Subjective Sense of Speed/Sound in an F12?

My F12 Tailor Made car allocation finally came in about 10 days ago and the order has been officially placed. Told it will take a "long time" due to lots of special paint and leather. Anyhow, very excited.

My previous F Car was a 2011 599 Alonso HGTE. I think I have some sense that the F12 has performance on another level, but wondering what owners who have or had both cars can provide for context in terms of how the F12 FEELS versus the 599 in terms of sense of speed/ visceral excitement/ sound versus the 599. I have not driven an F12 yet, so just enjoying my period of anticipation. Thank you for any thoughts.

 

may i answer it very briefly - you will not be disappointed....


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Fair enough😊 I am going to interpret that as meaning "other worldly" or something like that!! Thanks.

 

Whilst my 458 is by no means ordinary the F12 certainly makes it feel that way. You will love it.


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With luck you might see it this year since the F12 line supposedly is moving. My allocation was last September, and like you special paint and colored cf has delayed it, but I am now hopeful that it is about to be built. Good luck and patience

 

Congratulations! Everyone I've spoken to who has driven both the 599 and the F12 says the F12 is head and shoulders above the 599. One friend keeps telling me the F12 "murders" the 599. I've resisted driving an F12 because I'm very happy with my 599. And I know where that drive ends.

 

dry4re,

Do I understand correctly that your order went in last September and it still has not begun production?? Wow. I am fine with waiting, but that is indeed quite a delay. Out of curiosity, when was your order actually acknowledged by the factory ?? I was told to expect another few weeks for it to be "pulled" per my dealer. Thanks for any additional insight you can provide!!

 

I was initially underwhelmed with the looks of the F12 versus my 599. Truth be told, I was in the same boat as I never thought I could get an F12. My wife is not so fond of my Ferrari habit, just tolerating it over nearly 25 years of marriage. However, when we were kindly given the opportunity to do the Tailor Made session along with our daughter ( who picked out the exterior color ), my lovely wife softened her stance and she finally seemed to get it. It's just hard to imagine that much more power than a 599!!

 

have you not test driven one?

 

I understand. I think Ferrari is typically more of a man thing but there are women who get into it and they are trying to broaden their appeal. My wife would enjoy the Tailor Made process also.

As to looks, I love the 599. I also love the F12. I try to not look at this as if I like one then I have to not like the other. They are different looks.

 

Nope. I guess that just heightens the anticipation.

 

You need to get the valve controller to open the exhaust in the low revs, it makes a huge experience difference. The sound is excellent throughout the entire rev range and just gets better and better as you reach redline.

It's a fast car but like all Ferrari motors need to be revved.

 

Agree with need of some level of exhaust manipulation. The stock exhaust is very quiet at low revs. You definitely won't be disappointed, although I must say that the lines of the 599 are still very very beautiful to me. I would often hear how the f12 has "too much power" and I didn't really comprehend that. How could any car have too much power. I understand that statement a bit better now. You have a very short time with your right foot down anywhere beyond 50% before you are in serious reckless driving / jail category….

You will soon find out exactly what I mean.

 

Got the production slot for a march build in September...Worked with dealer in November to spec out car....went status 10...triple strata paint and a lot of extracompanario....back and forth with factory on colored carbon fibre....tailor made made suggestions for interior - now we are in January - waiting for info from factory. Early February my dealer went to Maranello with another customer and checked on our car. There was still confusion on part of the order. Still thought we would have march production. Then was told a delay would be caused by paint....all Speciales and Apertas with triple paint needed to go first because they had to be done by June..next issue was colored carbon fibre (not sure what that problem was)....Parenthetically, ordered a Cali T first week of March which landed last week.

Last I heard on F12 was that dealer thought it would get built before they shut down in August which would mean best case, I see car in September. Tried to contact FNA last week, but haven't heard back yet.

Not real happy, but not much I can do but patiently wait. Have never had a clue on exact pricing, because there is no price list for some of the tailor made stuff....just have my fingers crossed.

Hopefully, your experience will be a little better. BTw, My last order, a 458 spider, landed in NJ the same week as hurricane Sandy, now, that was anxiety!

 

Some things that I have noticed after owning a 599 for 2 years and then getting into an F12.

1) The F12 feels like everything is connected as one unit. I felt that the gearbox did not match the engine on the 599 nor did the traction match the power on the 599.

2) The F12 is a far more modern car. It is has a proper sat nav and Bluetooth for music streaming.etc etc etc.

3) The nose of the F12 feels easier to place as it is smaller than the 599.

4) Heaps more grunt in the F12.

5) When the you get up the F12 the noise is spine tingling.

Enjoy in good health!

 

The F12 is spine tingling and I already have a modern V12 in an FF. You will not be disappointed..

 

Thanks for the driving impressions and write up.

Its interesting you say that about the gearbox on the 599. While its now old technology, I think the gearbox and the gearing are very well judged for the 599. The traction is an issue which is mostly resolved by switching the tires to MPSS.

I suspect additional reasons the front end of the car is much easier to place have to do with the stiffer structure which allows a stiffer suspension especially in the rear which in turn allows them to fit a faster steering rack.

You didn't find the noise of the 599 spine tingling? Maybe its because Ive pulled the exhaust flaps and now have removed the secondary cats but I find the noise glorious... anyway it really doesn't matter. They are both great cars!

Interesting about the grunt. I look forward to driving an F12 one day soon.

 

That's true. I guess its a matter of taste whether you want that exhaust note all through the range. One of the great things about the F12 is how civilized it is in normal driving. Yeah, it growls when you wake it up, but you can drive around stealthily if you want. But even at moderate speeds, you can get a very decent exhaust note just accelerating out of a stop to normal driving speeds. You just can't get it for very long!

I never owned a 599 but I've driven some a bit. To me the 599 feels like an aggressively fast car -- just what it is. The F12 feels like a rocket. That can be a great thing -- I think it is -- but it can also be somewhat disconcerting to those who don't like to feel too close to the edge of control. I find that I never lose confidence in the F12 because it has the handling, the grip and the mighty brakes to match the engine. But I've been in other cars that have this kind of "hurtling", seemingly never-ending propulsive acceleration (I won't mention any names), and, frankly, I've been scared in them. The F12 can scare you if you don't fully yet know its capabilities. But I think that goes away as you get more familiar with the car.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Yes and if you've done any competitive racing (regardless of the machine) the on-the-edge feeling is addictive and you can believe that a little more power is not such a bad idea. Of course, not on the street where there are normal vehicles.

 

Thanks so much for your collective insight and experiences. This only heightens my expectation level!!!! Cheers.

 

Excellent insights- thank you all.

The 599 scared me at first for a while until I could take it to the track and play with it. I needed to see its limits and its behavior- in stock GTB form if you don't respect the power guess what? It can bite. I bet the F12 is the same. Mega power is cool to have but you must respect it.

 

I have a 599 and have driven the F12. The F12 was the first time I have a said a car has too much power. You can potter around town like a Camry and then you just touch the accelerator and it just pins you back in the seat. That engine just revs to the redline in a split second.

Like every generation the later model is way ahead of the model it replaces. The F12 harnesses all the new technology in what is a much more integrated feel. The same discussion will be had with the F12 replacement. The comments of 599 v F12 I suspect will be similar to F12 v F12 replacement. Look at Testarossa to 550/575 to 599 to F12. Each generation is significantly better. The same applies to 355 to 360 to 430 to 458 to 488.

Caeruleus11 statement of "Mega power is cool to have but you must respect it." are words to be remembered. These cars are now so insanely fast that they demand a much higher level of respect than ever before.

 

All I have to say is I'm glad I have racing experience as I could see this thing getting away from a novice very quickly!!

 

Thought I'd post the Tailor Made renderings of the car I ordered. Thanks again for the helpful comments. This will be a great 50th birthday present!!
View attachment F12_Mr Moon.pdf

 

What car.. I love the way they layout the Tailor made map of the exact designs. That is going to look incredible! Can't wait to see picks.. happy bday