Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

The supercar cognoscenti would probably still be in awe of all that now, if it weren’t for the models that Ferrari has unveiled since: specifically, one headline-stealing 950bhp hybrid.

Overshadowed or not, though, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is a landmark in its own right, and having been to Italy to sample it, witnessed it disdainfully dismiss the equivalent Lamborghini in a comparison test and seen it come painfully close to scooping our 2013 Best Driver’s Car title, it’s time to get well and truly under this car’s ingeniously sculpted aluminium skin.

Although Ferrari has been making front-engined V12 grand touring sports cars for the road for almost six decades, the car to which the new F12 owes its biggest debt is probably the 275 GTB of 1964.

Since the 275, Maranello has made equivalent front-engined V12 models in the form of the 365 GTB/4 (Daytona), 550 Maranello, 575M and 599. But during a 23-year gap between the Daytona and 550, it abandoned the front-engined V12 concept to experiment with mid-engined flat 12 models such as the Testarossa.

It’s not just those with a cool quarter of a million pounds of vested interest in this car who will be interested to discover the full breadth and scope of the Ferrari F12’s talent and stature, however, and nowhere will you give a fuller picture.

The F12’s key contradiction is that it is both pioneer and throwback. This is Ferrari's first ‘downsized’ super-GT, and the first car of its kind to be lower, shorter, narrower and lighter than the one that it replaces.

As such, it seems to adopt a path leading, in design terms, in the direction not of the imposing 550, 575M and 599 of relatively recent memory, but instead towards the company’s more effete front-engined models of the 1960s.

The F12 is more than 200mm longer than the 275 GTB but its short overhangs visually reduce its mass, and its cabin-rear profile contributes to a classic sports car silhouette.

Compared with the 599, the F12 has a lower scuttle and seating position, a lower engine mounting and a resultingly lower centre of roll. Packaging advances have made the rear-mounted transaxle gearbox and suspension systems smaller, allowing a shorter rear overhang and a rearward shift in weight distribution.

Built by Scaglietti, the F12’s monocoque underbody is made of 12 different aluminium alloys and contributes to a 20 percent gain in torsional rigidity compared with the 599, as well as a 70kg overall saving.

The car is clothed in aluminium, too, its panels sculpted according to Ferrari’s unique ‘aerodynamics via subtraction’ philosophy. The arcing channels cut into the bonnet form the so-called Aero Bridge, diverting air from the base of the windscreen and using it to reduce drag around the wheelarches.

The net result is that this car produces 123kg of downforce at 126mph but has a drag coefficient of less than 0.3. In our experience, the car’s styling doesn’t win universal praise but, like it or not, you can’t deny that the F12’s design works.

Carbon-ceramic brakes and magnetorheological dampers are standard. Power comes from a 6.3-litre V12 with normal aspiration and direct injection. It produces 731bhp and 509lb ft of torque, sent via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

Open the bonnet of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and you’ll find a pair of unusual protrusions, one at the front of each cylinder head, that appear to have nothing to do with the drive system for the valve gear.

They’re resonance chambers, into which intake air flows where it is ‘pre-charged’ on its way to the cylinders. The process, says Ferrari, makes for better combustion and a more generous provision of low-end torque.

And that’s just one of the things that Ferrari’s 6262cc V12 does particularly cleverly. Fed by direct fuel injection and ultra-precise combustion control, the over-square engine can run a compression ratio of 13.5:1 – 23 percent greater than that of the latest Aston Martin Vanquish – without knocking. The engine also runs so cleanly that it needs no catalytic converters.

The car’s headline 731bhp is the eye-catching figure – if you want more power than that, you can only really get it in production cars costing at least three times as much as the F12, although Ferrari has rectified this small issue with the 770bhp F12tdf. But its 509lb ft of peak twist is just as important, 80 percent of which is available from just 2500rpm.

As a swansong for not only the F12, but the naturally aspirated V12 engine, Ferrari is set to unveil the F12 M at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show with its headline power output increased to 750bhp.

Ferrari F12 BerlinettaFerrari F12 Berlinetta alloy wheelsFerrari F12 bi-xenon headlightsFerrari F12 Berlinetta front grilleFerrari F12 Berlinetta Aero BridgeFerrari F12 Berlinetta rear diffuserFerrari F12 Berlinetta dashboardFerrari F12 Berlinetta interiorFerrari F12 Berlinetta sport seatsFerrari F12 steering wheel rev counterFerrari F12 driving mode switchFerrari F12 Berlinetta badgingFerrari F12 air ventsFerrari F12 Berlinetta cubbyholeFerrari F12 Berlinetta aluminium pedalsFerrari F12 Berlinetta rear quarterFerrari F12 6.0-litre V12 engineFerrari F12 Berlinetta hard corneringFerrari F12 BerlinettaFerrari F12 Berlinetta rear corneringFerrari F12 Berlinetta cornering4.5 star Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Ferrari’s claim to have increased cabin space in spite of the Ferrari F12’s reduction in overall size is borne out by first impressions. Your backside seems to drop a long way into the leather sports seat, which, despite its thin and purposeful appearance, is not only supportive but also perfectly comfortable over long distances.

Your legs stretch out very straight in front of you, your heels ending up at almost the same level as your hips and, even if you’re taller than average, your scalp will be comfortably clear of the roof lining. The driving position is excellent, with as much adjustment on the steering column as most will need.

The figures tell most of the story. The 731bhp peak is at 8250rpm, with the more modest 509lb ft torque peak appearing at a still-heady 6000rpm (just 750rpm shy of where peak power is delivered in Aston Martin’s V12 Vantage S).

It used to be said that when you bought a Ferrari, you paid for the engine and got a car thrown in free. Not quite how it feels today, but there’s no doubt that the F12’s powertrain is its stand-out feature.

Against the clock? A slight rearward weight bias and an effective launch control system meant the F12 hit 60mph in 3.0sec precisely, before going on to pass 100mph in 6.5sec. Among the other road cars that we have tested, only a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport provides a genuine benchmark.

Accelerate in the right gear from 30mph and just 2.3sec later an F12 will pass 70mph. In fourth, a gear that can be engaged at under 30mph yet take you to the other side of 120mph, that time is still only 4.6sec. At its peak, the Ferrari will hit 211mph.

In an F12, you will never yearn for more power, nor for a faster, better gearshift: its dual-clutch unit is first class in its speed and smoothness. Although Ferrari has taken the F12 and tweaked the recipe, producing the F12tdf which gives it 770bhp, but alters the character drastically.