AT FERRARI, WE LIKE TO SURPRISE,' SAYS 'A marketing boss Enrico Galliera at the unveiling of Maranello's latest supercar, the 12Cilindri. But how much of a surprise can this be? We know there's a V12-engined two-seat GT - the replacement for the 812 Superfast - lurking under the red silk cover before us, but as it's pulled off, there are gasps in the room. The car beneath looks like a Daytona. Not the modern Icona-series SP3, but an original, plexiglass 365 GTB/4 with its visor-style headlights and vented clamshell bonnet.
Ferrari doesn't usually do retro, and this isn't what we were expecting.
It feels like we've been predicting the death of big, naturally aspirated V12s for a decade, but noise and emissions regulations haven't swallowed them up just yet. Ferrari knows just how much customers love their 12-cylinder cars (the Purosangue is sold out for years), so it's jumping through all the necessary legislative hoops to keep them alive and in the case of the new, €395,000 (c£340,000) 12Cilindri, make them faster, more exciting and even more dramatic.
Charles Leclerc apparently thought the 12Cilindri was an Icona-series model when he first set eyes on it, and it's hard to spot any resemblance to the 812 - the new car even has a 20mm shorter wheelbase thanks to a redesigned aluminium chassis. According to Ferrari engineers, the goal has been to blend some of the aggression of the 812 Competizione with the GT qualities of the Superfast, made possible by overhauled chassis and software systems throughout the car. The 6.5-litre V12, meanwhile, now generates a Competizione-matching 819bhp and revs to an astonishing 9500rpm.
Perhaps the only thing a little underwhelming about the 12Cilindri is the name. Ferrari insists that it should be spoken as 'dodici cilindri', but we'd bet that unless you're Italian, you'll know it as the 'Ferrari twelve cylinder'. An ordinary name for what could be a truly extraordinary car.
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BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
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