Everything we know so far about the Ferrari 12 Cilindri

It will cost €395,000 and will be available in Europe in Q4 2024. While no official UK price has been provided, that equates to £338,093 at today's conversion rate, which is quite a leap from the £253,000 launch price of the 812 in 2017. 

And it is not the only car to be unveiled. For the first time in its history, Ferrari has also announced the open-top Spider version at the same moment, giving potential clients the option of wind-in-the-hair motoring at launch (usually, the drop-top variants arrive a couple of years after the coupé). 

The roofless version has the same performance figures but has a retractable hardtop which adds 60kg to the overall weight. The regular 12 Cilindri has a dry weight of 1,560kg, meaning the Spider tips the scales at 1,620 kg. As is the norm with any manufacturer, the open 12 Cilindri is also more expensive at €435,000, which converts to around £372,000. This is before adding any options. The brand expects orders to average below €500,000 (although presumably not by much). 

For the engine, Ferrari is using the latest generation of its F140HD V12, a block that was first developed for the Ferrari Enzo in 2002. It has since been used in every 12-cylinder Ferrari, including the 599, the LaFerrari, the Monza, 812 Superfast and most recently in the Purosangue. 

Yet it has become increasingly harder to ensure that a naturally-aspirated V12 passes the ever stricter emissions regulations around the world. This is the main reason why most other manufacturers have given up on the V12, along with increasing pressures to electrify product ranges. To pass the current Euro 6 emissions regulations, Ferrari has introduced an all-new exhaust system complete with a ceramic catalytic converter, which it said involved lengthy development and calibration. Time will tell if it softens the noise, but the engineers promise the signature "howl" associated with one of the firm's high-revving V12s is intact. 

A V12 engine powered Ferrari's first car, the 125S, which came out in 1947. Enzo preferred the configuration for its smoothness, balance and potential for greater power thanks to their usually larger displacements. He commissioned Gioachino Colombo to draw up the 125S' V12. The maverick frontman declared "the 12-cylinder will always be the original Ferrari car". 

Under Enzo's stewardship, some of the greatest cars in brand history featured variations on the Colombo V12. The 250 GTO, 250 Testarossa and 365 GTB/4 Daytona all had them, as well as various other models from 1947 through to 1989. The V12 is so closely tied to the marque through these cars and its multiple F1 championship-winning machines. It's why Ferrari is so keen on continuing the bloodline today, with its latest 6.5-litre V12. 

The 12 Cilindri continues to reference its past with its design. A sleeker, more elegant approach than we've seen in recent years, Ferrari says this car now sits in the middle of its range, representing the best of both performance and comfort. As such it develops on a design ethos first seen with the Roma of 2020, with a combination of "elegance, sportiness and modernity", according to chief design officer Flavio Manzoni. 

"Contemporary" and "modern" are words thrown around a lot in the design unveiling at the Ferrari factory in Maranello, two weeks before the official launch in Miami. Despite the brand's heritage, there is a fear of replicating anything from the past too closely. That said, Manzoni admits the front is a "homage to the 365 GTB4". He quickly follows up: "There is no kind of nostalgic approach to that, as you can see." 

The car's black sections provide an undoubted futuristic, almost concept-like look, particularly the rear wing-shaped roof section, which incorporates the two active aero rear wings. Manzoni and his team were going for a "space age, sci-fi" feel. 

This look is less obvious on the Spider, where one portion of the black roof section is replaced by two humps that cocoon the driver and passenger. 

Inside, it is Ferrari's most modern interior yet and is sadly now dominated by screens. There is a large central screen and a passenger item along with the driver's digital display. We'll continue to lament the classic analogue Ferrari rev counter. 

Launching another big new V12 doesn't mean Ferrari hasn't got one eye on sustainability. It has said it will unveil its first all-electric car in 2025. It's also interested in synthetic fuels. "There's a lot of talk about the subject," says Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's chief marketing and commercial officer. "We have a lot of interest in the subject because this will allow us to keep producing one segment that is very much appreciated by our clients. The biggest service for the Earth we can do is to develop this kind of fuel because it will allow us to keep driving all the cars that Ferrari has been producing in the last 77 years, reducing enormously the quantity of CO2 that is coming out of our cars. We are very much looking forward to the development of the technology, and we are collaborating with some of our partners on the subject."

As for the here and now, the 12 Cilindri is a truly impressive feat of engineering and design. Ferrari won't confirm whether this is its swansong for the V12, but it's hard to conceive Maranello producing many more iterations due to ever-tightening regulations. 

Whether you're one of the few who can afford a nearly half-a-million-pound car or not, Ferrari should be acknowledged for continuing to go where other manufacturers no longer dare.