2016 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta REVIEW | Raw Speed Meets Singular Beauty
COULD THE FERRARI F12 BERLINETTA BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PRODUCTION CAR IN THE WORLD? It's a simple question to which this circa-$700K V12-engined Italian coupe provides an arrestingly affirmative answer.
Perhaps it does so even more emphatically than its rear-wheel-drive performance, which includes a 0-100km/h claim of 3.1 seconds. Its 0-200km/h claim of 8.5sec is about the same time a Mazda3 gets to the first speed increment.
A host of F1-derived traction control and aerodynamic systems are, meanwhile, at work (and working hard) beneath the surface.
So we wonder as we approach Ferrari’s latest long-nosed two-door two-seater: what really lurks below the slippery sophisticated surface of the F12 Berlinetta?
Vehicle Style: Sports coupe
Price: $690,745 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 545kW/690Nm 6.3 litre V12 petrol | seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel Economy Claimed: 14.9 l/100km | Tested: 20.6 l/100km
OVERVIEW
Coated in Nero Daytona paint with a cabin of Beige Tradizionale leather, our test F12 Berlinetta oozes ‘stealth’ appeal.
This flagship Ferrari appears larger in photographs than it really is. The bonnet is long, not only to accommodate twelve cylinders underneath but also to house them deep behind the front axle to deliver a 53 percent rear-biased weight distribution.