At the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari came with a new concept expected to become available in late 2012: the 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. This 12-cylinder gran turismo will replace the aging 599 GTB Fiorano later this year coming with a refreshed design that hardly resembles its predecessor.
Construction And Style
The 2013 F12 Berlinetta is slightly different from its predecessor. It has been designed by Ferrari’s longtime partner Pininfarina, combining an inspiring amalgamation of strong looking surfaces with beautiful flowing design cues. The front of the car resembles the 458 Italia while the rear has a more conservative look.
The design of the car boasts an impressive 76% increase of downforce alongside with a drag of 0.299.Overall, the car is smaller than its predecessor and significantly lighter. The even balance and mass distributuin makes the 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta shift 54% of its curb weight to the tail end.
Performance
Ferrari has attempted to fool around with hybrid systems but the new Berlinetta remains loyal to the traditional time-tested 12-cylinder engine. Behind the hood, the car hides a 6.3-liter V-12, similar to the FF wagon. The engine runs at 730 horsepower and 8000 RPMs. The seven-speed gearbox shifts at lightning speed and as per Ferrari’s claims, the car can go from 0 to 62 mph in a shocking 3.1 seconds. The top speed of the car has been limited to 211 miles per hour but without a doubt the car can handle much more than that.
The Berlinetta comes with a quite a few performance enhancing features such as E-Diff, high-performance ABS, ESP Premium and F1-Trac. The optional start/stop system, the 2013 F12 Berlinetta manages to save 30% fuel and reduces the carbon emissions by 16%. The standard fuel consumption reaches 15 miles per gallon during a city drive but it can go to 17 miles per gallon on a highway.
At this moment, the 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is the fastest road car built by the Italian manufacturer.
Interior
The F12 comes with a dashboard that resembles the one of the FF but with one big difference: the large packs of clucky-looking navigation units have been redesigned. The Berlinetta displays the relevant infotainment screens via a Human Machine Interface system of in the form of a gauge cluster. The cabin is covered with Frau leather and some carbon fiber trims. Every aspect of the interior has been carefully designed but in the end, it can be customized as per the client’s budget and preference. There is no fixed interior setup.
Final Conclusions And Release Date
The 2013 F12 Berlinetta has been announced for release late 2012. What is known for certain now is that Ferrari now holds the fastest, the most powerful and the most well-built road car. This might be valid for now but rumors tell that the Italian auto maker is preparing an 800 horsepower model. Even so, the Berlinetta is still the most powerful front-engine car ever build. Only time will tell if this status will be granted to a different model in the near future.For now, the big spenders are still waiting for the car to be released by the end of this year as per the official Ferrari announcement.
