Ferrari FF

Ferrari FF at a glance

The FF shares its V12 with the Ferrari F12berlinetta, introduced a year later, and its idea — a four-seat V12 Ferrari with all-wheel drive — continued in the GTC4Lusso and, later, the Purosangue. All models are listed in the Ferrari catalogue.

Development and design

Development of the FF began in 2007. Ferrari first considered basing the design on the Pininfarina Sintesi concept car; then Italdesign produced an angular proposal, before the project returned to Pininfarina and was finished at Ferrari's own Styling Centre. Lowie Vermeersch, then design director at Pininfarina, and Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari's head of design, are credited with the car.

The shape surprised many observers. Instead of a classic coupé tail, the FF has a long roof that ends in a near-vertical tailgate — a shooting-brake layout chosen to give real space to the rear passengers and their luggage. The front end borrows from the other Ferraris of the time: the swept-back headlamps resemble those of the Ferrari 458 Italia, and the twin round tail lights recall the 458 and the 599 GTB Fiorano.

The FF was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011, and production started in Maranello the same month. Ferrari planned to build about 800 cars a year, and the first year's production was reported as sold out before deliveries began.

The structure is a mostly aluminium spaceframe. Compared with the 612 Scaglietti, Ferrari says it is 5 per cent lighter and 6 per cent stiffer in torsion. The drag coefficient is 0.329, helped by a split-level rear diffuser and side and rear vents that reduce lift and drag. The boot holds 450 litres, or 800 litres with the rear seats folded.

V12 engine and gearbox

The direct-injection V12 has a displacement of 6,262 cc. It produces 485 kW (660 PS) at 8,000 rpm and 683 Nm. It sits behind the front axle line, and the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is mounted at the rear of the car with the electronic differential built into its casing — the transaxle layout that helps to give a weight distribution of 47 per cent front and 53 per cent rear.

When it was launched, the FF was the fastest four-seat car in the world and Ferrari's second-fastest grand tourer after the 599 GTO.

The 4RM four-wheel-drive system

The most important technical feature of the FF is its four-wheel-drive system, which Ferrari called 4RM (quattro ruote motrici, four driving wheels). Ferrari wanted to avoid the weight of a conventional four-wheel-drive layout and to keep the centre of gravity low, so it chose a different solution.

A small secondary gearbox is mounted at the front of the engine and sends power to the front wheels. It has two forward gears and a reverse gear. Its first gear covers the first and second gears of the main gearbox, and its second gear covers third and fourth; above that, the car is driven by the rear wheels only. The front gearbox's ratios are about 6 per cent longer than the corresponding rear ratios, and its clutches slip to match the speed of the front wheels to that of the rear wheels.

Two electronically controlled wet multi-plate clutches, one for each front wheel, regulate how much torque goes to each side. This allows the system to vary the torque between the front wheels as well as between the axles. The complete unit weighs 41 kg, which Wikipedia describes as about half the weight of a traditional system.

Chassis and equipment

The FF uses magnetorheological dampers (SCM3) that adjust continuously to the road, Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes and a single control unit that combines the damper settings, the stability control and the electronic differential. Motor Trend described the FF in 2015 as docile and easy to live with, although it criticised the price and the key-then-button starting procedure.

SP FFX one-off

In 2014 Ferrari's special projects department built the SP FFX, a one-off car based on the FF for a customer in Japan. It replaced the shooting-brake rear with a coupé-style tail designed by Pininfarina. Patent drawings published before its presentation led to speculation that it previewed the next Ferrari California.

Reception and legacy

Reviews of the FF were mostly positive: critics praised its design and performance, but its price was criticised. Jeremy Clarkson called it "a very special, very fast car" in The Sunday Times, though he found the rear dull; Dan Neil of The Wall Street Journal called it "the coolest Ferrari of all time". The FF was named Estate Car of the Year by Top Gear in 2011, Luxury Car of the Year by Top Gear India in 2012, and the Chinese edition of Car and Driver chose it as the most beautiful supercar of 2011.

The FF proved that a Ferrari could combine a V12, four seats and all-wheel drive. In 2016 it was replaced by the GTC4Lusso, which kept the shooting-brake shape and the 4RM concept, and the idea later grew into the four-door Purosangue. For other front-engined V12 Ferraris of the period, see the Ferrari 599.

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