Rumor has it, Ferrari is so excited about the V12 under the hood of its next grand tourer that it will name the car after it
- Ferrari will unveil its new V12-powered front-engine grand tourer on May 3rd, 2024.
- Rumors suggest the car will be named “12 Cilindri”, which is Italian for “12 Cylinders”.
- The automaker prioritized the emotional appeal of the V12 over outright performance with a potential V8 option being rejected.
Ferrari is set to unveil its latest front-engine grand tourer tomorrow, and it’s been building up anticipation by highlighting the emotional appeal of the V12 engine under the hood. Rumors indicate Ferrari will name the car directly after the number of cylinders, adopting the “12 Cilindri” nameplate.
So far, we’ve only referred to the car as the replacement to the 812, or by its internal code name – F167- but Ferrari fans on the internet have started referring to it by another name: 12 Cilindri — which in Italian would be pronounced Dodici Cilindri — and 12 Cilindri Spider, for the convertible version.
Read: Ferrari Teases New V12 Supercar That Likely Replaces The 812
The rumor came from a user called STEVEC, who posted about the name on the Autopareri forum. The user claims that they first learned about the name from photographer Ilias Abawi on Instagram, but it’s not really clear where they got the information from, so a big grain of salt should be taken with this information.
It’s no secret that Ferrari is excited about the engine, and its latest teaser, released just hours ago, features Enzo Ferrari himself waxing poetic about V12s, saying that an Austrian composer once told him that “listening to your 12-cylinder brings forth harmony that no maestro will ever be able to interpret.”
Moreover, the company is staking the success of the “12 Cilindri” on the engine. Autocar reports that Ferrari’s head of design, Flavio Manzoni, said that the automaker had fought for a V12, even though a V8 turbo could have outperformed it. However, he said that “from an emotional point of view, [a 12-cyldiner] is the best you can have.”
In an era of shrinking engines and cylinder counts, it makes sense that Ferrari would be eager to highlight the V12 under the hood of its latest grand tourer. After all, V12 engines have always been closely tied to the automaker’s rich history.
Just how much power the engine will churn out remains to be seen. The most powerful Ferrari V12 model with number plates, the 812 Competizione, makes 818 hp (610 kW / 829 PS) and 695 Nm (513 lb-ft) of torque, and we would expect the “12 Cilindri” to make more than that. So far, there is no indication that the engine will be electrified like some of its direct rivals, like the Lamborghini Revuelto.
To find out exactly how much power the new grand tourer makes and what it’s officially named, check in with us tomorrow, when Ferrari will reveal its new model to the world.