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Ferrari unwraps radical new F12 TdF

The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta has never been in need of a performance boost, but Maranello has given it one just the same. Feast your eyes on the new F12 TdF. The latest Prancing Horse recalls the legendary Tour de France (for automobiles, not bicycles) that Ferrari dominated nine years running from 1956 through 1964 – and the elegant long-wheelbase 250 GT named in its honor. But the F12 TdF is much more about forward momentum than looking back. Power is up, weight is down, and everything's been tightened up, with new systems on board to keep it all together. For starters, the screaming 6.3-liter V12 from the existing F12 Berlinetta has been upgraded from 730 horsepower to 769. Torque has been increased from 509 pound-feet to 520. Although the engine will wail all the way up to 8,900 rpm, 80 percent of that torque is available as low as just 2,500 revs. Of course, Ferrari being Ferrari, it didn't just tinker with the engine and call it a day. It also returned the seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions to deliver upshifts 30 percent faster, downshifts 40 percent faster, and with ratios six percent shorter. The track is wider, the wheels larger, and the one-piece brakes are lifted out of the even more extreme LaFerrari. Ferrari has also fitted the TdF with a new Virtual Short Wheelbase system – Modenese for four-wheel steering – that sharpens turn-in, increases high-speed stability, and keeps the tail from spinning around to fast on the wider front tires. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As you can see, the bodywork has been substantially redone as well, to be both lighter and more aerodynamically efficient. As a result, the TdF produces 87 percent more downforce than the stock Berlinetta. And thanks to its more extensive use of carbon fiber – not to mention the stripped-out cabin – the whole thing weighs a good 240 pounds less. The result of all these enhancements, Ferrari says, is a 0-62 time of just 2.9 seconds. Keep the throttle pegged (as you would most certainly be tempted to do) and it'll reach 124 miles per hour after 7.9 seconds, topping out at over 211 mph. It's also been clocked around the company's private, on-site Fiorano test track in 1 minute and 21 seconds, which is a good two seconds faster than the Berlinetta or the 488 GTB – and barely more than a second adrift of LaFerrari, the fastest road car ever to lap the circuit.

1964 Ferrari 250 GTO sees Petrolicious embracing gorgeousness

We've never, ever accused Petrolicious of slacking when it comes to the quality of cars it features. Each week brings a new, exciting, rare vehicle that has some special quality or provenance to it. But this week's video... it's beyond everything else the series has ever done.
That's because it stars the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO, also known as (possibly) the most expensive vehicle ever sold. Only 36 were ever built, and this particular 1964 example was the first of the Series II range. Rather than some tinkerer or restorer behind the wheel of this masterpiece, Derek Hill, son of the first American Formula One World Champion, Phil Hill, is on hand for the interview and is slotted into the tight cockpit of the Rosso Corsa masterpiece.
This particular GTO was raced multiple times by Hill Sr., and it recorded wins at Daytona and Nassau, thanks in part to its 300-horsepower, 3.0-liter V12 engine. That makes it a bit special for the younger Hill, who can speak with some authority about this car's provenance - and wheel it rather well himself, as he's a fairly accomplished racer in his own right. Of course, if you're like us, you'll forget everything Hill says and will go completely slack-jawed as soon as that V12 starts to sing.

$64M Ferrari 250 GTO could be a fake

Remember that Ferrari 250 GTO that we reported on last week, supposedly listed on mobile.de for $64 million? Well, don't go putting down your deposit just yet, because it might be a fake.
According to noted Ferrari expert Marcel Massini, the vehicle listed on the German used-car website is a replica. "I can tell you that with 100 percent certainty," Massini told CNBC. "I know where all of these cars are today. And this is not one of the original GTOs."
Of course "replica" is a relative term when it comes to 250 GTOs. Other authentic classic Ferraris are sometimes rebodied to look like a GTO, but while they're not real GTOs, they are real Ferraris. We reported on such an "Evocazione" example (pictured above) based on a '65 Ferrari 330 GT a few years ago, around the same time that Matt Farah came across one based on a 365 GTB/4 Daytona alongside a Ford GT as well.