Ferrari F12berlinetta, one of the fastest road cars produced by the legendary Italian supercar maker, has officially debuted in Malaysia with a spectacular launch event held by NAZA Italia Sdn Bhd in Zebra Square, Kuala Lumpur. The launch ceremony was attended by Mr. Giuseppe Cattaneo, Head Far East-Ferrari Asia Pacific Other Countries, Mr. Simon Inglefield, Head of Sales for the ASEAN Market–Ferrari Asia Pacific Other Countries, Datuk Wira SM Faisal Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin, Joint Group Executive Chairman of the NAZA Group of Companies and Datuk Maruan Mohd Said, Senior Vice President, 4 Wheels, NAZA Motor Group.
“This is one of the fastest road-going Ferrari cars available to the Malaysian market. Hallmarks of Ferrari’s DNA are reflected in the F12berlinetta’s harmonious marriage of technology and aesthetics – making it a potent and sophisticated model that significantly raises the benchmark for supercars,” said Datuk Wira SM Faisal Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin.
The F12berlinetta is one of the most powerful and high-performance road-going supercars ever offered by the Prancing Horse, second only to the recently built LaFerrari (unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show 2013). The F12berlinetta effortlessly marries extreme performance with benchmark efficiency and Italian flair. It’s also the first in a new generation of Ferrari V12s that have reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by an impressive 30 percent – a result achieved through extensive research and development which focused on efficiencies of the whole vehicle: engine, aerodynamics, tyres and weight.
Ferrari’s engineers rose to the challenge of creating a front mid-engine car with blazing speed that was still able to offer the same driving pleasure and involvement at lower speeds. Sporting a new 740hp (730bhp) mid-front V12 engine that delivers 690 Nm of torque (80% of which is readily available at 2500rpm), the F12berlinetta is built around highly evolved transaxle architecture that has been revolutionised to match the car’s more extreme performance and features state-of-the-art components and control systems.
Its engine, dashboard and seats have both been lowered, the wheelbase is shorter and a new suspension and gearbox layout have enabled a more compact rear. The outcome is a lower, narrower and shorter vehicle than its predecessor and, coupled with a chassis constructed from 12 different alloys of aluminium (some of which are being used for the first time in the automotive sector), the F12berlinetta is 70kg lighter with an increase of 20 percent in torsional rigidity. Beautifully balanced, this supercar boasts ideal weight distribution of 54 percent over the rear axle as well as a lower centre of gravity pulled further back in the chassis.
The F12berlinetta has set a lap time of just 1’23’’ at Fiorano and covers 0-100 km/h in 3.1 seconds and 0-200km/h in 8.5 seconds. Its aerodynamics have been honed to the extreme, developed in harmony with its styling and discreetly integrated with a host of innovative solutions to provide an avant-garde design that redefines classic Ferrari themes. Among these are the Aero Bridge, which, in a first, uses the car’s bonnet to create downforce, and Active Brake Cooling, a system that opens guide vanes to the brake cooling ducts – kicking in at high operating temperatures. The result is that the F12berlinetta is one of the most aerodynamically efficient Ferraris ever made (a figure of 1.12 – double that of the 599 GTB Fiorano) with a Cd of just 0.299 and downforce of 123 kg at 200 km/h.
The product of the collaboration between the Ferrari Styling Centre and Pininfarina, the F12berlinetta’s design centres on the car’s remarkable balance of aerodynamic efficiency and elegant proportions. Adorned with sleek, powerfully sculpted lines, its innovative style features elements typical of Ferrari 12-cylinder styling cues. The F12berlinetta sports a cutting-edge cabin design that is understated yet still very sophisticated and offers a superb standard of occupant space and overall comfort despite its compact exterior dimensions. There are also two new colours developed only for this model – Rosso Berlinetta and Aluminium.
The base price for Ferrari F12berlinetta is RM 1,288,800.00. “NAZA Italia expects to sell a minimum of 10 units this year and with 20 bookings already made, we are confident that this model will be a favourite among Ferraristi in Malaysia,” said Datuk Wira SM Faisal.
