Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Ferrari F12berlinetta at a glance

History: the successor to the 599

Ferrari presented the F12berlinetta at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show as the replacement for the Ferrari 599. The new car was lighter and more powerful: its chassis weighed 70 kg less and was 20 percent stiffer, and the centre of gravity sat about 25 mm lower. AUTO BILD expected deliveries from early 2013, and the German catalogue of the ADAC lists the car from January 2013.

The F12berlinetta won Top Gear's Supercar of the Year award in 2012. Its engine was named best performance engine and best engine above 4.0 litres in the 2013 International Engine of the Year awards, and the design received the Compasso d'Oro ADI in 2014. In early 2017 the Ferrari 812 Superfast took over. For the background of the Maranello firm, see our history of Ferrari.

Design and aerodynamics: the Aero Bridge

Pininfarina and the Ferrari Styling Centre shaped the body around aerodynamics. The Aero Bridge is an air channel that starts at the bonnet, runs through the flanks and leaves along the sides to increase downforce. Active Brake Cooling ducts open only when the brakes are hot. Ferrari quoted 123 kg of downforce at 200 km/h, 76 percent more than the 599 GTB, and a drag coefficient of 0.299.

The spaceframe and body use 12 different aluminium alloys. Wikipedia EN gives a weight distribution of 48 percent front and 52 percent rear; Wikipedia DE gives 46:54. Tyres measure 255/35 ZR20 at the front and 315/35 ZR20 at the rear. For a car of this class the boot is practical, with 500 litres in the ADAC data, and the fuel tank holds 92 litres.

Engine and performance

The naturally aspirated V12 belongs to Ferrari's F140 family. In F140 FC form it has 6,262 cc, direct petrol injection and a 65-degree vee. It produces 544 kW (740 PS) at 8,250 rpm and 690 Nm at 6,000 rpm, and AUTO BILD reported that 80 percent of the torque is available from 2,500 rpm. That is about 87 kW per litre, and the coupé carries about 3.0 kg per kW at its kerb weight of 1,630 kg. AUTO BILD gave 1,525 kg at the launch, which appears to be a dry figure.

Ferrari claimed a 30 percent efficiency gain over the 599. Combined consumption was 15.0 l/100 km and CO2 350 g/km under the NEDC. Wikipedia DE notes that the Fiorano time was two seconds better than that of the Enzo. Our power converter turns these outputs into hp.

F12tdf: 799 cars with rear-wheel steering

The F12tdf was unveiled in October 2015. Its name refers to the Tour de France automobile race, a long-distance event for road-based cars. The V12 was raised to 574 kW (780 PS) at 8,500 rpm and 705 Nm, and the car was 110 kg lighter than the standard F12berlinetta. It was also the first Ferrari with the rear-wheel steering system called Virtual Short Wheelbase. It measured 4,656 mm in length and 1,961 mm in width.

Ferrari claimed 2.9 seconds to 100 km/h, 7.9 seconds to 200 km/h and a Fiorano lap of 1 minute 21 seconds, two seconds quicker than the standard car. Production was limited to 799 cars.

Special Projects and coachbuilt F12s

These cars show how widely the F12 platform was used by Ferrari's Special Projects department and by outside coachbuilders.

Photo gallery