Maranello, 29th February – Today’s on-line unveiling of the F12berlinetta ushers in a new generation of Ferrari 12-cylinders in the form of a car that delivers unprecedented performance from an exceptional new engine, combined with innovative design that redefines classic themes along with extreme aerodynamics.

Revealed to the world for the first time on Ferrari.com in preparation for its official debut at the Geneva International Motor Show, the F12berlinetta, finished in an attractive new Rosso Berlinetta three-layer colour, represents the very cutting-edge of mid-front-engined sports cars.

This is, in fact, the most powerful and high-performance Ferrari road car ever launched thanks to the incredibly efficient engine – in terms of mechanical, combustion and fluid-dynamics efficiency – which, together with advanced vehicle architecture, aerodynamics, components and electronic controls, guarantee unsurpassed driving involvement whatever the road or track.

Ferrari’s traditional transaxle layout has been revolutionised to match the more extreme performance of the car. The wheelbase has been shortened and the engine, dashboard and seats have been lowered in the chassis, while the new layout of the rear suspension and gearbox enabled Ferrari’s engineers to make the rear volume of the car smaller. The overall result is a very compact car with a lower centre of gravity that is further back in the chassis, and a level of aerodynamic efficiency that sets new standards.

Scaglietti, renowned for its expertise in aluminium materials and construction, designed an all-new spaceframe chassis and bodyshell using 12 different kinds of alloys, some of which have been used here for the first time in the automotive sector, and employing new assembly and joining techniques. This has resulted in a 20 per cent increase in structural rigidity while reducing weight to just 1525 kg (70 kg less than the previous V12 coupé) with an ideal distribution between the axles (54 per cent over the rear).

The F12berlinetta’s 6262cc 65° V12 engine delivers unprecedented performance and revs for a naturally-aspirated 12-cylinder. Its maximum power output is 740 CV which translates to a specific output of 118 CV/l. Torque reaches a peak of 690 Nm, 80 per cent of which is already available at just 2,500 rpm, and which provides an unrelenting surge of acceleration all the way to the 8,700 rpm limit. The engine is mated to the F1 dual-clutch transmission, which has closer gear ratios developed specifically for this car’s performance. The F12berlinetta boasts a weight-to-power ratio of just 2.1 kg/CV .

Fuel consumption has been reduced by 30%, with CO2 emissions of just 350 g/km – figures which put the F12berlinetta at the top of the high-performance league. These results have been obtained by extensive research and development which focused on efficiencies of the whole vehicle: engine, aerodynamics, tyres and weights.

Similarly excellent results have been obtained with the car’s aerodynamic development, thanks to the integration of the design process with extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and lengthy testing in the wind tunnel. Downforce has been boosted by 76 per cent (123 kg at 200 km/h) while drag has been significantly reduced (the Cd is just 0.299). These results come courtesy of two new solutions. The first of these is the Aero Bridge which uses the bonnet to generate downforce by channelling 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.

The F12berlinetta’s impressive technical specifications are completed by Ferrari’s latest generation carbon-ceramic brakes (CCM3) and the evolution of the magnetorheological suspension control system (SCM-E). As is now traditional with all Ferraris, its control systems (E-Diff, ESP Premium, F1-Trac, and high-performance ABS) are all fully integrated.

The result is that the new Prancing Horse 12-cylinder accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 3.1 seconds and from 0 to 200 km/h in 8.5 seconds. It also completes a lap of the Fiorano circuit in 1’23”, faster than any other Ferrari road car. Benchmark performance and maximum driving involvement are guaranteed by immediate turn-in, with smaller steering wheel angles, and increased cornering speed. Stopping distances have also been drastically reduced.

The design of the F12berlinetta is a result of the collaboration between the Ferrari Styling Centre and Pininfarina and is a perfect balance of uncompromising aerodynamics with harmonious proportions interpreting the typical elements of Ferrari’s front-engined V12 cars in an original and innovative way. A coupé with sleek, aggressive lines whose compact exterior dimensions conceal exceptional in-car space and comfort. The all-new Frau leather interior highlights the balance of advanced technology and sophisticated, handcrafted detailing. In the middle of the light and lean dashboard, there are new carbon fibre and aluminium air vents clearly inspired by the aeronautic field.

The cabin has been optimised to ensure maximum usability of the interior space with additional luggage capacity behind the seats, which can also be easily reached thanks to the large aperture offered by the tail-gate. With the cockpit designed around the driver, typical of all Ferraris, the Human Machine Interface approach is emphasised, grouping all the major commands within immediate reach to guarantee maximum ergonomics for the most involving driving experience.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

*With lightweight options
**With HELE System

We’re not fans of grainy, unreliable “spy photos” here at Overdrive. We know what you kids can do with photoshop. However the fact that this pic, apparently snapped at a launch of some kind for the new super Ferrari, has come out just two days before the official unveiling on February 29, does help its authenticity slightly.

Borrowing much from the face of the new FF, the F620 GT, the replacement to the 599, has been in development for some time, officially. Then Ferrari teased us with a video of the sound of the thing. Click through for the video.

Expected to be Ferrari’s most powerful car ever, the V12 monster will debut at Geneva on 6 March 2012.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPTkxv_ylBA

I think it’s important that we don’t forget that cars in general should excite us. They should just exist in our lives for no other reason than to make us feel like 7 year olds. I haven’t felt this way about a car in years, I actually want a poster of this on my wall. The Ferrari 458 Spider.

We’ve driven the single and double cab variants of this car and I’ll start off by saying I think they’re brilliant. Volkswagen has really taken the fight to the establishment and created a clever, powerful, fuel efficient, good looking, massive range of bakkies.

We should point out that in America these bakkies are marketed as “compact pick ups”.The Amarok is anything but compact. It is simply massive. Its like driving New Zealand. Not driving around in New Zealand, I mean the whole thing.

Catch us next week on Expresso!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuaxJn71zhA

Cue stirring music, dramatic snow-sliding shots from a chopper and a glorious V12 soundtrack. This is a video made during the Ferrari FF’s (many and varied) testing phase.

PPPPOOOOOOWWWWWEEEEERRRRRRRR.

Enjoy.

By Ciro De Siena

My grandmother was Italian, and her standard idiom for events that happened once in a blue moon was: “On the death of the Pope!” Things such as her husband ever cooking dinner, her son ever returning that loan or her fabled return to her homeland, would only happen, apparently, when her beloved Pope popped his clogs.

This used to be the same with another Italian institution, Ferrari. Mostly because Enzo Ferrari himself couldn’t give a prancing pony about road cars; he just wanted to make enough money to go racing. But then some enlightened stylish bastard worked out that anything with the fabled badge on the front would sell like hotcakes and at eyewatering prices. We therefore get treated to a new Fezza every two years or so these days, which I personally don’t have a problem with.

More pics and details when you click >

This particular one is incredibly newsworthy because it is Ferrari’s first official shooting brake design, ie a chopped off boot/estate shape that they’ve only previously made for the Sultan of Brunei and other astronomically well-healed clientele.

It’s the replacement to the 612 Scaglietti, which, if we’re honest, looked like a frog. Or a chameleon. Or the offspring of the two. Crucially, the new FF, as it will be known, features 4-wheel drive, another first for the brand. The patented system is apparently 50% lighter than existing systems, but Ferrari is keeping mum on details.

Expect the FF to seat four adults comfortably while scaring the shit out of them with a monstrous V12, as is the traditional powerplant for four-seater Ferraris. We guess they’ll probably lift the astonishing V12 from the 599 and tune it for more torque and less revs, as this is meant to be a Gran Tourer, or GT car.

The full reveal happens at Geneva in March. We’ll keep you posted.

Argentina. Dangerous at corners. And pretty much everywhere else.

Fired up by firepower and not a lot of brains. Argentina is the Ferrari F40.

Football is essentially a very simple game.  Retain the ball, keep moving and do some damage. Cars are the same. Their beauty lies in their unpredictabilty and National teams/car makers that insist on adhering to a certain style  add to this heady cocktail of randomness.  Not many car manufacturers have the sheer cajones to make something so undeniably theirs, so viscerally bold as the side Diego Maradona chose for the 2010 World Cup. But Ferrari did it with the spartanesque projectile they called the F40.

For Maradona, full-backs were a luxury he couldn’t afford.  In the same way the F40 eschewed commonly held truths about how expensively assembled cars should be. It was gloriously stripped down and ready to attack. Ferrari -like Argentina- believe more in their ability to be frighteningly visceral and entertaining above any accepted norms.  ”We have 3 of the best strikers in the world and one on the bench, let’s unleash them all at the same time”.  The F40 was as daftly exciting as Maradona’s Argentina this World Cup.  But as the Albiceleste found out, it didn’t take long for a good team from Germany to figure them out and surpass them.  Red blooded passion and unpredictabilty only get you so far. But God how we loved them.

Check it out by clicking this word. Or this one.

The reason major manufacturers have left a sport that should be the pinnacle of engineering excellence has absolutely nothing to do with the “economic downturn”.  I believe it’s the old boy’s club that run the sport who yearn for the days of smuggling cocaine in DFR cylinder heads. They’re Essex wideboys who should be selling pirate DVDs outside pubs.

The grid hasn’t been this close since the inception of the sport, but the major manufacturers are being forced out by blinkered management with a style more suited to a country club than a spectator sport.  We’re going back to the dark old days of shite cars, way off the pace, being lapped and having a young Gavin Williams hope Senna trips over one of them.

Bernie Ecclestone constantly bangs on about “preserving the future of F1” when all he’s really concerned about is the past and making money. Unfortunately his nostalgia doesn’t extend to classic circuits.  For instance, replacing the always thrilling Montreal GP with the Jean-Michel Jarre wet dream of Abu Dhabi and being on the verge of cancelling the British Grand Prix.

BMW, Honda and Toyota replaced by Campos Meta, USF1 and Lotus? A brand that has nothing more than faded heraldry and Malaysian owners.  Cosworth hasn’t made a competitive engine since the 70s.  I love the fact that I can support a team that represents the car I can go out and buy, and Formula 1 is slowly losing that.  Ferrari wants the sport to be professional and have bragging rights over other manufacturers, not hapless garagista.

Yet we keep watching.

I sincerely hope the manufacturers are using their usual “exit strategy” marketing speak for a reason instead of pointing an accusing finger at the FIA because they hope to return to the sport one day.

Gavin Williams

Jean-Michel Jarre, late last night.

It also seems every FIA president needs to have some sort of connection to Hitler.  Mosley’s dad -as head of the British Fascist Party- had the Fuhrer at his wedding no doubt boring people round the punch bowl and doing an embarrassing jitterbug once the schnapps started flowing.  Balestre joined the French SS during the war and later claimed (obviously) that he was a spy for the good guys all along.  Yes.  So let’s hope Jean Todt doesn’t prove to have an Aunt who financed the Napoleonic wars or invented the U-Boat.

He’s a diminutive Napoleonic figure and above all Todt is a company man, something that might stand him in equally good and bad stead with the teams lining up on the grid next season.   He is the man responsible for reversing Ferrari’s fortunes mainly by understanding what an Italian in charge would do and then doing the exact opposite.

That’s unkind to Todt though, as he’s been one of the greatest team managers to ever grace the sport through so many “disciplines” Max Mosley might take interest.  It’s a tough call on this one because I would really liked to have seen Ari Vatanen (his opponent in the election) take over the reigns mainly because he’s Finnish. Luckily for Todt the Presidency isn’t decided by a hill climb up Pike’s Peak although it’d make Bernie some more money as a TV spectacular.

Jean Todt had a small role in the live-action film Asterix At The Olympic Games and Ari Vatanen had a major role in the very live action film “Climbdance”. So more similarities between the two than one would think having both had roles in largely unknown French films that I enjoyed.  I’m sure we could find Moseley in a few “obscure” roles as well if we trawled his cupboards or CCTV cameras in posh dungeons.

Gavin Williams

Ron Dennis is a weirdo. Not since Howard Hughes locked himself in a hotel room with jars of urine and wore tissue boxes as shoes have we seen anyone display such an aversion to germ-carrying scruffiness. His level of Second-World-War-matron-at-a-Catholic-hospital idea of cleanliness even extended to not allowing employees at McLaren to have any personal effects on their desks. Not even pictures of their families.

By Gavin Williams

This is probably why McLaren’s most successful drivers in the past have also been fairly oddballish. Senna’s over-zealous religious fervour and psychopathic tendencies to win at all costs must have had Ron Dennis gleefully whispering “excellent” while tapping the tips of his fingers together a’la Mr Burns from The Simpsons.

Alain Prost’s absolutely metronomic pace (when he needed it) and Napoleonic French wilyness made “The Professor” one of his favourite cyborgs. Mika Hakkinen smiled once, because he had to, in a commercial for a Finnish children’s home.

Hamilton was literally poured into his uniform by Dennis, although he must shudder at the very thought of his beloved Pinocchio becoming a ‘real boy’ and swapping fluids with a pop singer on his weekends off. It must have been a strange relationship between Dennis and Raikkonen.  For all his supposed dullness in interviews, Kimi is an absolute loon in real life and the life of the party.

Now with Ron gone from the paddock, if McLaren do re-sign Kimi Raikkonen, maybe he can get away with more vodka-fuelled hi-jinx and just be left to do what he loves to do: drive fast. And in a more relaxed environment let’s hope he can deliver Whitmarsh the title that eluded him under the stern stewardship of Ron Dennis.

Now Alonso to Ferrari is interesting. If McLaren employees aren’t even allowed snaps of their wedding day at their “work stations”, Ferrari is all about family.  I don’t think you could get more differing team environments.

Alonso was in trouble for refusing to shave at McLaren, but might find the more “latin” approach to things at Ferrari suits him. That’s not to say Ferrari aren’t a professional outfit. Gone are the days of managerial nepotism, finger pointing, blown flat 12s and gearboxes that didn’t like changing gears.

The more continental approach of Ferrari may well be just what Alonso needs. He’s left one family environment -whose recently ousted matriarch left him without a mentor and a manager – for another, more competitive one. How he deals with the pace of a still-recovering Massa though, remains a mystery.

As always we’ll flock in our droves to watch the gasoline drenched soap opera that is Formula 1 and hopefully have one of our closest championship fights in years.