new Ferrari FF 2012 is the name for the car four seats and four wheel drive. This car was designed by Pininfarina, under the direction Ferrari's chief designer, Flavio Manzoni.
Full details for the 2012 Ferrari FF are not available. Ferrari's product proliferation has gone to a new level with the Addition of a four-seater shooting-brake, Called the Ferrari FF.
The Ferrari FF, the which is an acronym for Ferrari Four, will from seats four and has a part-time all-wheel drive. The FF features Ferrari's new V-12 powertrain, the which produces an estimated 651 horsepower and 504 pounds-feet of torque. It's mated to a Getrag dual-clutch gearbox F1.
In sport mode, the sportiest of the five chassis settings accessible via the steering-wheel-mounted manettino knob, the back of the car hardly Wiggles on dry pavement.
But the first roadgoing Ferrari to put power to all four wheels does not understeer like so many other four-wheel-drive sports cars. It's Actually Mostly neutral through Corners. Ferrari engineers
repeatedly explained to us the front wheels That Are Used Mostly for traction in bad weather and Otherwise That power is shunted to the rear wheels as much as possible. Based on a cockpit
display of power to the front wheels (We Were toll the display will not be on customer cars), however, that's not entirely true, as the system activates on Uphill Almost every corner if you request full power. Without the display, the only clue the Ferrari FF Is not rear-wheel drive is the aforementioned lack of oversteer. There's no torque steer, no power-on push. And so it Seems That The Biggest compliment We Can Pay to the FF's groundbreaking four-wheel drive is, paradoxically, that it's not really a big deal.
Inside, the nozzle-shaped vents recall those of the 612 Scaglietti as well as the 599GTO. The steering wheel, like the one in the 458 Italian, houses the turn-signal and wiper controls, Leaving the giant paddle shifters as the only protrusions from the steering column. The instrument cluster features a giant center-mounted tachometer flanked by two high-resolution LCDs. The left display shows accessory dials, navigation and trip information, and any warning lights. Front-seat passengers cans be entertained by an optional screen That shows the engine and vehicle speed or trip information.
The rear seats are accessed by pulling up the big aluminum handles on the side of EACH front seat to move forward electronically Them. Rear passengers sit Slightly higher Than those up front, stadium-style, and well-behaved sub-six-footers Should A Few last hours without complaint, or Perhaps longer with the optional rear-seat entertainment system. The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split and features a center-section pass-through. Seats up, the FF's 16 cubic feet of storage beat the Porsche Panamera's 15.7, but the FF loses to the Porsche with the seats folded, 28 cubes to 45.
More Space and More Power Than an Enzo
That and a 12.3:1 (!) Compression ratio and an engine stop / start system, result in a claimed 25-percent reduction in fuel
consumption. The FF's V-12 is the most powerful Ferrari road-car engine ever built, with 651 hp at 8000 rpm and 504 lb-ft of torque at 6000 rpm. The Ferrari FF engine does not lurch if you lift off the throttle near the 8000-rpm redline. At the front of the engine lies a second transmission, and it's this unit That makes the FF's four-wheel-drive system so revolutionary. This so-called power transfer unit (PTU) consists of two forward gears (plus reverse) That route power through computer-controlled clutch packs, one for EACH front wheel. The lower of the two front gears is about six percent higher Than the second gear in the rear transaxle, and the higher gear is similarly Taller Than the rear's fourth. For the first four forward gears, the PTU slips the clutches in low or high gear to match the rear-wheel speed and Provide extra traction.
Exorbitantly Priced Cars, elaborate demonstrations
As We mentioned, Ferrari stresses That the four-wheel-drive system is primarily intended to offer all-weather capability, even going so far as to helicopter two cars to the top of a ski slope and build a small winter-weather test track. In low-grip situations, most cars Generally understeer as the front tires lose traction, resulting in frequent car-on-snowbank action. Whereas the 599 and 612 exhibit body roll and Some reluctance to change direction, the FF's front end responds sharply, and its cornering attitude is more composed. Through Corners, the steering wheel loads up only Slightly, and bumps are completely isolated from the driver. The brakes Also want a bit for tactility, with a long pedal travel Increasing That requires force to Achieve ABS-stopping levels. We'd prefer a shorter, stiffer brake pedal.
It's not an all-out sports cars like the 458 Italian (nor is it even as sporty as the Porsche Panamera), it does not have the all-Conquering comfort of cars in the Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, and it's not a That car emotional wholly transcends all subjective measures. In evolving its GT car, Ferrari has hit the mark.
3/28/11
2012 Ferrari FF
