IT’S not just those adorable cyclists you blast past in your company car each morning that celebrate the Tour de France, Ferrari is now celebrating the car race version with its new F12tdf Ferrari Tour de France.
Tour de France highlights
- Tour de France homage by Ferrari;
- 769bhp V12 accelerates to 124mph in 7.9secs;
- Top speed in excess of 211mph;
- Economy claimed at 18.34mpg and 360g/km CO2;
- Stripped down racer limited to just 799 models.
The Italian supercar manufacturer is paying homage to the legendary endurance road race that it dominated in the 1950s and ‘60s, particularly with the 1956 250 GT Berlinetta which won four consecutive editions.
It was a race that rewarded cars that combined maximum performance with the driveability and ease of use that enabled the competitors to race for hundreds of kilometres a day over fast, tortuous roads and on circuits.
Ferrari says its new F12tdf is the ultimate expression of the concept of an extreme road car that is equally at home on the track, and just 799 will be built.
Performance comes from a 769bhp, naturally-aspirated V12 derived directly from the F12berlinetta’s multi-award-winning engine. Ferrari says the car’s natural tendency to oversteer as a result of the change in tyre sizes is compensated for by the innovative rear-wheel steering system.
Known as the Virtual Short Wheelbase, this is integrated with the other vehicle dynamic control systems so guarantee the steering wheel response times and turn-in of a competition car while increasing stability at high speed. Cornering speeds are also higher thanks to an 87% increase in downforce.
