► Ferrari’s latest drop-top V12 supercar driven
► 12Cilindri bridges the gap between sports car and GT
► We go road-tripping across Portugal
The big man himself, Enzo Ferrari, once said that ‘the 12-cylinder will always be the original Ferrari.’ With the arrival of the 12Cilindri, it may have come as a surprise to many of us – perhaps even some within Ferrari – that Maranello’s engineers managed to pull off engineering magic to launch another model without electrification.
We should be happy, if nothing else, that the 12Cilindri exists at all. Having already tried the coupe, now it’s time to put the 12Cilindri Spider through its paces.
At a glance
Pros: Addictive performance, supremely athletic, gorgeous noise, visually arresting
Cons: Wide, some fiddly interior tech, is it really a GT?
What’s new?
The 12Cilindri is the latest in a long line of V12 Ferraris that stretches right back to the company’s first ever car. This effectively replaces the 812 Superfast and Competizione models, filling Ferrari’s usual V12 do-everything supercar slot.
Ferrari says this is ‘the most complete GT’ it’s ever made, with a screaming naturally aspirated and electrification-free V12. Given the pace of how the automotive industry is electrifying, with many governments legislating tighter and tougher emissions regulations, that’s impressive.
It’s perhaps a bit busy to look at, and arguably not classically pretty – but still familiarly looks like a Ferrari to our eyes. There are shades of 365/4 Daytona about the front end, no matter how much Ferrari says this is an entirely futuristic bit of design. For the Spider version, the rear has been redesigned to include a pair of aerodynamic humps over the car’s rear end. Ferrari has used a retractable hard top here, which folds neatly away in 14 seconds.
What are the specs?
The 12Cilindri uses a free-breathing 6.5-litre V12, internally codenamed F140HD. Ferrari engineers have tried to make this a more accessible engine compared to the 812 Superfast and Competizione, allowing for up to 80 per cent of total torque to be accessible at 2500rpm. Even if its maximum power output – 819bhp – is just 250 short of the car’s bombastic 9500rpm redline. Ferrari VTEC, anyone?
To ensure that super-high redline, components in the engine have been made lighter. Titanium conrods used here, for example, are 40 per cent lighter than steel ones. Ferrari engineers have also revised the camshaft and have devised something called Aspirated Torque Shaping that means specific torque output curves can be applied for third and fourth gears – the most used ratios. Ferrari also notes that the Spider is 60kg heavier than the coupe.
Brake-by-wire technology features here (like it does in the 296, Purosangue and SF90) as are countless other performance enhancing technologies like ‘Virtual Short Wheelbase’ – which is just code for all-wheel steering. Frankly, there are so many other abbreviations that it’d take some time to decipher them all.
What’s it like to drive?
Our initial miles are spent pottering around small, sleepy villages west of Lisbon. Here, the 12Cilindri is immensely well behaved, barely giving 2000rpm the time of day as I hang behind dawdling locals. It is here, on these tight roads mind you, where I have to handle the sheer girth of this car. It is properly wide
With a brief chance to open it up on some of these twisties, I start to get under the 12Cilindri’s skin. In case you hadn’t noticed from many of the pictures in this review, it was raining during quite a lot of our time with the car – to the point that the manettino dial is pretty much locked into Wet mode for the first 100 miles. Ferrari’s engineers say that, unlike many other car makers, they don’t like to change their car’s throttle response, brake force and steering weight depending on mode to enable more trust in the car. In fact, the modes across the whole dial educate how alert the car’s systems should be; hard throttle pushes in the rain causes regular flashes of the traction control light.
When it dries out, though. My word. What a machine. Stepping up through the manettino modes, I finally find what I’m seeking: a bit of that Ferrari magic. Acceleration is, as you’d expect for an engine without any electric or aspiration assistance, entirely fluid. The revs just climb and climb and climb and climb. Ferrari says its engineers have had to tell the engine to put a sock in it to meet noise regulations but, from inside the cabin where the tuneful noise is actively piped in, it’s spine tingling. After the first hit, I’m hooked – desperate for another fix of what appears to be one of the finest audio-only drugs in the world.
It’s got steering that’s super accurate and well weighted, alert without being twitchy but fluid and communicative. That ‘virtual short wheelbase’ tech is well integrated, almost a natural part of the steering system where other rear-steer systems can feel synthetic.
The brand’s brake-by-wire technology is impressive, too, giving a very similar feeling of force to that of a McLaren where the pedal barely moves due to its high resistance. It translates the flex of a single tendon in your foot directly to the enormous carbon ceramic discs awaiting command after command.
When you’re not driving like your hair is on fire, the 12Cilindri can do an amicable job of being a long-distance cruiser. Bumpy road mode or not, the ride is well judged and compliant – it can handle potholes and bridge expansion joints with damped, rounded responses. Thank actual sidewall on the tyres, too – Ferrari’s engineers were keen not to have tyres that were smeared on like paint.
That said, I covered more than 300 miles in this car and, when I got out at the other end, my back hurt. The thin and hard seat backs were largely to blame, offering very little give. Road noise from the standard Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tyres was at a degree befitting a sports car more than a grand tourer, too.
And then you forget about all that as you floor it down a twisting ribbon of tarmac in the countryside, listening to the V12’s low-rev baritone hum crescendo into an well trained choir hitting the high notes as you chase the rev limiter. Pulling the shift up paddle with an almighty thunk just makes you crave that hit of adrenaline time after time after time.
What’s the interior like?
I can’t want for much in here, generally. Interestingly, the 12Cilindri comes with a central infotainment screen designed to make the cockpit more user-friendly (and yet Ferrari neglected to add one to the four-seat and more capable Purosangue…). It’s a usable enough display, with clear graphics and a relatively sensible layout. But its positioning and height are too low and shallow to make truly confident taps at the screen at speed.
It also feels like the interior is missing a bit of theatre by not having a physical ignition switch – something neighbouring Sant’Agata still loves to indulge in. But I love the transmission gait motif for the drive select switches and the driver’s instruments only need a GCSE in IT, rather than the Master’s degree required to work the one in the Roma.
The 12Cilindri has a dedicated ADAS button (which just feels weird on a Ferrari, frankly), and the brand’s software engineers have made it so a double tap allows a custom mode setting to be applied (where you can tailor your car’s safety aids, including bonging traffic sign recognition and pretty fierce lane keeping) or holding it to turn all of them off. Another oddity is the inclusion of start/stop – likely a must to ensure the V12 meets emissions standards, but Ferrari calls it HELE: high emotion, low emission. The level of cringe is high.
Elsewhere, the driving position is hugely adjustable – even if you’re above six feet – with the 12Cilindiri’s seats available to be specified with massaging functions and a neck warmer for when you have the roof down. But the seats are flawed; we clocked more than 300 miles on our drive and, afterwards, my back ached from the seat’s thin supports and the neck warmer was more like a shoulder warmer.
Other useful touches include a cupholder – just one, mind you, mainly for your doppio espresso – and 200 litres of boot space. That luggage area is about on par with similar cars, but it’s not helped by quite a small boot aperture.
Before you buy
I didn’t think I’d be talking about boot space when reviewing a Ferrari, but Maranello says this is its ‘most complete GT’ ever made and, in some ways, that is true. This is arguably the most flexible a modern Ferrari supercar has ever been (we’ll ignore the Purosangue with its extra seats in this case). There’s a moderately useful central screen, semblance of boot space, bumpy road mode for the suspension and so on.
But is it really a GT car? Hmm. Backache after a long drive and overly intrusive tyre noise aren’t things that a grand tourer is meant to provide. If you’re after a proper GT, you’d best turn your attention to Bentley’s Continental GT, or commission yourself a Rolls-Royce. I can personally talk you though that process if you like.
But are there that many other 12-cylinder supercars on the market that can be as flexible as the Ferrari can? Lamborghini’s Revuelto – also spine-chillingly fast – is the natural rival, as is Pagani’s upcoming Utopia Roadster. The Ferrari manages to feel that little more visceral than the Lambo, and won’t feel quite so Fabergé Egg as the Utopia. The biggest hitter to the Ferrari, though, is the Aston Martin Vanquish, which comes the closest in terms of price, performance and, well… everything really.
Verdict: Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider
The 12Cilindri Spider is a car you drive hard with a steely look and clenched teeth – not qualities you’d usually identify when driving the greatest grand tourers. What it will do, though is make your eyes pop out of your sockets, and your jaw hit the floor.
Frame it as an all-rounder supercar with one of the greatest engine configurations in the world right now, and it makes much more sense. It’s ferociously fast, hugely engaging and provides some of the biggest adrenaline hits you’ll ever experience behind the wheel of a production car – a sensation you’ll keep on craving forever more.