Recently, there was a massive amount of hype over a new model Ferrari was releasing. This car seemed to be a very different Ferrari, having all wheel drive, and, judging from the “spy shots” released by Ferrari themselves, this car seemed like it could easily compete in rally races. However, that’s all well and good as long as the car stays as a concept. After all, one could claim that although their prototype was only capable of doing 110 mph, the production version can reach the speed of light! However, the concept of this car seemed to be almost identical to the production version, and that in itself was impressive. Not only that, but the car looked astonishing. Possibly slightly inspired off the BMW Z4 coupe, Pininfarina managed to pack all the styling perfections of both the Ferrari and the BMW into one exceptional looking automobile.  

The beast dwelling within is a front mounted 6.3 liter naturally aspirated V12 making gobs of power and torque (651 hp and 504 ft.-lb). More screaming than revving, this engine goes up to 8,000 rpm, and with power being transmitted to all four wheels, one can only imagine the pushed-back-in-the-seat feeling of that huge rpm range.

With great power, comes great responsibility, so in order to handle the sportiness of everything about the car, Ferrari bolted on their 7 speed dual clutch semi automatic paddle shifting transmission. Now, this may seem high-tech and fancy, but to a true enthusiast, that transmission means one thing and one thing only, you cannot get the car in a true manual transmission. This is unsurprising, as manuals are being phased out of most cars, especially supercars, but that isn’t to say that this is still depressing news. This therefore, marks my one and only downside about this car. It may only be one downside, but a car uses its transmission at almost all times, and because of this, I for one can say that I would not buy this car.

The Ferrari FF replaces the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and as such will replace an era. Despite this, I say change is good, and I am awaiting the ability to see how this car does, both from the driver perspective, and the magazine reviews. Things to look for in the future definitely include the wear on the car, with Ferrari having its first ever production all wheel drive car, kinks may still need to be worked out. Also, one should see how the shooting-brake style styling will play out in future Ferrari productions, and how this may affect people’s view on the company.

Ferrari has made what seems to be a promising car, especially as an entirely new approach to motoring for the brand. Unfortunately, the car has made such a big initial impact, that the rebound from this initial hype has made the car seem almost insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Ferrari may enter this car into some races to increase its popularity, but until then, the FF seems almost to be a publicity stunt. One can only hope and dream of this car making a bigger impact on the brand, however, until that day, it can be said that the Ferrari FF will not make splash a unless it is forced to do so.

-Christian