There’s no secret what lies at the heart of Ferrari’s latest road-going supercar. Known as the 12Cilindri, the latest member of the iconic brand’s grand tourers, which date all the way back to the 1950s, is powered by the brand’s latest version of a V12 engine.
Using the backdrop of Miami Beach and marking its 70th anniversary in the North American market – which will also be marked by a special livery for the F1 squad – Ferrari unveiled the 12Cilindri and made it clear that despite the push for more electric cars, it knows what its loyal customers want.
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The 12Cilindri, which was revealed as both a coupe and Spider, is powered by a 6.5-litre V12, without any forced induction or hybrid assistance, and makes a staggering 619kW (830hp) at a screaming 9500rpm.
To achieve this Ferrari has made some major changes to its famous 12-cylinder powerplant. In order to achieve such high revs, Ferrari’s engineers reduced the weight and inertia of the engine’s key components. One of the key changes was using titanium con rods, which save up to 40 per cent rotating mass, compared to steel con rods.
Aluminium alloy was used for the pistons and a rebalanced crankshaft was also developed, which saves just three per cent of weight but is necessary for such an extremely tuned engine. The valvetrain technology is taken from F1 and uses sliding finger followers to further enhance the mechanical efficiency of the engine.
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The V12 is situated under the trademark long bonnet that has defined Ferrari grand tourers, but the detail of the design has been defined by aerodynamics and doesn’t play to any retro styling cues.
Case-in-point is the decision to replace a conventional rear spoiler with two active aero flaps that are integrated into the rear screen, which has created what Ferrari is calling the 12 Cilindri’s “delta theme.”
The cabin is an evolution of the brand’s modern design “dual-cockpit” theme from recent models, including the Roma and Purosangue.
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