I owned a 612 and now own a 599 Let me brake it down in a few categories 1) look Both are phenomenal but the 612 is a piece of art, don’t listen to the 2+2 story, unless you are a car dealer you don’t care, those cars are at the bottom of their depreciation and you will not earn money buying one your goal is not to loose too much the 599 is more angular, it has a classy gt feel to it but does not have the fluid lines of the 612 2)drive the 599 for the Enzo engine , it revs so much quicker, the 599 is brutal, the dual disc clutch does wonders. Don’t discard the 612 on the handling though, these are GTs and not track cars, the weigh difference is minimal and the base 599 is softer than the Hgtc 612 3) reliability 612 for sure, it is a cheap ferrari to run and is bulletproof, the 599 has suspensions and camshaft cover gaskets as main weakness. It will cost you to fix it. Both suffer from stickies and it will cost you 5k to fix, it’s a major undertaking. The 612 ceiling cover leather delaminates and sags, its too big and heavy and the glue gets weaker with time, I fixed mine and it’s a major undertaking to do. Those Ferraris are simple cars, there is nothing one cannot undertake to fix at home 4) interior 599 is my favorite, it feels like a Ferrari whereas the 612 feels like a Bentley Drove my 2 boys to school in the 612 though, priceless … 5) sound Depends which exhaust is fitted The base 599 is better than the base 612 which sounds like…well nothing. however the sport exhaust beats handsdown the 599 There is something magical about the 599, the sound engineers managed to reproduce the old Ferrari sound, quite special honestly Engine wise the 599 revs 1000rpms higher, you will drive the 612 more on torque but don’t get it wrong, we have done mountain runs with both cars and the 612 is happy around the red line too and hard to catch The pure engine sound is better on the 612, your hear more mechanical noise than on the 599 which sound more modern 6)value for money The 612 trades 30 to 40k cheaper than the 599, both are great value for money, but the 612 wins here also because of its cheaper maintenance, and the belt change on the 612 is not a big deal, again another Ferrari legend … 7) overall Buy the car you will drive, take on holiday, push hard on the canyon runs, so I would say it’s a question of budget, the 599 will cost you more to buy and own vs the 612 so if you have to stretch yourself for the 599 and make it a garage queen, take a 612 and push it hard. Feel free to pm me
