GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Ferrari power

Displayed alongside the shooting brake-style AWD FF and the 458 Spider is a substantial update to the company’s entry-level model, the California HS and the all-new V12-engined F12 Berlinetta. Due in local showrooms late 2012, the HS, an update to Ferrari’s first folding tintop, sees improvements to the California’s aluminium chassis paring a useful 30kg off its overall weight, while an engine tweak gives it a 22kW power boost to 360kW.

The result is a slight improvement to performance, cutting the 0-100 km/h dash to 3.8 seconds. An optional Handling Speciale package further boosts responsiveness with magneto-rheological dampers controlled by a 50 per cent faster ECU, along with stiffer springs and a 10 per cent boost to the steering ratio.

The F12 Berlinetta, due in Australia in 2013, is the most powerful road-going Ferrari ever. Ushering in a new generation of V12 engines, the new car is smaller, lower-set and narrower than previous V12 models, shorter in the wheelbase and with the engine and cockpit lower bring its centre of gravity down and push it back. Helped by a new suspension and gearbox layout, the result is near perfect weight distribution, with 54 per cent of its mass over the rear axle.

Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo gave his keynote speech at the Geneva Motor Show, calling the new F12 Berlinetta "...the most powerful and high performance road car in the Ferrari history," and one that would certainly take the fight back to the Lamborghini Aventador."What is important also is to have fantastic drivability of the car, to put all the horsepower on the asphalt. We have worked a lot in the wind tunnel to develop an extreme aerodynamic system and a very innovative design, but maintaining an important link with the Ferrari of the past," added Montezemolo.

"Innovation means something in our blood, so new aluminium technology, less weight, more stiffness, two new colours Rosso Berlinetta and Aluminium -- this is a brand new car that is a very complimentary car to the FF to complete the 12 cylinder range of products," said the Italian.

An all-new spaceframe chassis and bodyshell marks the first ever use of some new alloy materials, assembly and joining technologies, boosting torsional rigidity by 20 per cent over current models while keeping overall weight to 1525kg. That makes for a power-to-weight ratio of 160kW per litre from the new 6.2-litre direct-injection V12 engine, which delivers 545kW at 8250rpm before redlining at 8700rpm.

While it takes 6000rpm to reach its peak 690Nm of torque, 80 per cent of that is available from just 2500rpm.

Ferrari claims these are record-breaking output figures for such a mill, with 0-100km/h coming up in 3.1 seconds, 0-200 in 8.5 and all while boosting its predecessors’ fuel efficiency by 30 per cent. It claims combined cycle consumption of 15L/100km with 350g/km CO2 emissions.

Aerodynamics have received sufficient attention to bring the car’s Cd down to 0.299.

Stopping it all shouldn’t be a problem, either, with the F12berlinetta decked out with state-of-the-art CCM3 carbon-ceramic brakes, magneto-rheological suspension and slew of advanced vehicle control electronics – extending to E-diff and ESP with F1-style traction control and high-performance ABS – integrated in a single CPU.

They say it even has a decent boot.

The company counts the F12berlinetta as the pinnacle achievement in its strategy to keep boosting power outputs alongside fuel efficiency with massive investment in R&D covering every facet of its product range. The process has brought fuel consumption and emissions down by 30 per cent in just a few years.

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