It's no secret that Ferrari knows how to make the best sports cars in the world, that we find it hard to rank the greatest cars from Maranello's rich 70-year history. Whether it be with their iconic Rosso Corsa racecars or their glorious road cars, it seems like in every decade that goes by, Ferrari pulls off what could be called examples of automobile perfection.
Back in the 60s, they had the 250 GTO, which is now the most expensive car ever sold in an auction. In the 70s, Ferrari came up with the 365 GTB/4 Daytona, which was Enzo Ferrari's answer to the Lamborghini Miura. Then the 80s, 90s, and the 2000s came with the F40, the F50, and the Enzo, which earned the "supercar" moniker. And as we all know, the LaFerrari was one of the cars that formed the hypercar holy trinity in the 2010s. However, there was one other car in that 2010s era that showed the proper Italian grand touring way, and that is the awesome F12 Berlinetta. Let's have a look at its greatest features.
8 F140 FC Engine
The F12 Berlinetta follows the lineage of front-engined Ferrari V12 grand tourers that dates back to 1964 with the 275 GTB, and we're glad to say Maranello is committed to keeping these glorious naturally aspirated engines for years to come.
With that being said, the 6.3-liter V12, called the F140 FC, produces 730 hp at 8,250 rpm, with 509 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm. It is mated through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox that, according to Autocar, "is first class in its speed and smoothness".
7 F1-Inspired Aerodynamics
As it stands, the F12 Berlinetta was the last car penned by the renowned Italian designer Pininfarina, and boy they have made such a beautiful car with form and function.
In fact, the car has this thing called the Aero Bridge, which channels the air from the hood through the flanks and sides of the vehicle to create an effect that would boost downforce. As a result, the F12 Berlinetta produces 76% more downforce than its predecessor, the 599 GTB, and with a lower drag coefficient of 0.299.
6 Aluminum Space Frame Chassis
Ferrari worked with Scaglietti to produce an aluminum space frame chassis for the F12 Berlinetta, which, according to Autocar, is made up of 12 different aluminum alloys that improved its torsional rigidity by 20% more than the 599 GTB, but is 154 lbs lighter than its predecessor.
Even though the F12 Berlinetta has a front-mounted V12, the weight distribution of the car is surprisingly rear-biased, with 54% at the rear and 46% in front.
5 Sure-Footed Handling
Together with the aforementioned functional aerodynamics, the F12 Berlinetta was also fitted with Ferrari's latest equipment to providing sure-footed handling at any speed.
These include carbon-ceramic disc brakes with ABS, magnetorheological dampers, electronic LSD, and variable driving settings that could be altered with the Manettino dial on the steering wheel.
4 Touring Manners
Because it was built as a grand tourer, you can expect the F12 Berlinetta to have a pliant ride during high-speed motorway cruising, and according to Evo, Ferrari created a car with mid-engined agility and traction in a more usable package.
But of course, the F12 is still best enjoyed when you unleash its powerful V12 engine, producing a sound that would remind you of old-school F1 cars while it's on its way to 8,250 rpm.
3 Performance
Thanks to the rearward weight bias and the F1-Trac traction control system with launch control, the F12 could accelerate from a standstill to 62 mph in just 3.1 seconds. And if you've got enough courage to keep your foot flat on the floor, the car will eventually reach 211 mph.
According to Ferrari, the F12 Berlinetta did a 1:23 laptime around the Fiorano circuit. For comparison purposes, that's three seconds slower than the LaFerrari, but is surprisingly two seconds faster than the Enzo and the 458 Italia, and three and a half seconds faster than its predecessor, the 599 GTB.
2 Awards
Quite simply, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta has sealed its place as one of Maranello's all-time greats, and the results speak for itself. The 6.3-liter V12 won the 2013 International Engine of the Year Award in the Best Performance category, and was chosen as the Best Engine above 4.0 liters.
Not only that, but the F12 Berlinetta was also chosen as the Supercar of the Year 2012 by TopGear. It almost won the 2013 Autocar Best Driver's Car Title, only to be edged out by the Porsche 911 GT3.
1 F12tdf
With supercar performance in a GT package, the F12 Berlinetta clearly is one of the most complete modern Ferraris ever made. And to further find out the potential of the car as a pure track-focused supercar, Ferrari made the limited-edition F12tdf.
TDF stands for Tour de France, as the car pays homage to the aforementioned automobile race back in the 60s. Ferrari further increased the engine power to push it to 769 hp, and made the car 243 lbs lighter than the standard F12 Berlinetta, which translated to a 2-second faster laptime around the Fiorano circuit, only 1.3 seconds slower than the LaFerrari.