What's all this about?
It's the latest insane road-car-come-track-vehicle from Ferrari. It's called the F12tdf and those letters stand for Tour de France.
Er... the bike race?
No, the lesser-known road competition that Maranello dominated in the 1950s and '60s, never more so than when the 1956 250 GT Berlinetta, which won four consecutive annual editions on the trot.
So is this just bodywork?
Er... the bike race?
Not at all, although every single body panel on the F12 has been modified for the tdf. It has twice the aerodynamic efficiency and 30 per cent more outright downforce than the F12 Berlinetta, thanks to a scooped and aggressive front bumper (complete with dive planes, floor wings and louvres), a redesigned 'Aerobridge' on the front flanks (now sporting bare carbon fibre) and a rear end that even has a different rake rear window and a 60mm longer, 30mm higher spoiler to push the car further into the road surface. Those vents above the rear wheels even suck air out of the arches to help the F12's aero capabilities.
And how about the cabin?
It's a lesson in stripped back minimalism, dominated by carbon fibre door cards and instrument surrounds, Alcantara-clad seats, a glovebox superseded by some 'knee padding' and a lack of floor mats - instead replaced by patterned aluminium - to help shave more grams from the tdf's kerb weight.
What does it weigh, incidentally?
A full 110kg lighter than the 1,630kg Berlinetta, and you can push that number even lower with the choice of some featherweight cost options: the minimum dry weight of an F12tdf can be as scanty as 1,415kg. Such weight is distributed 46:54 front-to-rear.
I take it that the weight reduction improves performance?
Yes, it does, although Ferrari still saw fit to give the 6.3-litre normally aspirated V12 some race-inspired mechanical tappets and variable geometry intake trumpets to boost its outputs. With an extra 40hp and 15Nm, the tdf's headline figures are now a faintly scandalous 780hp at 8,500rpm, with 705Nm of torque from 6,750rpm. Fully 80 per cent of that torque is on tap from just 2,500rpm, while the redline is a lofty 8,900rpm.
And the performance data?
Shockingly quick. Wider front tyres (275-section, instead of 255), a 'Virtual Short Wheelbase' (Ferrari-speak for rear-wheel steering) and an F1 DCT transmission that has six per cent shorter ratios than before all combine with the lower weight and mental V12 to result in these jaw-dropping numbers: 0-62mph takes 2.9 seconds; 0-124mph just 7.9 seconds; the tdf laps Fiorano in 1m 21s, faster than anything road-based bar the LaFerrari hypercar; and its top speed is 'in excess of' 211mph. It's not just fast at acceleration, either, as Extreme Design one-piece brakes stop the F12tdf from 62mph in an impressive 30.5 metres, while 124-0mph is dealt with in 121m of internal organ-damaging deceleration.
How is it on fuel?
Are you serious?! You are? Grief. OK, it can return 18.3mpg and emits 360g/km CO2. Happy now?
Not really. How much does all this cost?
No word as yet, but as it is a thoroughly redeveloped limited edition (just 799 tdf F12s will be built) with even more power, expect it to comfortably surpass the £240,000 ticket of a 'regular' Berlinetta.
Matt Robinson - 15 Oct 2015
