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Ferrari F12 Berlinetta Revealed



Ferrari released images and details of their upcoming 599 replacement, earlier today.

The F12 Berlinetta will be Ferrari’s most powerful and fastest ever road car. The power outputs are almost identical, as those reported by us last week  at 740CV (approx 730bhp). Ferrari say the V12, which is the same one used in the four seater FF, but will rev to 8700rpm, and put out 80bhp more. Yet the F12 will return 18.9mpg, an increase of 10% over the 599. This is possible in part, thanks to the Start-Stop technology, as used in other current Ferraris.

The F12 will hit 62 in 3.1 seconds, 124 in 8.5 seconds, and lap Ferrari’s home circuit, Fiorano in 1min23seconds. Hugely impressive!

As with all new Ferraris, the F12 Berlinetta will not be available with a manual gear box. Ferrari are using their dual clutch, automatic gearbox.

As suspected the new F12 is actually a little smaller than the outgoing 599. According to our sources, customers complained that the 599 was a bit too difficult to park in their garages. The F12 Berlinetta will be 20mm narrower, 47mm shorter, 63mm lower than the 599. That’s 1942mm wide, 4618mm long and 1273mm high. This has lowered the cars overall centre of gravity.

The car is also now built from an all new 12 alloy aluminium spaceframe chassis and bodyshell, making in 70kg lighter than the 599, at 1525kg. Also, as reported by us last week. The F12 will also be 20% stiffer than its 599 predecessor.

Ferrari note that thanks to the XX programme, they, along with Pininfarina have designed the aerodynamics so that the F12 has 76% more downforce than the 599. The drag coefficient is down to 0.299.

Reduction in drag is reduced partly thanks to a newly designed “Air-Bridge” which channels from the bonnets side intakes though the wheel arches, then splits it though the car’s beautifully sculpted side vents. You can see these vents clearly in the pictures above. The car also has “Active Brake Cooling” which is a system that will open the brake vents when the Carbon Ceramic get hot enough. The system will then close them again when the brakes have cooled down, reducing the drag effect.

We can expect the interior to be a mix between the 458 and the FF. All driving major controls will be mounted on the steering wheel, as per Ferrari’s “Human Machine Interface” system.

Order books will open at the Geneva show, and prices will likely start at around £250,000. So get your cheque books ready and you could be driving the brand new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta by early 2013!

Revealed – Leaked Specs of the Ferrari 599 Successor

Ferrari will be launching their 599 successor in March at the 2012 Geneva AutoSalon, and as we’ve previously reported, it will be called the F620. We posted spy shots of this car under going testing towards the end of last year. 

A select few of Ferrari’s very best customers have recently been invited to a special preview event. At this event, Ferrari showed off their new, still top secret supercar to the small group of the lucky invitees. Thanks to the loose lips of some of these Ferrari guests, we can now reveal some of the headline specs of the new car.

Ferrari’s new supercar will be powered by a V12 engine, producing 740bhp (30 more than previously thought!) and will weigh 1524kg, dry. That’s a weight saving of 56kg and a power increase of 128bhp over the outgoing 599 model. We can also reveal the new supercar will accelerate from 0 to 124mph in only 8.5 seconds and have a top speed over 211mph (340kph).

We cant wait until the official unveil in Geneva.

BMW I8 – Is this the Worlds first Hybrid Game Changer?

BMW I8

We recently published some pictures of BMW’s upcoming hybrid sports car, the i8, testing up in the arctic circle.

With its 220bhp 221lb-ft (300Nm) three cylinder petrol engine sat directly over and powering the rear wheels, and a 129bhp 184lb-ft (250Nm) electric motor sat on top of and powering the front wheels, the i8 offers a combined output of nearly 350bhp and 405lb- ft (550Nm) of torque.

That’s power enough to propel the car to 62mph in under 5 seconds and onto a top speed of 155mph. All this, yet the i8 will do almost 100mpg and on a combined cycle puts out only 99grams of CO2 per km. This allows for Congestion Charge-free driving though London and negates the need to pay for a UK tax disk. You can even drive on just electric power for up to 22 miles from a full charge and BMW promise us a full charge will take only 2 hours at a standard power socket. These figures could make the i8 one of the most interesting new cars of the next few years.

I really do believe that the BMW i8 will be the first, real petrolhead’s everyday hybrid hero. Imagine; you can cruise around town for free, on electric power alone. You could then take a long drive to the country, at nearly 100mpg.

Then at the weekend, take advantage of the perfect 50/50 weight balance, low centre of gravity, and powerful hybrid power plant for a hugely rewarding ‘enthusiastic’ drive. It’s a 2+2 as well, so you’ll be able to squeeze a pair of short children in the back. Perfect.

This is a great new direction for hybrid power. BMW are showing that hybrid power isn’t just for miserly Honda Insights and Toyota Priuses (or is that Pri’i? Maybe just Prius?), it’s a system which can be used to make amazing sports cars more useful in the real world.

Ultimately it gives hope. We’ve been told for a long time now that the future will be full of hybrid or electric cars, and so far these cars have either been boring cars for those outwardly concerned about the environment, or electric cars which just don’t have the range to function in a world where you might decide you want to drive further than the local shops and back in any given 24 hour period.

BMW aren’t the only people looking into hybrid sports cars though, there’s also Audi with their e- Tron Spyder, and Porsche with their 918 Spyder. The Audi has a 296bhp 3 litre TDI V6 for the rear wheels, an 86bhp electric motor for the fronts, and a face only a blind mother could love.

The Porsche is achingly beautiful and powered by a 716 3.4 litre V8 Petrol engine at the back, and 218bhp electric set-up at the front. Unfortunately you wouldn’t choose either of these; the Audi is just too ugly, and the Porsche will be both sold out and too expensive.

In terms of design, the i8 looks brilliant. It will probably be dulled down slightly from the concept we are used to seeing now. Our spy photos of the camouflaged prototype seem to show that the production version will predictably loose the glass doors, and the windscreen will be of a more standard design. But the general shape looks similar and BMW seem have to retained the awesome rear/side floating spoiler.

BMW are saying that the i8 will be launched in 2014. They seem to be rather proud of it too, and aren’t afraid to spend money on advertising, paying big bucks for it to be featured in the recent Mission Impossible movie and even showing it in their mainstream brand adverts.

I think it’s going to be very special indeed, and you know what; if its good enough for Ethan Hunt, it’s good enough for me. Now, I just need to find the rumoured £100k its going to cost.

Source:- Richard Major