The 812 Superfast successor is probably the most highly effective pure-combustion automotive Ferrari has put into sequence manufacturing.
Ferrari’s new flagship GT automotive, the 12Cilindri, is probably the most highly effective pure-combustion automotive it has but put into sequence manufacturing. Revealed on the sidelines of the Miami Grand Prix to commemorate Ferrari’s seventieth anniversary within the US, the 12Cilindri “opens a brand new chapter in Ferrari historical past”, in response to the model’s chief advertising and business officer, Enrico Galliera.
Taking over the mantle from the 812 Superfast, the 12Cilindri ramps up the ability, adopts a daring new styling language and introduces a raft of essential new applied sciences. However, crucially, it sticks with Ferrari’s 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 after the Maranello-based firm invested closely in making its largest engine compliant with new emissions laws as a way to cater to continued demand.
Galliera mentioned: “It’s already compliant to Euro 6e [emission standards], so it’s doable to maintain promoting the automotive everywhere in the world in the intervening time after which we’ll see what occurs sooner or later. The work that has been accomplished on this engine to stay performant and compliant with the regulation is totally beautiful, which might be one of many the explanation why there usually are not many producers that maintain investing within the V12 engine.”
12Cilindri design has nods to the 1968 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 0-100kph in 2.9sec; a high velocity of greater than 340kphInterior is just like Purosangue, although with a ten.25-inch central touchscreen
Ferrari has unusually revealed each the hard-top coupé and open-roof Spider variants on the identical time, pricing them from Euro 395,000 and Euro 435,000 (about Rs 3.55 crore and Rs 3.90 crore), respectively in Italy. Galliera wouldn’t disclose projected gross sales figures for the brand new GT flagship “as a result of we don’t consider our enterprise is completed by numbers”.
The corporate beforehand revealed the Purosangue SUV would account for lower than 20 p.c of its complete quantity, however Galliera mentioned it solely publicised this statistic to indicate that “we weren’t turning into a utility automobile producer”.
He emphasised that Ferrari’s progress ambitions usually are not tied to will increase in quantity for explicit mannequin strains, however moderately will come about by enlargement into new segments and a rise in profitability per automotive offered, suggesting the 12Cilindri shall be inbuilt related volumes to the 812 it replaces.
Ferrari 12Cilindri design highlights
“We’re beginning a brand new period – a brand new design philosophy – with this automotive,” mentioned Ferrari chief design officer Flavio Manzoni. He added that the 12Cilindri is “a transparent departure from the road of the earlier generations, particularly the 812 Competizione, which was very sculptural, muscular, technical and so forth”.
Right here, he mentioned, the purpose was to “create a cohesive entire, integrating all of the technical units and aerodynamic wants into a transparent imaginative and prescient”. It’s a clear evolution of the 812 insofar because it has a low, probing bonnet, muscular haunches and a cab-rear silhouette – all options that nod to its generously sized powerplant – however stylistically it marks a whole departure from its predecessor.
On the entrance, most clearly, the 12Cilindri is outlined by a pointy wraparound band incorporating the headlights. That’s a nod to the legendary Ferrari 365 GTB/4 of 1968, however Manzoni is adamant that this isn’t a “nostalgic method” however moderately one which exhibits how Ferrari is “fascinated by the long run with full respect to the previous”. He mentioned: “Each time Ferrari has created an icon, it’s as a result of they wished to make one thing new – not one thing impressed by the previous, however by the long run.”
Visible drama stays a precedence for Manzoni and his group, although. The bonnet opens backwards for “an much more spectacular impact”, the carbon fibre physique parts are left unfinished to focus on them extra clearly in opposition to the automotive’s paintwork, and the brand new wheels – every milled from a single block of steel – are an inch larger for a extra purposeful stance.
One spotlight of the brand new automotive’s design is on the rear, the place a pair of flaps is built-in into the bodywork – one at all sides of the delta wing-shaped boot lid – to spice up downforce at velocity whereas maximising boot area and to offer a cleaner look when stationary.
Ferrari says that when the 12Cilindri is travelling at 300kph, these flaps want be raised by solely 25mm to stabilise the automotive. In any other case, although, the 12Cilindri is a relatively minimalist proposition, in contrast with the likes of the 812 Competizione, and executives say this emphasises Ferrari’s ‘type follows perform’ method to design. “Ferrari by no means does issues which might be unuseful or faux,” mentioned Manzoni. “Whenever you go searching, most vehicles on the planet have so many faux parts: air intakes, shops, faux exhausts, faux diffusers… We might by no means think about a diffuser based mostly on our stylistic concepts.”
Ferrari 12Cilindri powertrain
With its outputs boosted to 830bhp and 678Nm, the ‘F140HD’ V12 can ship the 12Cilindri from 0-100kph in simply 2.9sec and onwards to a high velocity of greater than 340kph.
In contrast with the 812 Superfast’s engine, the pistons have been lightened by 2 p.c, the camshaft by 3 p.c and the conrods a major 40 p.c. Along with the usage of Formulation 1-derived sliding finger valvetrain followers, shorter manifold tracts and tweaked cam profiles, that has enabled Ferrari to elevate the redline from 8,900rpm within the Superfast to a screaming 9,500rpm.
The ensuing soundtrack and efficiency are “the purest expression of Ferrari’s soul”, in response to the model. Ferrari chief product improvement officer Gianmaria Fulgenzi mentioned the corporate determined “some years in the past” to exchange the 812 with one other V12-engined GT, regardless of legislative uncertainty round combustion vehicles and within the context of Ferrari’s transfer in the direction of electrification.
“It was a courageous determination,” he advised our sister publication Autocar UK, “however not too troublesome, as a result of we love the V12, we all know that our clients love the V12, and our volumes typically usually are not too excessive. “So we consider in the potential of holding the engine alive in a world the place the laws are altering very quick.”
Ferrari 12Cilindri underpinnings
The obvious and vital structural change for the 12Cilindri is a 20mm discount in wheelbase to 2,700mm. This enables for a rise in agility and responsiveness in contrast with the 812, says Ferrari. Cornering behaviour – in addition to straight-line stability – is additional improved by the fitment of rear-wheel steering as normal, and the introduction of newly developed tyres from Michelin and Goodyear, measuring 275mm extensive on the entrance axle and 315mm on the rear.
In the meantime, torsional stiffness is claimed to have been elevated by as a lot as 15 p.c with the discount of castings within the chassis from 22 to 17. With closely strengthened sills making up for its lack of a hard and fast roof, the Spider is claimed to solely concede 1 p.c in rigidity too.
In a primary for a V12 Ferrari, the 12Cilindri is supplied with brake-by-wire know-how, which permits for various brake pressure throughout all 4 wheels, whereas a brand new ABS-Evo system – taken from the 296 GTB – helps to shorten stopping distances and improve repeatability of heavy braking. These methods work together with the most recent iteration of Ferrari’s Facet Slip Management know-how – which measures motion, quickly and intricately, throughout three dimensions – to maximise traction and efficiency in all situations.
Slight will increase in weight for the bigger wheels, the bonnet and the energetic rear aero imply that, total, the 12Cilindri weighs round 35kg greater than the 812 Superfast, at 1,560kg dry (1,620kg for the Spider). Nevertheless, Fulgenzi says this can be a consequence of the efforts Ferrari has made to make sure a broad unfold of attributes.
Ferrari 12Cilindri inside highlights
The cabin is organized in the same, near-symmetrical format to the Purosangue, with the driving force and passenger every cocooned in their very own luxuriously trimmed ‘cockpit’ and with their very own separate digital show. In contrast to the Purosangue, although, the 12Cilindri contains a central infotainment touchscreen, which measures 10.25 inches and is supplied with an anti-fingerprint protecting layer. Nevertheless, it nonetheless does with out an in-built navigation system in favour of third-party mapping apps displayed by way of smartphone mirroring.
The steering wheel, as with different fashions within the Ferrari line-up, hosts an array of capacitive controls alongside the standard manettino drive mode selector, whereas a row of bodily switches has been added to the centre console within the model of Ferrari’s outdated open-gate handbook gear selector. This, mentioned Manzoni, “is the technical jewel of the inside”. The coupé contains a panoramic glass roof as normal, whereas the Spider’s high could be retracted in simply 14sec at automobile speeds of as much as 45kph. The trade-off is a 100-litre discount in boot area.
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Ferrari 12Cilindri picture gallery
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