Ferrari’s $500,000, 800-horsepower 12Cilindri imagines a world without EVs

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A golden light tears past the ripe pastures of Luxembourg, flying low over the roads and leaving in its wake the sharp metallic gnashing of a 12-cylinder engine. Only grazing cows seem unbothered by the spectacle; pretty much everyone else turns to look at Ferrari’s new $554,439 flagship grand tourer, the 12Cilindri.

It’s an anachronism in the age of battery-powered SUVs and plug-in hybrid hypercars. Those at least pay lip service to the climate catastrophe. This Ferrari, however, is propelled the old-fashioned way, by nothing other than 12 cylinders of combustible air and fuel, just like the 12Cilindri’s predecessor, and that car’s predecessor, and the very first Ferrari from 1947.

Ferrari has made plug-in hybrids, and its first EV is due next year, but what you’re looking at here is primordial Ferrari, unbowed by time or trends or any modern sense of propriety or responsibility. Depending on whom you ask, that’s either awful or wonderful.

“It’s a car that goes against today’s trends,” said Jacopo Marcon, Ferrari’s product marketing manager for the 12Cilindri. “With this model we’re keeping our purist tradition alive, addressing those clients for whom Ferrari means the most,” he added.

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The name 12Cilindri is on-the-nose even by Ferrari standards. (This is the company that brought us cars called Superfast and TheFerrari.) Pronounced properly, 12Cilindri is dod-EE-chuh chil-IN-dree, but everyone who isn’t Italian seems to stumble over the mess of consonants, so I’d suggest going with the technically incorrect but less embarrassing 12 Cylinder.

Whatever you call it, it’s a spectacular thing to drive. On Luxembourg’s narrow country roads, still wet and greasy from rain the night before, the Ferrari moves at warp speed past farm equipment and tiny hatchbacks towing improbably large camper trailers. There’s always a brief nervous clench as the car’s wide haunches pass within inches of slower-moving vehicles, but then there’s space to see what 12 cylinders can do.

All 819-horsepower arrive in an ear-splitting crescendo. Power builds gradually; it’s the opposite of the everything-all-at-once power delivery of electric vehicles. Fourth gear – there are eight in the revised dual-clutch automatic gearbox – is good for just over 200 kilometres an hour, a speed at which the roadside trees would feel uncomfortably close and your license would be in mortal danger. Ferrari claims it’ll do 340 kilometres an hour, but you’ll have to take their word for that.

Trying to put all 819 horsepower through the two rear tires on these wet roads is hopeless. Doing so only lights up the traction control and thank goodness for that. Without it, there’d surely be a half-dozen 12Cilindris littered across the roadside ditches of Luxembourg by now.

Instead, this car’s finely tuned chassis and clever electronics combine to make even the most average driver feel like they might have a shot at taking Charles Leclerc’s seat in Ferrari’s Formula 1 car next year. That, more than anything else, is the magic of a modern Ferrari; its cars can make any driver’s power fantasy come true in a way other cars simply can’t. In that way, the 12Cilindri is like its predecessor, the 812 Superfast, only better: more flattering without being too easy, more exciting but still safe.

The engineering work that makes this all possible is a story unto itself, but I’ll spare you too many details. Mainly, it’s the slightly shorter wheelbase than the 812 in combination with a new independent rear-wheel steering system (first seen on the 812 Competizione) that makes the 12Cilindri feel freakishly light and agile. It darts like a dog chasing a hare from left to right and back again through S-shaped turns. The steering feels as if it’s reading your mind. As usual on modern Ferraris, the ride is much more comfortable than you’d expect given the sharp handling.

Complaints? This feels silly, but okay, sure. The touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel can be finicky, and the overall interior design doesn’t move the game forward like the exterior design does. Sadly, the 12Cilindri doesn’t have quite the same spine-tingling V12 Formula 1 car howl as the 812, probably because of a new heavy-duty exhaust system; it’s the car’s only concession to global emissions standards. Nevertheless, drivers are still treated to a multifaceted mechanical symphony. As the engine spins to its sky-high 9,500 revolutions-per-minute limiter, it’s like listening to an orchestra tune up, at first chaotic and dissonant, then harmonic and all-encompassing. As wild as this may sound to some, that V12 howl is a big reason why Ferrari’s diehard customers will pay half a million dollars for this car, despite the fact there are plenty of silent EVs that go quicker from zero to 100 kilometres an hour. (It takes 2.9 seconds for the Ferrari to do that sprint, in case you were curious.)

While the V12 is decidedly old school in the age of battery power, the car’s design is resolutely forward-looking. I think it’s the best-looking front-engined Ferrari since the 550 Maranello of 1996. Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s chief design officer, said the design was inspired by the late Syd Mead’s sci-fi illustrations and 1970s futurism. (See also the 1968 Ferrari Daytona and 1970 Ferrari Modulo concept.)

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Here, painted a colour that could be described as chemical-gold-spray-tan metallic and seen amid the medieval castles and quaint villages of Luxembourg, the 12Cilindri might as well be a UFO.

And, like a UFO, some people thought this Ferrari might not exist. Given tightening emissions regulations, it seemed like the 812 Superfast could have been the last pure V12 Ferrari. After all, Lamborghini, McLaren and Aston Martin have adopted fuel-efficient hybrid systems and/or turbochargers in their flagship production cars, and mainstream automakers made that same switch long ago. Surely Ferrari would do the same?

Ha. No.

For drivers with the deepest pockets, it’s almost like emissions regulations don’t apply. Ferrari – as well as a handful of multimillion-dollar cars from Bugatti, Gordon Murray Automotive and others – still cater to a desire for pure unadulterated combustion-engine power. For them, this is the good stuff, and if you want it, you’ve got to pay.

For everyone else, take some small solace from the fact there will be so few of these cars on their road, their climate impact will be minuscule.

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The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.

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