MARANELLO, Italy – Bentley built its final W12 in April, an engine VW Group introduced in 2001. Mercedes and BMW already bid auf wiedersehen to 12 cylinders. But Ferrari is Ferrari. Defying trends and regulators, the company has created a radically reimagined GT whose name rivals “LaFerrari” for on-the-nose intent: The 12Cilindri.
Fans of ICE-fueled overabundance will give thanks to 12 apostles, seated for supper in red-haloed rows, below the Ferrari’s DaVinci-spec hood. Those cylinders will deliver a decidedly unholy 819 horsepower, up from 788 in the 812 Superfast, and matching the track-focused 812 Competizione. Ferrari pegs 0-62-mph acceleration in 2.9 seconds, a 7.9-second rip to 124 mph, and a top speed beyond 211 mph.
Again dispensing with nostalgia, Manzoni and Co. went for high, functional drama out back: A sweeping rear window and carbon-fiber roof nod to an aeronautic flybridge. And rather than a traditional rear spoiler, that rear window melds into a pair of moveable, batwing-like flaps at each corner. The electric winglets can lift up to 30 degrees to boost downforce, but won’t move independently. .
Press that haptic Start switch, however, and the V12 will remind you of Ferrari’s reason for being. Ferrari cues up a recording of the engine scaling to 9,500 rpm like a runamok Pavarotti, ripping through downshifts with murderous glee. Nessun Dorma indeed — or “None Shall Sleep” — because the wake-the-dead wail of a Ferrari V12 will be talked about, mourned and ultimately preserved by collectors into the next century. They’ll just need to preserve some unleaded as well.
Here, Ferrari claims a first for its naturally aspirated engines: a patented software solution that helped sculpt a sturdier torque curve in third and fourth gears. Company engineers were a bit vague about how it works, but said their “Aspirated Torque Shaping” boosts the sensation of maximum torque and unbroken momentum. Add up the changes, and Ferrari cites a 12% jump in torque at the rear wheels versus previous V12 berlinettas.