With Ferrari fans truly treated to a show of note at this year’s Geneva Motor Show last month, speculation is already emerging about what the stable of the prancing horse will have in store for us at next year’s event. It is anticipated that the debut of the car to replace the Enzo will take centre stage.
The revelation that was the F12 Berlinetta at the International Motor Show in Switzerland this March was a fantastic feast. Now, all motoring minds are beginning to ponder what could be next. Conjecture commonly held is that the car could be called the F70, to follow the precedent set by the F40 and F50.
Rumour has it that the ambition of this mid-engined rear-wheel drive supercar is to be faster than the Bugatti Veyron, in both sprint and top-line speed. In order to achieve this, it will have to display more impressive credentials than the Veyron’s acceleration to 62 mph in just 2.46 seconds. The power unit required to reach this phenomenal performance with just its rear-wheel drive format is now thought to be provided in the form of the same 6.3 litre V12 that drives the F12 and FF.
This supersedes the earlier supposition that horsepower would come from the direct-injection of a turbocharged V8. Now the F12’s engine is likely to be subject to some performance-enhancing development of the legitimate kind in order to deliver an expected 800 hp. This should certainly help the F70 to achieve its ambition.
In addition, the car is expected to feature Kinetic Energy Recovery System, or KERS as more commonly known. This should partner with a 120 hp electric motor to allow the F70 to be Ferrari’s first production hybrid. Not only does this mean zero emission under light load, but the net power output increases to 920 hp.
The thoughts are that the F70 should weigh about 2550 lbs. A carbon fibre body and aluminium chassis should allow this target to be met.
Not surprisingly, the gossip mill predicts that the purchase price of the F70 will not be less than the £450,000 it currently takes to buy an Enzo.
Educated guesses envisage that this will be a limited edition, with a production run in the hundreds.
Design expectations are still subject to intense speculation and rendered images are currently the only visuals available. We can expect clearer pictures to be available later this year, as preferred and existing customers get the privileged glimpses of the new car, available for pre-release order. What is known is that we can expect the car to be trademark-amazing.