Supercars are just so predictable.
Take a towering, angry engine, mount it behind the driver, give it a complicated body nature and doors that open weird, then put a dizzyingly costly price tag on the opportunity.
Congratulations. You have a supercar.
Except its an F12berlinetta.
Ferrari has finished a touch different with this supercar. Sure, the $447,000 price tag is as stratospheric as its peers. Nevertheless with a usual auto body wrapped round a front-enginerear-wheel-drive layout, this is one of the a small amount of supercars that flies below the radar instead of screaming above it.
The F12, as it is recognized, is the successor to Ferraris 599 GTB, and assumes the mantle of Ferraris top grand-touring car. It is a spectacular machine. The leather is sinuous, the seats are firm and shapely, and the visibility is tremendous. The engine and exhaust noise are tasteful and careful.
Theres uniform real opening behind the seats and in the trunk, enough to store real peoples real luggage for a real trip. Being paid in and improbable, via the standard-style doors, doesnt compel whichever acrobatics. And the interior doesnt uniform overheat resembling so several other Italian exotics.
In short, as a daily driver, its no Lamborghini Aventador or Lexus LFA.
Nevertheless it be able to party just as tricky.
Lurking beneath the F12s long, scalloped hood is a V-12 engine roughly the size of a dining extent table. This as expected aspirated, 6.3-liter brute produces 730 horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque, which powers the rear wheels via a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission. Driven tricky, this engine transforms from careful to a roasting screamer, redlining at 8,700 rpm. Nevertheless the massive F12 thrust is available everywhere in the power band.
At 3,600 pounds, the F12 takes 3.1 seconds to do a zero-to-62-mph run. Itll urge to 124 mph (200 kph) 5.4 seconds later. With enough tarmac, you could push the car to a top speed that is at least 211 mph, Ferrari says.
And it be able to handle curves just as well. Other than the light, extra-quick steering that takes a few being paid used to, the car is surprisingly easy to pilot, especially considering the sum of power the F12 is delivering to just two wheels. The sure feel is in part the result of the sophisticated electronics Ferrari built keen on the F12, which comes stocked with electronic limited slither differential, F1-derived stability and toehold control, and continuously up-and-down magnetic dampers.
None of that is new, or exclusive to this Ferrari. Your average used Kia in all probability has toehold control. Nevertheless at this time, resembling so several other facets of the F12s engineering, Ferrari draws on its vast suffer in racing in explore of speed.
The onboard processor programming makes the F12 both lively and forgiving, enabling feats of heroic speed and expertise, and tricking the driver keen on judgment hes ready for the race trajectory.
The degree to which drivers be able to fool themselves depends on how much or how little they dial in the F12s five drive modes. Set in a steering wheel cluster of other controls is the manettino switch, which offers options of Wet, Sport, Race, CT Off and ESC Off.
Both approach with time turns scheduled the electronic driving assistance and cranks up the drivers pucker factor. CT Off with CT Italian for controllo di trazione (toehold control) was our favorite approach for controlled bouts of tail-swinging amusing, nevertheless it only broke loose when you wanted it to. Otherwise it seemed to create toehold and grip from thin air.
Theres besides plenty of aerodynamic trickery maintenance the rubber on the road. On the divide into four parts panels behind the front wheels are what Ferrari calls the aero connection a slit that allows air to run over the hood and then scheduled the elevation for additional scheduled force.
This feature and others such as the front and rear diffusers add up to a auto that Ferrari says be able to lap its Fiorano testing trajectory faster than whichever other road car in its lineup, without the $1.4-million LaFerrari hypercar.
That makes the $447,000 F12 we tested seem resembling a bit of a bargain, $130,000 of options not withstanding.
If thats stupid money to you, fine. Ferrari doesnt bother. In 2013, the automaker announced it was capping global production at round 7,000 cars a year, and would keep it there for the then five years.
Basic economics suggests this helps Ferrari claim the brands exclusivity and profitability. In 2013, Ferrari profit was up 5.4% to $337 million, and on Friday Ferrari announced profits for the first divide into four parts of 2014 were up another 5%. The U.S. remains the companys largest market by a wide margin, accounting for 30% of global sales in 2013.
Which means youre additional likely to see the F12berlinetta on our shores than anywhere as well as long as you keep your supercar sensors below the radar.
2014 Ferrari F12berlinetta at a glance
Times take: The sleeper supercar
Highs: High-revving, immensely powerful engine is significance every penny very easy car to live with
Lows: Steering moreover light and swift, options urge a little improbable of hand
Vehicle font: Two-door sports car
Base price: $317,000
Price as tested: $447,000
Powertrain: 6.3-liter, direct-injected V-12 engine, rear-wheel drive
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automated instruction booklet with paddle shifters
Horsepower: 730
Torque: 509 pound-feet
0-62 mph point: 3.1 seconds, according to Ferrari
EPA fuel economy rating: 11 city, 16 highway
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