressure from environmental bodies to switch to a smaller displacement turbocharged engine. And why not? The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is more efficient and environmental friendly than its predecessor is. Its massive V12 uses 30 per cent less fuel and gives CO2 emissions of 350g/km. To understand the Ferrari’s solution to the problem, you need to know two things. Aero Bridge is something that uses the bonnet to generate downforce by channeling air away from the upper part of the car to its flanks where it interacts with the wake from the wheel wells to decrease drag. The second is Active Brake Cooling, a system that opens guide vanes to the brake cooling ducts only at high operating temperatures, again reducing drag. Mated to the V12 is a F1 style dual-clutch transmission, which has closer gear ratios developed to the specifications of the car’s performance.
Berlinetta’s design is a joint effort of Ferrari Styling Center and Pininfarina giving the car a unique blend of unforgiving power of harmonious proportions. The in-car features include Frau Leather with carbon fiber highlights in air vents. Cockpit is optimized for better driver involvement with detailed ergonomics. Together with more modern design of console and dashboard and its Ferrari’s latest product for crying out loud.
The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is making its debut in a few days at Geneva Motor Show with its pricing announced during the show itself. The right hand drive variant is expected to be out by late 2013. Give us your views on the new Fastest Ferrari.
Ferrari F12 Berlinetta specifications:
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