The very impressive Ferrari F12berlinetta was officially introduced to the press this week. The F12berlinetta is a GT with the beating heart of an F1 car; a unique coupe which has no equal. That’s why this car is compared to the GTO of 50 years ago in Maranello. The new Ferrari is much lighter than expected (1525 kg) thanks to the manufacturer’s newest technique of developing aluminum, consisting of 12 different alloys. Combine all this with no less than 740 bhp coming from a 6.3 liter V12 and the result is an extreme machine taking you from 0-100 (0-60) in only 3 seconds and on to a maximum of 340km/h (211 mph). Oh, and you’re going 200 kilometers an hour (120 mph) after merely 8,5 seconds.

Although the numbers would make you think otherwise, the car is easy to drive thanks to numerous ingenious skills of technique (among which ABS, EBD Performance and E-Diff) applied by Ferrari which they simply call ‘Fun to drive’. Even less experienced drivers should be able to take this beast around a corner very precisely. The F12berlinetta is, next to the ultimate sports car, also a comfortable and safe GT. Getting to a complete stand-still from 200km/h takes 10 meters less than with its predecessor. Thanks to the carbon-ceramic brakes the job is done in only 131 meters.

This new coupe is clearly a leap forward; excellent performance and the sense of luxury are now even better combined than in its bigger and more unwieldy predecessor, the 599 Fiorano (though the word unwieldy is never really a good combination with the name Ferrari). The F12berlinetta has 120bhp more to offer and 80% of the maximum torque (890Nm) is available at 2500rpm. Despite these impressive numbers, Ferrari even managed to reduce the consumption with 30% (average 15l/100km or 16 mpg). This is partly because the F12berlinetta is an aerodynamic miracle. According to the technicians who introduced this new model in sun-bathed Fiorano, this is the most efficient design ever with an air resistance of 0,299cx and a downward pressure of 123 kg at 200 km/h of which 54% is on the rear wheels (double the numbers of the 599 GTB Fiorano); the result of 5.000 hours of calculations and 250 hours in the wind tunnel. It is clear that only the name of the circuit on which the new model was introduced, still reminds one of the previous GT.

The F12berlinetta is already a month available to order and the first clients should receive theirs in October. The majority will be shipped to the US. Maranello wants to produce 500 up to 800 units of this very beautifully designed Ferrari.