Autocar F12 TDF reveiw

Saw that, it was a pretty insightful clip for us non-tdf owners! It was also very interesting to hear him say that Ferrari thinks there's probably only 1 more generation of NA V12s left in the future.

Here's the Autocar clip:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb7hVioA7TI[/ame]

 

I reckon it's one of those cars you could build a long term relationship with.

 

Agree with Simon. This is car one will need to learn to drive, similar to the 599 GTO. I admire the way Ferrari changes its cars, there's no cookie-cut solutions. From the delicacy and delight of the incredible 458 Speciale to the power, scale and challenge of the GTO and TDF. It's what brings me back to Ferrari every time.

Separately, I want to say my heart goes out to Paris. 6 attacks, 120+ murdered. On a Friday evening when everyone was out welcoming in the weekend. I was in Paris yesterday morning on business. To my friends in Paris, we stand united against this scum.

 

This sounds like the perfect car to me.... I love the front engine v12s... I WILL have one of these ....

 

Great quote, almost like in a bakers shop, "I WILL have one of these" and two of those also , many thanks How much ??

 

I think it's a fantastic car, in many ways.

It's not my bag tho, I'm in the minority I'm pretty sure. I've came full circle with cars and now I'm interested in drivers, not fancy looking cars(except a Zonda-I'd drive it too).

For Ferrari th LP cars sure are nice 599gto wonderful, I don't want one.


Possibly just a point in my life that my taste is more drive it not having to worry about parking it.

Congrats to the TDF owners, and for all the pics and links, the rear wheel steering is interesting

 

I'm thankful for the tdf because now I can tell my wife, hey, what are you complaining about, I only own the "regular" F12.

I hear what you are saying about cars you can drive without the worry. In terms of the fun / price ratio, there is a lot to be said for a Fiesta ST, an Elise, even a CLA45 AMG delivers huge bang (and pop!) for modest bucks. My FIST is probably the most grin-inducing car I've ever owned, and very much looking forward to the Focus RS.

Love driving F cars, and they do deliver an experience no other car can, but the reality is, at least for me, that my guard is always up when I drive them on the road. A little something is just lost there.

 

I don't understand though why they made the rears steer only in the same direction as the fronts. At low speeds the opposite would help.

 

No disrespect, but I am pretty sure they know what they are doing.

 

The Elise was hands down the funniest car I ever owned,


I don't keep any guard up when I drive my cars 99% of the time, I did long ago, realized it doesn't matter as long as I'm being safe. Parking is another story.


I understand your point, well tho.

 

Rears steer in the same direction to add stability due to the increased front end grip. The rears actually counter steer at parking lot speeds to give the car a little more maneuverability.

 

That's very cool,

 

I dont think this is true.
They only steer one way unlike Porsche one's.
According to reviews, Ferrari tweaked ZF system only to steer the same direction, but not counter steer since the car already has so much turn in, it is not needed.

 

The rear steering was introduced to compensate for the instability caused by adding wider front tires to get grip up. That's not an issue at lower speeds.

Think you want to keep things as simple as possible given the design objective, otherwise you're just compromising reliability.

 

The PCV rear steering only acts in the same direction as the front wheels, though not in a linear way.

The steering is controlled by software (which Ferrari has become masterful at), based on multiple sensor inputs (x-y accelerometers, yaw sensor, wheel speed sensors, velocity, steering angle, pedal positions, etc etc). It essentially is applied to maintain the trajectory of the car particularly during weight transfer (i.e. turn in). Said otherwise, how much rear steering and how long its applied is not tied linearly to the steering angle.

Can't wait to try and it, and no doubt it will require some calibration on the driver. de Simone seems to have offered consistent feedback.

A long time ago, I remember trying out the Honda Prelude 4WS - at highway speeds the lane changes were noticeably different, but you adapted. The slow speed stuff was downright weird, though the car made parallel parking easy...

 

I owned a Prelude 4WS. Fun car. But yes, weird.

What I said above is what I was told- it will counter steer at very slow parking lot speeds. Hope thats right but its what I am told.

I can't wait to try it either! And find out for myself!

 

918's steer both with and against fronts depending on speed and Porsche know too what they're doing. Guess as has been said the F12 might already be short and nimble enough at low speeds but then they should have called the system "virtual long wheelbase" imo

Aws is something that's always intrigued me and always been a fan of such cars.

 

those downshifts alone makes me want one!

 

Maybe its the combination of the 4WS steering with the wider front tires that is responsible for the nomenclature....

 

Did he say that NA V12 would stay around for another generation? I'm not too sure about that happening...

 

Did you pick up he said Ferrari say there will be ONE MORE GENERATION of NAspirated V12, that will screw up the TDF speculators

 

You have forgotten the FF and try and explain how you make something more extreme than this car with this engine.

 

The current V12 engine will be around for a while.

It may ship in lower volumes relative to the V8TT, but it will remain "in production". First off, some Ferrari customers will demand it. Second, developing this engine requires that they leverage the architecture as much as possible (FF, F12, TDF, LaF versions). Third, they can probably charge a premium which will help, while the lower volumes will help offset the regulatory, emissions and mileage mix.

Eg. - new FF, plan on seeing a V12 version, and a V8TT version.