The roaring soundtrack of a V12
accompanies the red flash that rolls up and down the hills in the pouring rain.
It’s the latest expression of speed by the prancing horse – pushing automotive
technology to levels never seen before…
A video has been receiving thousands of
clicks off late – it shows Kimi Raikkonen, the quite effusive Formula 1 driver,
driving a LaFerrari on the Fiorano circuit. It’s only a few minutes long, but
just enough to get a glimpse of how (or perhaps how fast) this car goes. Press
the accelerator, and flames emit from the exhaust pipes, as the sacrificed
tyres howl in protest. The car dashes out onto the straight leading to the
pits. The Finnish driver never exaggerates with words, but with cars it’s
another story. He runs too deep and gets on the power too early, he corrects
the oversteer, but the car snaps the other way and then spins across the track
and onto the grass. End of video!
The
LaFerrari is very possibly the world’s fastest, most exciting hypercar
We had been invited to Maranelllo, the only
magazine in Italy, to drive the latest distillation of speed by the Cavallino –
so we clicked on that video more than once it has to be said. Eventually, we
shut it off in awe and relief. We watched in awe, because the clamorous
360-degree spin by Ferrari’s official F1 driver is a demonstration that
1,000bhp (963 to be precise) should never be underestimated. On the other hand,
we were relieved, because, if Ferrari’s official driver can spin, then we can
too – without losing our dignity. So, finally, here we were at the Fiorano
track. It’s raining, actually it’s pouring with rain. We’ve been waiting for
months to sit in the most yearned for car over the past few months, and the
only chance for us to have a shot at driving it is in a downpour. Needless to
say, the track is flooded. My fear factor goes up. The svelte red car is
patiently waiting for me in the pits – gorgeous, as a range-topping model
should be. It’s the successor to the cars that have turned Ferrari into a myth
– the 288 GTO, F40, F50, and the Enzo. A supercar – actually, the ultimate
supercar, or even more than that. The LaFerrari goes beyond the prosy concept
of a high performing and madly priced ‘exclusive car.’ Rather, it’s a rolling
showcase of the latest integrated technology, representing the state-of-the-art
in Ferrari’s technical know-how, including that of the company’s Formula 1
engineers. And it’s no small talk, simply meant to exaggerate or to rouse the
spirits of the Cavallino fans, it’s meant to lay the benchmark with which all
other cars will be compared.
The
cabin of LaFerrari is smaller than you might anticipate
A prototype of the best
From the point of view of engineering, the
LaFerrari combines a mid-mounted V12 engine (a rather typical choice in
Maranello’s history, at least in its flagship cars) with a plethora of
solutions borrowed from the racing team – from the aerodynamics (active and
passive), to the Hy-Kers hybrid system, to the V12. Technically speaking, it is
a hybrid car – not to improve its green credentials though, but to make an
already fast car even faster. The 6.3-litre 800bhp (@9,000rpm) naturally
aspirated V12 comes together with a 60kg battery pack that, through a 25.7kg
electric motor, adds punch to the petrol engine and develops an additional
163bhp.
Drivers
can configure the TFT display to show a range of information
Unlike similar machines (such as the
Porsche 918 and the McLaren P1), the LaFerrari does not have an all-electric
mode. According to one of the engineers, “Why in the world would you press a
button to deprive yourself of the sensational soundtrack of the V12?” The
hybrid solution (the whole system weighs only 146kgs) was adopted to add
sensational power, and not to make the world a greener place. Hence, the
electric engine is there to provide immediate feedback once the accelerator is
pressed, rather than to lower carbon dioxide emissions.
