Negative response to the 12 cilindri design

If I were to design a haptic system I would have the screen with its usual menus and have about a dozen buttons, large and lined up within easy reach and each one fully programmable to whatever I want. Lift up/down, volume up and down, race mode my way, car start/stop disabled, top up/down etc. I line them up in the order I want and like that TV favorite remote I know exactly where each key button is in the dark just by feel. The stuff I rarely use gets relegated to the screen menus. Life simplified.

 

Another design award for 12Cilindri.

iF Design Gold Award:
https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/articles/the-ferrari-12cilindri-and-the-12cilindri-spider-win-the-if-design-gold-award

Related Magazine article:
https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/magazine/articles/iF-Design-Awards-2025

 

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Vanquish is a barge. The 12C is so much nicer. It’s more modern, interesting, brings genuine new themes instead of old ones made to look ‘new’ such as the floating rear panel that reminds me of a Volvo. It’s an exaggeration of what went before, whereas the 12C is properly fresh while still referencing older models and the brand heritage. I can see it as luxo-GT car but not really as a sports car.

And as for the Vanquish convertible, it is beyond terrible. It just looks huge and without any attempt to make it look like a sports car. It just looks too long, too rear-endy and unsuccessful. The 12C is its antithesis and I can’t imagine not preferring it. Some obviously don’t, which just goes to show there’s no accounting for taste - we each see things the way we see them. Hard to believe that there are those who would go as far as saying they actually hate the 12C and love the Vanquish but anyone who reads fchat knows they exist!! I just can’t see it. Is it supposed to be a Bentley competitor because that’s what it looks like. It doesn’t seem to occupy the same space as the 12C Spider, making it all the more confusing why the two are compared so often.
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The newer 911 has one programmable button on the steering wheel and, if you don’t get the lifter, one on the middle dash. I programmed the steering wheel to turn off auto start/stop and dash to get homelink up, both of which are buried in stupid screen menus.

your idea is fantastic- even if they just did 3-4 buttons.

 

Actually, I’ll take Face ID to start the car and automatically adjust the cars systems to my spec and to a screen with my preferred custom menu of buttons and projected on the windshield along with my grubby fingers as I press the haptic buttons so I don’t take my eyes off the road. I’ll still want a few fully programmable buttons to salve my old school tendencies- put em on the steering wheel if need be

 

lol. Face ID is not a bad idea, but it means the thieves likely will need our face to rob our cars now...

 

Well Apple has done it…CarPlay Ultra. A full digital interface through your phone and can customize the entire digital interface with short cuts etc. You can even ask Siri to do things for you about car settings etc. without touching a button.
The 2025 Aston Martins have it . Maybe Ferrari will join. No more haptics for spastics.

 

I’d like to get hands on to validate the UX but could be wonderful. The prior gen Aston non touch screen was a disaster. But sounds like Ferrari-spastics are as well.

 

Well….

Call me a negative Nellie…. But I really don’t want my phone fiddling with car settings…

I generally like tech but I don’t know about this one. Siri doesn’t understand me anyway. Well, many people fall into that category.

 

and good luck if you decided to not be tethered to your phone or worse - you change phone numbers!!

 

Finally saw the car today. It is not growing on me.

 

Which color was the example you saw?

 

The red launch spec.

I'm just not a fan of the black trim (or the small horizontal strip behind the front wheels). And if anything, the trim is more conspicuous in person.

Shame, because I think the shape is fantastic. Particularly the profile.

I was eavesdropping on folks as they walked up to it. A lot of people liked it, a lot of people didn't. Almost everyone commented on the black strip at the front - again, a mix of positive and negative. (I think more negative, but that may be my own bias.)

This car is divisive.

 

Designers try very hard to make their car divisive therefore it stands out and creates talk value. Like what Jaguar is doing. And BMW famously with Bangle.

 

JaGUar and Bangle, definitely divisive.

That's not good company.

 

When I first saw it there was no reaction. In fact, I was so little drawn to it that I did not even look into the interior. Seemed it would be a good DD but not something really special or near worth the ask. But I did like the Michelin S5 tires and the brakes.

 

Same. I saw it for the second time In Westlake last week and have been utterly underwhelmed each time Ive seen it. Didn’t even feel the need to sit in it. I am going to test drive one next week though. Curious how it comps to the 812. So far there isn’t a single aspect of the 12C I prefer over the 812. That said, everyone Ive spoken to who’s driven it says the ride is sensational but they all say the sound is incredibly subdued, even in comparison to the 812 which many feel is muted due to the GPF. Drive could always change everything…..

 

I test drove it last week and have been holding my thoughts for a few days to make sure I really have conviction in what my initial reaction was...

In a nutshell, it was a little "don't meet your hero's". The car drives amazing (you feel like a super hero), but it is soooo (so!) muted that it just doesn't give you the visceral emotions you crave, expect, and deserve (!) in a classic V12 Ferrari. Especially at that price point.

You also have to get (stay) over 7k RPMs to find the "OMG this is amazing" fun to drive dynamics. And that's just hard to do on a regular basis in driving on public roads. And of course you are going to want it set to Race mode and that just makes the throttle so knife's edge to keep the revs high and speed within realm of sanity and not be a danger to the public.

It took me a few days to place it but I couldn't get over how much more fun my Roma Spider is than 12C. I researched the torque curves on RS, 12c and F12 (my prior/only V12 point of reference). Peak torque on the 12c comes much higher in the rev range than both of those other cars, so I think that is the "issue"/ disappointment I had in hindsight.

I had the car for 2+ hours solo and took it on a variety of roads/situations so I feel I have a thorough initial perspective.

The car does drive much smaller than it looks given the size. All the reviews are spot on with that.

The demo I was in had race seats, which was the first time I had ever been in while driving. I didn't look at the spec plaque so not sure which size they were (I assume large) but it was interesting that I didn't find the side/lateral bolsters well positioned and was quite uncomfortable. I'm 6'1", 165 lbs so that was quite surprising to me.

I do like the design a lot and it has only grown on me. And I was not a fan of the spec on this demo.

Holding an allocation, I am truly conflicted. My one and only Ferrari dream was to one day spec my own classic V12 to hold forever. And I truly don't know if I will move forward.

A few other notes/reactions:

The blind spots are ginormous. The Gentleman Car Collector noted this in his video and he was spot on.

The glass roof is nice and a must have in my opinion. It lets in good light and much more visible than the video reviews say IMO.

The software has been updated and includes a 'tutorial' at startup if you want (my 2025 RS doesn't have this).

The emergency fuel door release is right below the center of the driver's seat between your knees. Maybe same in 812/F12 (I have no clue), but this seemed like an odd and aesthetically unpleasing location.

 

Lucky you! I don’t get why you’re still thinking about 12C.

 

I get it. His first chance to spec a V12 that he'd keep forever. And I'm sure he's been really looking forward to it.

I was in the same boat. I was gutted when the car was launched. I am not a fan of the design and I still pondered getting one.

And it must be a harder choice for @rmmcdaniel because he really likes the design.

 

Hmm spending 200k more than a Roma Spider (you can spec, as well) for having less fun to drive but more fun to spec it just because it’s a 12 cylinder…
I don’t get it.