Although ‘F12tdf’ may look like a typo, it actually denotes a very special edition of the Ferrari F12. The ‘tdf’ stands for ‘Tour De France’ and is nothing to do with yellow jerseys, but instead a reference to the endurance road race run between 1899 and 1986 – a race in which Ferrari were effectively champions throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
The F12tdf is limited to just 799 units and seeks to put the Lamborghini Aventador SV in its place. Ferrari fans will recognise that it is an effective successor to the 599 GTO, and that this model has a few key differences to the standard F12. The car’s 6.3 litre V12 engine has been given a boost to a whopping 769bhp, and maximum power now arrives at 8,500 RPM. The gearbox has also been altered, and upshifts are now 30% faster, while downshifts are 40% faster.
The exterior has also been changed, with one specific purpose in mind: improving the aerodynamics. The F12 Tour De France has a huge splitter, ‘Aerobridge additions behind the front wheels‘, dive planes and floor wings. These improvements have made a huge difference – at 200 km/h the car generates 230kg of downforce, which is almost double of that produced by the regular F12. Another exterior change is the materials used, as many more elements of the car are now made from carbon fibre. This, and a few other weight-saving tricks, means that the car is 110kg lighter than the standard car.
As you can imagine, these changes mean the performance is significantly enhanced. Ferrari say that the car will do 0-62MPH in 2.9 seconds, and lap their Fiorano track in just 1 minute 21 seconds. This makes it only 1.3 seconds slower than the LaFerrari around the track!
All in all, it sounds like Ferrari have produced another fantastic car, as the 799 lucky people who snap up a model of this road-legal car will undoubtedly attest!