Daytona is back! Hi-tech fossil Ferrari has 12 cylinders without turbo or electricity

V12 engines are an endangered species. Recently, car companies have been giving them up at the expense of downsizing and electrification. In Maranello, they are also preparing for the electric era, but now they have just presented a hi-tech car in a classic hardcore concept that will be appreciated by all traditionalists.

Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s chief designer explains it: “We wanted to create a car that respected our tradition, but we also wanted to create something that was very modern.”

For Enzo Ferrari, the twelve-cylinder engine, preferably at the front under the long hood, was a characteristic feature of his sports cars. At the end of the 1940s, he designed the first Ferrari 125, and over the decades, the legendary 250, 330, 550 Maranello and Ferrari 812 Superfast models carried the baton of this classic layout. The Italians have now built a classic for the 21st century according to the same recipe, which bears the simple but all-encompassing designation 12Cilindri (Dodici Cilindri) – Twelve-cylinder.

As with the legendary Daytona, you can also choose between a coupe and an open version of the Spider. The body of the novelty is 4.73 meters long, 2.18 meters wide and 1.29 meters high. The wheelbase is a full 2.70 meters long, i.e. two centimeters less than its predecessor.

Under the front hood, the new product from Maranell has a high-revving, large-capacity atmospheric V12 engine, which was adapted from the 812 Competizione model. The unit codenamed F140HD has its origins in the engine that powered the Ferrari Enzo. It is the most powerful naturally aspirated production Ferrari engine in history.

It has a power of 830 hp and a torque of 678 Nm, 80% of which is available at 2,500 rpm. Unsurprisingly, the highlight of the show happens at the very top, as the red zone tops out at 9,500rpm. Thanks to the use of titanium connecting rods, which reduce the rotating mass by 40%, the engine revs up very willingly.

For the first time, it was connected to an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which reduces shift times by almost a third. The result is acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds, less than the 7.9 seconds needed to reach 200 km/h and a top speed of over 340 km/h. The Spider does it just a little bit slower – in 2.95 seconds and 8.2 seconds. Compared to the 1,560 kg coupe, it is 60 kg heavier. The designers achieved an almost even weight distribution (48.3/51.7).