Ferrari have been working on it for years: how to create usable levels of downforce without resorting to wings on scaffolding. The first was the 360 Modena which made use of a working diffuser and what was essentially a wing mounter under the rear valance.
With the F12 Berlinetta, Ferrari have achieved a GT car faster on track than their last super car, the no compromise Enzo. Aero is part of the package and once again Ferrari is leading down a different path than other manufacturers in the segment. No wings, the whole car is an aerodynamic device producing downforce from as little as 150 km/h-93mph while having close to Prius levels of drag.
Add engine and vehicle dynamics innovations and the F12 will be the new benchmark.
The F12's advertised performance is on a level that is unnecessary, dangerous and out of touch with almost all public roads. 700+hp mated to a 7 speed double clutch means it's going to build speed at a ludicrous pace. It's beautiful and I would love to own one, but cars are getting too fast to enjoy anywhere but the track and the F12 wouldn't be my first choice for a track car.
ReplyDelete"The F12's advertised performance is on a level that is unnecessary..." and that's why we love it!
DeleteI mean that reasoning goes for any number of cars. It's like saying "that woman is too beautiful for sex" :)
The truly sick part is that is NOT meant to be a track car, why would it be, you can buy a 458 challenge for less.... You got to love that, it's sick!
Exactly, the F12 isn't meant to be a track car, but it's the fastest naturally aspirated car in the world. I understand the appeal of excess but it's not fun to drive a car that you have to pussy foot around in because full throttle is just too much for the road.
DeleteHere we have the pinnacle of automotive and technical advancement. A company which invests hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars into motorsport as a sort of rolling R&D fund.
DeleteNow when they wish to fuse all of that tradition of innovation and development into an exclusive road car, a car that pretty much represents the height of automotive balance and technology, your first thought is "aw man, I wish it wasn't so fast."
Why do you come to Axis anyway? All of the mundane automobiles in the world are a much greater injustice than a handful of extremely exclusive cars that will only see a couple thousand miles per year.
I come to axis because I love sports cars.
DeleteFerrari is definitely at the front of automotive tech, although McLaren's MP4 displays some impressive tech as well. The F12 also highlights the industry's current obsession with building increasingly faster cars.
Every new iteration comes with wider tires, faster gearboxes and more HP while the people driving them and the roads they are run on, have no changed. 0-60 and lap times have become the sole qualities by which sports cars are judged today, and that's a shame because it's often the intangibles that really make a great car. My initial post was merely to highlight this point.
If you are driving your Honda Civic in anything over second gear and the V-tech kicks in you are driving faster than any public speed limit. Does this mean the Civic is "on a level that is unnecessary, dangerous and out of touch with almost all public roads"? It's capable of speeds well in excess of legal limits, but it's considered an economy car...
ReplyDeleteIf you use that logic, just about every car is too fast for the public roads. A Honda Civic, or most cars for that matter, doesn't build speed anywhere near as quick as an F12. By the time you get your Civic to the top of 2nd, the F12 is probably going to be at the top of 3 or into 4 (and going much faster) thanks to its tightly geared double clutch.
DeleteYour average minivan's performance capabilities could be argued to fit Charlie's definition of unnecessary. You might then argue that modern supercars are just too fast to truly enjoy anywhere but the track, and thinking about exploring the limit of the car, that is true. I took this position a while back and banished myself from driving anything but my racecar hauling pickup on the road. Now after a few years of monastic street driving a full size pickup I am looking to purchase a sports car again. It will be way faster than neccesary. Why, when I know that 99.9% of the time it will be driven way under its limits? Because there are other ways to have fun, other than hooliganish street driving, that vehicles like the F12 (and of course way on down the $$$ chain) can deliver that you just dont get with a 5,500 pound super cab pickup with a small v-8. The feel of an Elise's steering wheel in your hands. The sound of a P-car flat 6 as you burble along a country road with the wind blowing through the open windows. The visual and intellectual excitement you get from looking at and touching something like this F12 just standing still.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about the sense of occasion that comes from driving a sports car on the road but why can't I have my cake and eat it too?! For over $300,000 I don't think that's asking too much.
DeleteSo, this car would beat a 458 challenge and all current supercars on track???
ReplyDeleteI doubt that if only because of the tires but it is faster around Fiorano than the street 458 and the 430 Scuderia
DeleteI see your point Charlie and I kind of agree with you.
ReplyDeleteSince the Veyron it seems that everyone is obsessed with high horsepower and that if it's under 700-800hp on the street its not enough.
For me 300whp + ~2000lbs and a good B-road are a bigger thrill than 1000+ horsepower any day. I got the opportunity to ride in a 1200hp sand rail built by Tom Nelson and I wasn't really that impressed. It was fast sure, but it wasnt as exciting as a 30hp go kart. When I told him on the ride home from Pismo he gave me this look like I didn't get it. It's all down to balance for me.
Car manufacturers are approaching HP levels in street cars where I get the feeling they are doing it just to trump the next guy instead of focusing on building a balanced car.
Don't worry guys, look at it as a last hurrah, we'll all be driving go karts soon! ( or maybe 180hp Toyotas)
DeleteThe former of which with a lowly 100hp would destroy any car featured on this blog. The later of which will last longer and get better mpg. Throw the former in the later and count me in...
ReplyDeleteI doubt I'll have as much fun in this as I have in my 308 whilst wearing a mustache...
ReplyDeletethat's because mustaches are active aero devices!
ReplyDelete