Published:
6 November 2013If there were more than five stars available here, we’d have awarded them. Given the increasingly prevalent fascination with turbochargers and electric motor assistance, there’s a splendidly old-school decadence about a naturally aspirated 6.3-litre V12 that revs to the moon.
Across the industry, only Lamborghini’s and Aston Martin’s V12s are anything like it. Even then, the F12’s engine feels in a class of one in combining top-end power with low-end tractability. It is more alert and responsive than any other large-capacity engine in recent memory.
The figures tell most of the story. The 731bhp peak is at 8250rpm, with the more modest 509lb ft torque peak appearing at a still-heady 6000rpm (just 750rpm shy of where peak power is delivered in Aston Martin’s V12 Vantage S).
It used to be said that when you bought a Ferrari, you paid for the engine and got a car thrown in free. Not quite how it feels today, but there’s no doubt that the F12’s powertrain is its stand-out feature.
Against the clock? A slight rearward weight bias and an effective launch control system meant the F12 hit 60mph in 3.0sec precisely, before going on to pass 100mph in 6.5sec. Among the other road cars that we have tested, only a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport provides a genuine benchmark.
