Next step...put it in Race mode and feel it go from a trotting horse to an Arabian stallion. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Jerry I haven't tried it yet because my wife has been always nearby LOL But I can assure you that as soon as I have the opportunity I'll be feeling the galloping of the Arabian stallion.
Please let us know as soon as you unleash those ponies. Can't imagine how they could've improved on the F12 with 812. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You will be astounded that the motor can just keep pulling and pulling and pulling. Just as you think it should be nearing the end of the rev range, it has to be nearly done right? Well its got more room to run and more power to deploy. Its a fantastic experience!
I bet must be a fantastic experience the one you mention. Now with so many radars around unfortunately isn't easy to unleash this wild horse. I'll have to leave that experience for the next June when there is an exclusive track day for the commemoration of Ferrari 70 anniversary in a circuit near by which in the 80's received several times the formula 1 grand prix.
Today for the first time I went for a drive in a mountain near by and took some photos and in this place there is a road which back in 1978 was used for one of the legs of a rally of the WRC. Back than I was a teenager and I remember getting up at 4'oclock in the morning to guarantee a place next to that road with the best possible view to a specific curve and a straight. Marku Alén won this particular rally with his Fiat 131 Abarth which at that time was a monster car with 245 cv and I still keep in my memory the crazy speed at which he arrived down-hill into this curve completely surrounded by a pine tree forest. The way his car attacked that curve with an enormous controlled slide is something I'll never forget. Because today at lunch time this mountain road was completely empty, I thought was a perhaps a good time to test some of the capabilities of the F12b without forgetting the fact that I had at my foot command roughly more 500 cv than Marku Alén back in 1978. I put the manettino in race , paddle shifted and drive this sinuous road down-hill for about 7 Km. Well the F12b is really and extraordinary machine, it's absolutely incredible the speed at which I was able to attack these tight curves and the steering is so direct and milimetrical that some times I got the impression the wheels were stuck on rails. The weather was very warm and the tires sticked to the tarmac as if they had glue and I was astonished by the acceleration attained when I drove out of the curves into the short straights. After this high adrenaline experience I eventually got to the bottom of the mountain into the main road and put the manettino back into sport and this time the roaring wild animal I had felt less than a minute before was no more than a domestic pet. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Unmistakable for anything else. Put it in auto with softened suspension and u will think it's a BMW M series. Hit the gas and it will scare the living daylight out of u. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So lucky to have those wonderful roads immediately available. Living in London surrounded by cameras and average speed monitors is truly disheartening. You have now found for yourself the wonderful thing about the F12b, it's Jekyll and Hyde character. I hope, and understand, that this lives on in the Superfast. We shall see. Lovely car, lucky man Mario.
Great write-up, Mario. Am glad you are enjoying your new F-car and that it is bringing back happy memories for you. Your F12b looks exceptionally handsome amid that scenery, but please post some pictures now and then of that posh iroko interior! Best regards...T
Tim thank you for the kind words. This side road is an exception because is under the forest domain and has very little traffic but all the motorways near by and there are several, unfortunately have a network of fixed radars. I'm get acquainted to the F12b and from what I'm starting to experience I can image your TDF driving experience has being one step ahead and because you know both cars you certainly can tell what are the main diferences. The Superfast with 800 cv and the back wheels steering performance wise can only be an upgrade of the F12b but I'm not so sure if there will be a noticeable improvement to the TDF.
Thank you Tom the F12B is effectively a great car but what I find even more amazing is the double personality. Like F12JAJ mentioned when you drive the car in wet and with a civilized foot pressure on the accelerator is like a BMW M but when you move the manettino at least into race and press down hard the transformation is radical and you have at your hands an incredibly fast and wild machine. Up to now I wasn't able to get any proper picture of the interior and the best I have is the one below and wasn't take by me. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Great write up and pics Mario. Good to hear your F12 is living up to the acclaim. I was also a fan of rallying but a little later down the line. I remember being glued to the TV watching Lancia dominate the late eighties rally scene with the S4 and then the Delta Integrale. I still watch the the videos now and they are just as exciting, with virtually no security and fans in the middle of the road, parting only moments before a car would arrive. What I loved was that with group N and A you could go to your Lancia dealer and buy pretty much the same car. It was a great era! Back to your F12, have you driven in the rain yet? If so how does she feel and what tyres do you have fitted?
Justin I'm from that era of the crazy rallies of the WRC when spectators were kamikazes and got in front of the cars and every single curve was done really sliding. Then came the Lancia Delta Integrale and the Audi Quatro and the show changed. Because the weather has been sunny and dry I've not driven in the rain yet. I have four brand new Pirelli's P0 that came with the car and they feel fine and seem to grip extremely well on dry conditions. On my previous Ferrari I had the Michelin's Pilot Super Sport and I loved them so may be I'll change to these ones when the P0's wear off.
Steering and aero aside, the 812 has 59 more hp and 20 more lbs of torque and the gearing is spaced accordingly. I think it will feel somewhat more aggressive throughout (especially at higher RPM) at least in the drivetrain department and that's not a bad thing at all. A nice incremental improvement with harder acceleration if you can imagine. For comparison, the tdf has 38 more hp and 11 more lbs of torque in an easier spinning motor with 200 more RPM. To put things in perspective, at least on paper, the F12B has 11 more hp and 3 more lbs of torque than a 599xx which spins up to 9K rpm. Apples and oranges though. Great time to be a loyal fan of V12 perfection. Thank you Ferrari.
No disagreement with the facts, however, it would be interesting to know from first hand accounts whether a TDF owner can feel the horsepower / torque as compared to F12. I'm just not sure that a 5% power gain would necessary be felt unless you are pushing the car to its limits.
Its definitely a great time to be a lover of high performance cars and the V12 Ferraris are really amazing.
Sorry. I thought you were comparing the potential difference between the F12 and the 812 as above. Since no one has published an actual drive on the 812 yet, one can only look to the numbers and, more importantly, the advertised hp/tq curves. I've tuned a lot of engines and ECUs in motorcycles and was giving you my interpretation of the curves and gearing which I believe will stand up. However, if you bring up the tdf, as you point out, I am just a meager owner of the F12.
I'm also a meager F12 owner, lol. The 812 HP increase is 58 over our F12s. That's approximately an 8% increase. TDF is approximately a 5% increase. My point is that I don't think an average F driver will be able to feel that difference u less they're pushing the car to its limits. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I post some more pictures. The one from the rear of the F12b shows the road where the 1978 WRC took place, the other one has in the background the Atlantic Ocean. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
