Ferrari’s love affair with a V12 engine began way back in 1947, when designer Gioacchino Colombo, along with contributions from Giuseppe Busso and Luigi Bazzi, placed their masterpiece in the iconic Ferrari 125 S. Fast forward to 1956; the V12 meets the GT and a love affair sparks into life that will burn for decades to come.
One of the first models the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer built from this blossoming relationship was the 250 Europa GT Speciale. Powered by a 3.0 litre Colombo V12, producing 240 horsepower, this was the first ever Ferrari to carry the GT designation and was made to compete at the storied sports car endurance race, 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only 35 of these beauties were ever made.
Now, I could be here all day if I was to talk about the legendary GT cars Ferrari has produced over the years. But, I'm here to tell you about something new; the 12Cilindri. This latest GT is the replacement for another gem from Ferrari - the 812 Superfast - a car that I described as “remarkable” back in 2020 when I had the great fortune and pleasure to get behind the wheel of one for a few days.
Can this new model match up to its predecessor? I had a day with the all new 12Cilindri (Dodici Cilindri in Italian) to find out, a car that I would give up a kidney for just to get behind the wheel.
Before we push the start button, let's take in the aesthetics. Due to this being a front engined V12 Ferrari, you can’t help but notice the long nose it needs to house that stunning engine. At the front of the car, there’s a large black panel that apparently can’t be changed to match the body colour, so if you want an all red Ferrari 12Cilindri, you’re going to be disappointed - but I guess all black is still a great option though. Another eye-catching feature are those stunning 21” rims. They are a little heavier than the 812s rims and each rim is milled from a glorious solid block of aluminium - it does run through my mind that I most certainly wouldn’t be happy if a valet scraped one of them against the curb.
Moving around to the back of the vehicle, there are more black sections and panels that cultivate a sleek appearance, although I do wonder what red might look like. On the side of the vehicle, these smaller black panels are actually active aero systems. These will pop up around 10º at speeds from 60km/h - 300km/h, adding approximately 50kgs of downforce. However, unlike previous models, this is the first time a front engine Ferrari has an active aero system on the top of the car. The rear lights and exhausts are a departure from recent norms too. Gone are the circular aesthetics and in are strip rear lights and rectangular exhausts. I’m not too sure how expensive a rear fender bender will be in the 12Cilindri since the ‘bumper’ is a large rear diffuser made from carbon fibre. But I must say, it all looks very beautiful though.
As with the 812, the 12Cilindri is a very pretty car, but I personally find other Ferraris better looking. I’m just not a fan of cars with a lengthy bonnet or hood for our American friends.
Climbing inside, the first thing I noticed is that new car smell - who doesn’t love that scent? And it does smell that little bit sweeter when it’s a Ferrari alongside its abundance of tech like digital displays and touch controls, but more about those later.
Starting up the V12 doesn’t quite have the same ceremony from inside the cabin as it does for the often jealous onlookers. The cabin is a calm, quiet place which you’d want from a GT car that’s intended for lengthy trips. A V12 rumbling away could quickly become a love/hate relationship if the cabin grumbled away on your long journeys. As I shifted into first gear and began to creep forward, my initial thoughts were; “She. Is. Wide!”. This left me feeling unsure as to how this car was going to survive on narrow, winding roads of Europe. I had never driven an 819bhp V12 car before and on unfamiliar, narrow, winding roads with torrential rain added to the mix, it felt like the perfect recipe for disaster. However, it was one of the best drives I’ve ever experienced. Even with huge 21” rims, bespoke run flat tyres, rain pelting down on the car and a ferocious V12 hiding under the bonnet. This drive could have been as quiet and comfortable as a Bentley, smoothly going about its business on a pleasant, summer’s day. It’s the most un-Ferrari Ferrari I’ve driven and according to Ferrari, this is also exactly what they are aiming for. Well, 50 per cent of what they’re aiming for.
The interior design and the different driving modes available also allow you to let your inner hooligan out now and again, if you really want to - think 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds, 0-200km/h in 7.9 seconds and going all the way up to light speed (340km/h). A simple turn of a dial quickly changes your 12Cilindri experience. You can choose from wet, sport, race or track mode. It's like each little click is poking a bear and if you’re not careful, you'll get mauled.
The ‘wet’ setting of the car I found to be very intuitive. In this day and age of everything being AI, this car manages its power output incredibly well, in relation to the driving conditions. This allows you to still have fun and enjoy the car's performance, while keeping you alive and safe. I can also attest to the car horn working as well as any other car. The scariest moment of the experience came as a construction vehicle rounded a corner and couldn't see me. As he drew closer, I found I needed the car horn to make him aware of my presence. Thankfully he stopped in time.
As I spent a few hours cascading down hills on stunning forest-laden roads (I never knew Luxembourg was so beautiful), I couldn’t help but smile. The 12Cilindri was effortless to drive, even in less than ideal conditions. Not once did I feel tired or uncomfortable. The seat holds you just enough without squeezing you, with the driving position allowing you to feel at home very quickly. The lane sensors I also found extremely helpful when edging to the side of the road as I passed oncoming traffic.
On the topic of tech, the car has a great 'info-tainment' system, with three screens being spread across the dash. It’s nice that Ferrari gives passengers their own screen in order for them to watch the speed etc rising. While in most cars a passenger would lean over to look, you’re more likely to be pinned to the seat, which makes the screen in front very handy. You don’t even need to hit high revs to pin yourself or the passenger to the chair. The 12Cilindri has great torque all over the rev band. However, those high revs do bring the choir to life under the bonnet and they sound beautiful - no superchargers or turbos necessary.
As part of this drive I was lucky enough to take it on a (very wet) track. In race mode, this prancing horse will absolutely kick you out of the saddle if you’re not careful. I'll admit, I didn't feel like selling a kidney and when offered to keep some traction control on, I said yes please.
Once on a track and chasing a pace car, I had a little extra weight in my shoes and put my foot down in a few places I shouldn’t have. This car will go sideways and as it does, that smile across your face also widens, but I wouldn’t recommend going sideways on a narrow mountain road, in the dry or wet. I was initially hoping to catch the pace car, however, the spray generated was leaving me nearly blind behind him, so I had to back off. Having never driven the track before I didn't want to end up in a wall.
Like anything in life, nothing is perfect. I adore tech, but sometimes I feel it's just there because someone said they can do it. A modern bugbear of mine - and numerous modern cars are guilty of this - is when the likes of climate control are all buried in a menu on a touch screen. When was it decided that it's impossible to make a pretty physical button or dial? When adjusting my air temperature, I don’t want to be making sure I hit the right places on a touch screen, which can often be a bit laggy and unresponsive, so that you have to tap multiple times to make it cooler. Eventually the processor catches up with your taps and it goes too cold, so you have to tap the other direction a few times, but again, it doesn’t register all taps and now it’s gone too fast. This song and dance continues while you’re meant to be watching the road. An elegant simple dial would be far easier and very welcome. The screen/system on the Ferrari wasn’t excessively laggy. But a dial/button would still be easier and more convenient. Obviously it’s down to preference but if I was given the option of physical buttons for these things, I’d pay extra for them.
The one thing that really didn’t work for me were the touch buttons on the steering wheel. The physical ones were fantastic. I’ve always loved a physical dial on the back of the wheel as a volume control. The touch navigation ones on the front, I found unresponsive and difficult to use. Even when parked. Thankfully, you rarely need them for anything. Depending on how you like to drive the car day-to-day, you might not ever use them. Speaking of day-to-day capabilities, if you want a Ferrari you can comfortably drive everyday, have enough space for your shopping, small travel cases, and take on long drives without worrying your back will be broken at the end of it, this is the Ferrari for you. You might be thinking, what long journeys in a V12 are going to be - 100km? For me, I was pleasantly surprised after a two and a half-hour stint in the car (with a slightly heavy foot at times), the range still read 385km to empty. The 12Cilidri has a 93 litre tank - that’s a large jug for a lot of juice. However, bear in mind, once those long drives hit around 15,000km, you’ll need to think about replacing those bespoke Goodyear tyres.
Overall, yes, this is the replacement for the lively and slightly scary 812 super fast. But at the time, that was Ferrari's pinnacle of engineering. The most brutal machine they could make. Since then things have moved on and they want the 12Cilindri to be an enjoyable, usable everyday GT car, and they have succeeded. This is one of the most refined GT cars I’ve been fortunate to drive. The Dodici Cilindri is bellissima and I didn't even have to sell a kidney.
Ferrari.com
