Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Or like Jeremy Clarkson will probably describe it whenever he reviews it: The most powerful production Ferrari ... in the world!

When the ruling word over car engineering is "eco", it is weird to see an announcement for a brand new V12 engine, the most powerful Ferrari engine ever. Weird and exciting for petrolheads all over the world. Yesterday it was at last unveiled, not only the engine, but also the car that will benefit from it's extreme performance.
Here it is, and it's a gem.

This sexy beast boasts 740 horse power and a blistering acceleration, from 0 to 200 km/h in 8.5 seconds, the same amount of time that quick production cars take to reach the 100 mark. Very, very quick. But that's not all, as expected, it comes fully equipped with all sorts of technologies that will make it perform well in the corners: magnetorheological damping system (a type of suspension controlled by electromagnets), electronic differential, an F1-style gearbox, and all the input from their Formula 1 drivers during it's development.

But what took everyone by surprise is certainly the big, powerful engine that powers this car. When the whole world talks about hybrids, even in Formula 1, which is going to reduce the size of the engines soon and add a turbocharger to make them more efficient, Ferrari goes the other way and shows us they're still mad and Italian and we love them for it.

The body of the vehicle was designed to be very efficient aerodynamically. For instance it scoops air from the bonnet and redirects it through vents to the side of the body, which in turn channels it towards the back, where it will blow in the unseen spoiler, generating downforce. The bottom of the car is completely flat, to improve performance, and the brake ducts open and close automatically, to efficiently cool the high performance carbon ceramic brakes with as little air as possible, reducing drag caused by the cooling duct.

All of this and more make it one of the most exciting cars to be launched this year, and while probably none of us will get to drive one, it still makes me feel good we can achieve such high performing and beautiful machines. Can't wait to see our favorite grumpy old man Clarkson testing it.