Getting serious about purchasing F12

Exactly what I am doing with the F12. Go for it.

You will not be faster on the track if you have a 991tts right now. But the sound and spectacle will be way more fun. And you have no 4wd that sucks.

If you drive in housewife mode aka Race on the Manettino it will eat brake pads rapidly. But you can switch to Pagids.

You can not have run flats on the track. Never heard of run flats for the F12. Just go with the MPSS.

I have the lifter and use it like 2 times a month. Does not hurt.

Race seats are very comfy, way to go.

You do not need to change suspension parts. Just use shims to go beyond -1 degree of chamber. If you are not doing high speed runs above 200mph I would try 2 degress of camber. PM me for a track alignment.

One word of warning. The F12 has enormous body roll. This gives you a lot of mechanical grip but feels very strange compared with a 911.

 

I would buy gently owned v. new and have a war chest for goodies with the savings.


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F12 is definitely quite the low key supercar - it helps more if its in a darker color (mine is blu pozzi). My nero daytona 458 draws a lot more attention than the F12 and is not as good a GT car as the F12. However, the F12 has a lower ground clearance than the 458. For me Lift is not a dealbreaker, but I would prefer it.

I have race seats on my 458 and daytonas on my F12 and find the race seats to be more supportive. If I were taking a long road trip I would feel more comfortable with the race seats. As far as track mods Novitec springs and you should be set.

IMO the F12 is the most all round that a supercar can get (well perhaps the FF is a better balance). It is definitely very fun and a beast when you want it to be, but a powerful cruiser as well for when you want it to be smooth

 

You will find varying opinions here on the body roll and if its too much or not. Maybe compared to the Turbo S it is higher, but it can also be viewed as exactly correct for the cars purpose. For me, as a quasi daily driver, the body roll is perfect and doesn't feel much different than the 458 I just came out of. Before getting the F12 I thought I would probably need to address it, but after the first drive I though that they got the springs just right.

If you get the F12 and after awhile you want something firmer you could go to the Novitec springs. There are some threads here on those, and some like that setup. Some report those have less roll and similar comfort.

 

If you lower the car with novitec springs u will reduce body roll.

 

As I have recently gone through a similar process which ultimately resulted in a purchase of 2014 Tour de France Blue F12 with around 3k miles on it I think it would be helpful if I shared my experience of the first few months of the ownership. As I am also coming from a Porsche background (991 GTS) my experience should be quite similar to what you can expect to achieve.

First, for me it is not a good replacement for a daily driver, at least in a big city with heavy traffic. It just does not feel right sitting in a traffic jam with V12 engine and moving at an average speed of 10 miles/hour in close and constant vicinity to cars on average costing 10x less than yours.

It's fuel consumption in city is stratospheric - not that it matters in terms of costs, but still it is roughly 2-2.5x of what a 991 drinks. Thus you become a much more frequent visitor to the local fuel pump which is OK but much less practical than in a Porsche.

Its driving behaviour even in Wet mode is rather anxious - the car feels like a cocked gun, you need to be really careful - both in terms of gas pedal sensitivity and in terms of steering lightness. You feel the V12 power even at idle - the car through all its noises, clicks and rumblings makes you know it is ready to fire at will. You eventually get used to it but it feels much more nervous than the Sport/Sport+ mode in Porsche. You have to overcome that anxiety and trust the car - in Porsche you just drive hard without any second thoughts and hesitations.

There is more body roll as already mentioned, it does not have an equivalent of PDCC so you feel the roll as it accelerates and as it turns. This is fine with me though as it makes the car feel more alive vs the Porsche's ultimate stillness under all circumstances.

Front lift is very useful to me as there are lots of underground car parks here with steep angles - otherwise ground clearance is fine as it is.

I have comfort seats so can't comment on race/daytona - comfort are fine with me though I feel Porsche's 18-ways to be a bit better.

I would never track it - do not know whether you can get insurance cover for the track-days, here it is impossible - so any track accident will be extremely costly. This is a question of overall net worth though - I feel fine tracking the Porsche as I am mentally ready to bear the cost of total loss - but I would feel very disappointed to crash the F12.

If funds and parking space allow, I would keep the 991 Turbo as a daily and have the F12 as a nice and exotic complement. The car needs wide open spaces to breathe, or at least a city where you can drive, not crawl. Only then you can really feel how extraordinary it really is.

 

My opinion after 20,000KM of driving. The car has a few annoying but easy to fix quirks.

1) If you have the carbon fiber side skirts they make an annoying rattle at high speeds inside the cabin which requires taping them to the underbody. Yes, using tape on a 300k+ car.

2) Water leaks into the inside of the trunk lid, about a 5minute fix.

3) The seatbelt buckle isn't covered in leather like on the 458 so it makes an extremely annoying noise when rubbing against the seat, requires custom alcantara or leather covers to fix.

4) GPS that freezes.

5) Yes there is body roll however the ride quality over poorer paved roads is much higher due to the softer suspension.

6) Abysmal gas mileage, going full out will drain the tank in 120-140 miles.

7) Some creaking develops in the interior after driving over bad roads.

8) Eats tires fast but that can be expected from 740hp.

9) You need to be careful with the strange coating they used on the front of the bumper it seems to come off easy.

10) The pedal angle isn't that comfortable for me.

11) Let's not kid ourselves, this is a heavy car.

12) It requires empty long twisty roads to fully enjoy and these have become more and more elusive.

Agreed with above poster that the car kind of feels nervous until you get used to it. The front also sits low so you have to be careful, very easy to scrap the plastic panels underneath but luckily they are meant to be trashed and easily replaced.

Positives:

Best exhaust note out of any car currently in production and probably the most refined engine note ever produced by a Ferrari(excluding some 60's era v12s). The entire rev range sounds good, unlike the 458 which only sounds nice in the top 2000rpm. This automatically makes it one of the best notes ever produced.

Outrageously responsive engine, absolutely does not feel like a large displacement motor.

Large trunk space, very nice if you like long road trips.

Probably the best drive-train combo ever in a sports car.

Very elegant styling. Incredible road presence without being ostentatious. My issue with the TDF iteration is it looks like a bad body kit. I like aerodynamics but I don't want to see them. The aesthetic appeal of any car should be the shape of the body without distractions.

Roomy interior that feels and smells expensive.

Has a more 'mature' stance than the toy-like 458.

It has the cocked gun feel that the above poster brought up. It seems to have an urge to rev at all times. The powerband is incredible without being violent. You forget that this is a 6.3l because of how easy revs climb

For me a pure Ferrari is the front long nose v12 and this is the best iteration of that since the 60's hands down.

 

As a 550-owner, I can not comment precisely but I read with great interest about what the other guys write here from their experiences... I have driven the F12 and of course a lot with my 550 which is the dinosaur-version of the F12. It is as simple as this: It is a dream machine that if you can afford, -is a must have! And buy it to keep it for a long time. With that philosophy, small "problems" are not really problems, they are just part of the game. The elegance of these long nose V12 two seaters, are just perfect. Same performance as an Aventador, but a totally much less mentally demanding car which you can live with. Quite practical too. It looks great in all colors. Dark colors "hide" many air in and outlets. I think silver would also be extremely classy and strengthen its performance look. Keep us posted. Your business sale will give a great reward with a V12 front engined Ferrari. The 458 is very beautiful and fast, but I could never live with one. It's show off and not functional for other than tracks in my opinion. And at low rews sound like a four cylinder Alfa Romeo, while the V12 is a sophisticated rase animal, a very thirsty one that is.... 👍

 

I love the cocked gun analogy. Thats why I love this car.

 

I like the fact that the OP makes no mention of either depreciation or the cost of ownership. Just asks how much fun and rewarding it would be to drive in both long trips and at the track. You are the ideal new-comer to Ferrari. The F12 will blow you away in every aspect of ownership. It is everything the above have remarked. The sound and speed and beauty are unmatched in the lineup. I think your wife will favor it over the Porsche. I do have the springs and there is zero roll and very comfortable ride. I don't track cars though. Would you really take it through a car wash? Ferrari paint is very soft. Get it detailed instead. Good luck.

 

I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not but every single F12 for sale includes pre-paid maintenance for seven years from the original date of sale. If you're looking for a subdued color I've got the perfect car, it's a Grigio Ferro 2013 that I sold new. I just took it in trade for a new tdf and the car is absolutely flawless! It had a $424k MSRP and I've got it priced at $294k including CPO. I'm 100% positive you won't find a cleaner, better kept F12 than this example. Feel free to contact me if it might interest you.
Derek

 

Luckily i have not yet had any of the negatives listed above (other than noisy seatbelt buckle and gas mileage). However, i am enjoying every one of those positives. Great writeup. Good luck with the sale and purchase. You definitely won't regret buying this car.

 

piling on with a few thoughts (have owned/driven/tracked a 458 and F12)

1) the FoD car sounds like one to evaluate

2) on track, you just need to be conscious that the engine in this car is astonishing. You'll need to fully respect the car on corner exits, as while the brakes, suspension and tires are great, the speeds you will find yourself at can easily exceed what the brakes and grip can do....plus it will eat tires and brakes (yes, it's heavy). Also, just a caution, if you dial the car in for track use, you will want to dial it back out for street use.

3) the F12 is docile enough to use as a DD, and it's well mannered in traffic. However, it just sort of sucks using the car for that application...as said above.

4) we have had race seats in every car we've owned other than the FF. We find them very comfortable for long drives (we've done many 5-6-7 hour days). However, different people fit different ways. And, seems race seats in F12's seem to be somewhat rare.

5) no Ferrari is low key, but the F12 is lower key....until you start the engine or accelerate away

6) we too experienced the deck leaks, GPS/Radio freeze, et al. Most dealers can proactively address that upfront now (new software)

 

Thank you. I recently emailed you the window sticker, build sheet, pics, etc.
Derek

 

Tires are cheap bud pads are not really cheap. Rotors are really expensive.

There are a couple of alternatives but you always end up with buying at least one set of Ferrari rotors to have the brake warning light go off when selling the car.

 

Just finished 3 weeks across Italy in mine. Absolutely the best car for the job. Have both race and comfort (wife) seats (swop them if wife comes along) and it was brilliant. She was very happy sitting for hours on end in the car. Fantastic on the AutoStrada (and AutoBahn) and fine in the small streets in Rome, Milan, Como etc.

Plenty boot space for big suitcase and loads of shopping. Greatest GT car IMO