Ferrari F12 Berlinetta-GENEVA MOTOR SHOW 2012

Last week's sneak peek at Ferrari's replacement for the 599 GTO didn't spoil all the surprises. Here are the first official pics of what Ferrari will call the F12 Berlinetta, a V-12 powered coupe that can hit 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and ranks as the fastest road-going Ferrari built to date.

Using tricks learned from its Formula 1 cars, Ferrari claims the F12 burns less fuel and goes faster than its predecessors thanks to combination of high-tech machinery, wickedly complex weight loss schemes and a bit of black magic aerodynamics. The 6.3-liter V-12 shared with the Ferrari FF has been boosted to 730 hp and 509 ft-lbs of torque, yet can get nearly 19 mpg under Euro testing with an optional stop-start system. That power goes through a seven-speed gearbox and electric differential, both resized to shrink the car's footprint. That gap you see at the top of the hood is what Ferrari calls an "aero bridge" -- a tunnel that shunts air out the vents behind the front wheel arches, helping reduce the car's drag.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Without any doubt, the most popular and interesting car of this year’s edition of the Geneva Motor Show is the all-new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, a car for which about 360 people made a deposit before it was officially unveiled at the event in Switzerland. This number comes from Amedeo Felisa who is the company’s CEO.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Before the car went live in Geneva it was shown during an event for customer previews which lasted about a week. During this time, about 450 people had the possibility to see the car and 80% of them decided to put an order on the F12 Berlinetta, according to Felisa.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

The new F12 Berlinetta is the most powerful road car that Ferrari has ever made as it is powered by an impressive V12 6.3-liter engine that pumps out no less than 730 hp. Even though many people though that V12 engines will soon be discontinued, it seems that Ferrari doesn’t think this way and for the successor of the Enzo which is scheduled to come out towards the end of this year, another V12 engine will be used.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Thanks to this powerful engine, the F12 Berlinetta is capable of doing the 0-62 mph sprint in only 3.1 seconds while to get to 124 mph from start it needs 8.5 seconds. That V12 engine has a maximum torque of 509 lb.-ft and 80% of that torque is available at just 2500 rpm. This V12 normally-aspirated engine revs up to an impressive 8700 rpm.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

The successor of the 599 was initially supposed to be called the 620GT but this new name that it got reminds of some classic cars Ferrari has made in its glorious history, like the 250 GT Berlinetta. The Italian automaker has said that the car managed to do a lap of the company’s Fiorano test track in 1 minute and 23 seconds, making it the fastest Ferrari that was on that circuit. The company says that the F12 Berlinetta is capable of reaching a top speed of more than 211 mph.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

This V12 engine offers 116 hp / liter and it is based on the power unit found in the FF, a 6262cc 65-degree V12 unit. However, the new iteration of this engine is 80 hp and 5 lb.-ft more powerful than what the FF has to offer and it’s also more powerful than the 599 model it replaces in the company’s lineup.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Even though this new V12 engine is considerably more powerful, Ferrari’s engineers have managed to lower not only the fuel consumption levels but also the emissions of CO2. While the 599 offer 15.8 mpg UK in the combined cycle, the new F12 Berlinetta can return 18.8 mpg. In addition, the 415 g/km CO2 emissions of the 599 have been reduced to 350 g/km in the new model. These figures are available if the car is fitted with the stop/start system which is an optional feature.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Ferrari’s new model is 4618 mm long, 1273 mm high and 1942 mm wide, making it 47 mm shorter, 63 mm lower and 20 mm narrower than the outgoing 599. In addition, compared to its predecessor, the wheelbase is now 30 mm shorter, measuring 2720 mm.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

The most important modifications can be found at the back where the dual clutch F1-style gearbox and the rear suspension have been repacked in order to lower the volume at the rear. In addition, the dashboard, seats and engine have been lowered, managing to offer a lower center of gravity in comparison to the previous 599 model. The outgoing model had a weight distribution of 47/53 while the F12 Berlinetta sports an “ideal” weight distribution of 46/54 front/rear.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

The car has an aluminum spaceframe chassis and bodyshell which have been developed especially for the new model, boasting 12 different types of alloys. The Italian carmaker has said that compared to the 599, the new F12 Berlinetta offers a 20% structural increase and weighs 70kg less than the previous model, with a curb weight of 1525 kg.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

The downforce is now 76% greater over the 599 while the drag coefficient stands at just 0.299. To achieve these more than impressive figures, the Italians implemented the Aero Bridge system which is capable of channeling air from the side hood air intakes via the wheel arches and after that it spits the air out via the car’s sculpted deep swage lines located in the F12’s side doors, managing to improve the control of turbulent airflow and also reduce the drag. Aside from this, the car also has Active Brake Cooling that will open the brake cooling ducts only when the temperature of the carbon ceramic brakes is high enough.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

As you would expect, the all-new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta comes with a bunch of electronic aids to help the driver, including the company’s own E-Diff, F1-Trac, ESP Premium and a high-performance ABS system. Aside from these, the car also comes with the SCM-E magnetorheological suspension system, and Ferrari says that they were also able to lower the car’s steering angles.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

By making the space behind the two seats accessible from the car’s hinged glass tailgate, Ferrari said that the capacity of the rear luggage has been increased but they didn’t mention an exact volume. The dashboard of the F12 Berlinetta has a lightweight construction while the interior is wrapped around in Frau leather. There are also lashings of aluminum and carbon fiber trim, along with an aeronautic field-inspired design of the air vents.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

If there is something that we don’t like about the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is that Human Machine Interface which we’ve already seen on the FF and the 458, which is an interior control system that puts most of the major controls on the steering wheel making it look too crowded and difficult to access.

No word at the moment about the price tag of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta but most likely it will cost more than 250,000 pounds. The right-handed units will arrive in the United Kingdom in the beginning of next year. We’ll let you know when Ferrari will publish the price list for the new model and also details about the car’s availability.