Ferrari: “F12 Berlinetta is our most powerful car to date”

*Story and pics courtesy of “Automotive News Europe”*

Ferrari says the new F12 Berlinetta, which replaces the 599 GTB Fiorano coupe, is its most powerful road car ever.

The F12 Berlinetta debuts at the Geneva auto show next week. The car accelerates from 0-100kph in 3.1 seconds and it completed a lap of Ferrari's Fiorano test track in 1 minute and 23 seconds, which is a record for one of its road cars, Ferrari said.

The F12 Berlinetta is powered by a 740-hp, 6.3-liter gasoline direct-injection V-12 engine that emits 350 grams per kilometer of CO2. Compared with the latest version of the 599, the GTO, emissions were reduced 15 percent while horsepower was increased 9 percent. The 599 GTO emits 411g/km and has a 670-hp engine.

The F12 Berlinetta completes a renewal of Ferrari's range that began in September 2009 with the 458 Italia coupe. The four-seat FF was unveiled at last year's Geneva show and the 458 Spider debuted at the Frankfurt auto show in September.

The F12 Berlinetta will be slightly more expensive than the 599 GTB Fiorano F1, which in Italy starts at 260,000 euros (about $341,000.) European deliveries begin in June and U.S. shipments start at the end of the year.

The F12 Belinetta was designed jointly by Italy's Pininfarina and Ferrari's design department, led by Flavio Manzoni.

Ferrari said the F12 Berlinetta has an all-new aluminum spaceframe chassis and bodyshell make from 12 different kinds of alloys, some of which have been used here for the first time in the automotive sector.

The new car weighs 1525kg, which is 70kg less than the model it replaces. The weight distribution between the axles is 46 percent up front and 54 percent in the rear.



On the aerodynamic side, down force has been boosted by 76 percent (123kg at 200kph) while the drag coefficient has been reduced to 0.299.

These results were obtained thanks to two new solutions that Ferrari calls Aero Bridge and Active Brake Cooling. The Aero Bridge uses the engine hood to generate down force 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 Active Brake Cooling is a system that opens guide vanes to the brake cooling ducts at high operating temperatures only, again reducing drag in normal deriving conditions.

Ferrari said its traditional transaxle layout has been revised to match the more extreme performance of the F12 Berlinetta.

The wheelbase has been shortened and the engine, dashboard and seats have been lowered in the chassis.

 

Nice! I like the front and sides... not sure about the back. I'm sure it will look like sexy time in real life. Who am I kidding, just start it up and I will be in complete nirvana. :thumb: