Cars
Bloodlines: Flat-12 Ferraris
The 1960s ushered in the era of the mid-engined Ferrari – Phil Hill won the 1961 F1 World Championship in the 156 F1, mid-engined 250 models secured three consecutive Le Mans wins, and even the Dino road car placed its engine amidships in 1967. But Ferrari’s V12-powered flagship – the 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ – remained defiantly front-engined into the 1970s.
Click to watch the iconic Ferrari flat-12 story
Flat-12 Ferraris took the Scuderia to multiple world titles half a century ago – and provided the perfect halo for a new generation of flat-12 Ferrari road cars.
The 365 GT4 BB was Ferrari’s first 12-cylinder mid-engined road car – and first road-legal flat-12
1973 - Ferrari 365 GT4 BB
The 365 GT4 BB caused a stir when it debuted at the 1971 Turin Motor Show – ahead of production beginning in June 1973. Built around a tubular steel frame with double wishbone suspension and double shock absorbers at the rear, it featured dramatic Pininfarina styling rendered in a steel body with hinged aluminium panels. Distinctive features included contrasting black paint below the swage line, a full-width ‘egg-crate’ front grille, and five-spoke alloys.
Everything but the ‘GT’ in its name referenced the new 365 cv flat-12 engine. ‘365’ referred to the swept capacity of each cylinder, giving the same 4390 cc overall as the previous V12, while ‘4’ was shorthand for four belt-driven camshafts.
‘BB’ – for Berlinetta Boxer – was a little artistic licence. The flat-12 wasn’t a true boxer engine, where pistons move like punches; rather it was a 180-degree V12, with opposing pistons moving like synchronized fists.
It took until 1973 to reach the road, but almost 400 were sold over three years – even in the jaws of the oil crisis.
The 512 BB’s name referenced its engine and body style – a 5.0-litre flat-12 Berlinetta Boxer
1976 - Ferrari 512 BB
Arguably the biggest change for the 512 BB was its simplified name – one that now directly referenced total engine capacity and cylinder count. Those looking for headlines might have been disappointed by the new 4943cc engine – performance actually dropped to 360 cv, after all – but driveability was significantly improved, with peak power delivered at more relaxed revs, complemented by extra torque and a smoother delivery.
Visual changes were largely limited to a new chin spoiler and, at the rear, a switch from triple taillights and exhausts to large twin lights and twin exhausts – the latter cooled by new NACA ducts located just ahead of the rear alloy wheels.
A total of 929 examples were sold through to 1981, when the updated 512 BBi added fuel injection (if no extra power) as increasingly stringent emissions regulations took hold.
Straked side intakes defined the Testarossa – and helped cool radiators relocated to the rear
1984 - Ferrari Testarossa
The Testarossa made the biggest leap since the 365 GT4 BB – and came to symbolise 1980s excess with straked air intakes and rear haunches like shoulder pads. Appropriate, then, that the Testarossa debuted at the Lido nightclub on the Champs Élysées, Paris.
Pininfarina’s new look wasn’t entirely driven by styling. The engine was cooled by new water radiators located near the rear wheels, not behind the headlights – a functional requirement that gave rise to the Testarossa’s distinctive aesthetics.
The flat-12 engine itself was upgraded too, most notably with four valves per cylinder – at launch, no other production sports car made more power than its 390 cv.
Naturally, the cylinder-head covers were painted red in deference to the Testa Rossas or ‘red heads’ of decades before, but the flat-12 layout left them rather hidden in the depths of the engine bay. Ferrari’s solution? The inlet manifolds at the top of the engine received a flash of red too.
A potent 428 cv was the headline, but the 512 TR gained extensive chassis tweaks too
1991 - Ferrari 512 TR
After the Testarossa, the 512 TR in 1991 brought gentle evolution. The exterior was finessed for better aerodynamics with a new face nodding to the 348, while the interior was redesigned for superior comfort and ergonomics.
Significant changes included mounting the flat-12 engine and gearbox 30mm lower in the chassis, improving weight distribution. The TR also had a wider front track and narrower rear, subtly enhancing agility, plus larger brakes.
With power rising to 38 cv to 428 cv – thanks to revised cylinder heads, uprated pistons, and new fuel injection – the 512 TR offered significantly more driver appeal.
Pop-up headlamps disappeared for the F512 M – the last flat-12 Ferrari before the 550 Maranello
1994 - Ferrari F512 M
The F512 M – M for ‘modificato’ or modified – represents both the end of the flat-12 bloodline and its pinnacle. The new model added faired-in headlamps for enhanced aerodynamics, an improved cabin, and performance that rose to 440 cv – no flat-12 Ferrari road car has ever produced more horsepower.
The ‘M’ suffix also adds a pleasing circularity to the story – it was used on flat-12-powered Ferrari sports cars of the early 1970s, when it denoted the evolution of the 512 S into the 512 M. As the road-car chapter closed, the F512 M was paying respects to its roots.
Ferrari returned to front-mid V12s with the subsequent 550 Maranello – which was faster, more aerodynamic, and more practical than the F512 M it replaced. Thanks to advances in suspension and traction control systems, it could handle just as well as a mid-engined model too.
It’s a line that lives on to this day with the 12Cilindri, but the flat-12 models remain among the most iconic Ferraris of all time.