Ferrari-FF

Ferrari-FF

The Ferrari FF (FF meaning "Ferrari Four", for four seats and four-wheel drive) is a grand tourerpresented by Ferrari on March 1, 2011 at the Geneva Motor Show. It is Ferrari's first production four-wheel drive model. The body style has been described as a shooting-brake, a type of sporting station wagon/estate car with two doors. It replaced the 612 Scaglietti grand tourer. The FF has a top speed of 335 km/h (208 mph) and it accelerates from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds. Ferrari states that the FF is the world's fastest four-seat automobile. The FF costs US$300,000, with 800 being produced during the first year.

For all of their performance and panache, Ferraris have rarely incorporated much in the way of practicality. But with all-wheel-drive, space for four full-size adults and a versatile hatchback bodystyle, the FF represents something new for the prancing horse brand: an all-weather, family-friendly sports car.
This is no ordinary family machine, of course: the FF packs a 6.3-liter V12 that produces 651 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 504 lb-ft. of torque at 6,000 rpm. Mounted entirely aft of the front axle for optimal weight distribution, the motor teams with a rear-mounted seven-speed dual-clutch automated-manual gearbox that provides smooth yet lightning-fast shifts. Top speed is 208 mph, and Ferrari says that the FF can sprint to 62 mph from a dead stop in just 3.7 seconds.

Design

Exterior

2012 Ferrari FF, side view

The FF shares the design language of contemporary Ferraris, including the pulled-back headlights of the 458 Italia, and the twin circular taillights seen on the 458 as well as the 599 GTB Fiorano. Designed under the direction of Lowie Vermeersch, former Design Director at Pininfarina, work on the shooting brake concept initially started following the creation of the Sintesi show car of 2007. Distinctive styling elements include a large egg-crate grille, defined side skirts, and four exhaust tips. The shooting brake configuration is a departure from the conventional wedge shape of modern Ferraris, and the FF has been likened to the similarly-shaped 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Drogo race car.

Interior

The combination of hatchback-like shooting-brake design and collapsible rear seats gives the Ferrari FF a boot capacity of between 450 litres (16 cu ft) to 800 litres (28 cu ft).

Engine

The Ferrari FF has the largest capacity road-going Ferrari engine ever produced: a 6,262 cc (6.3 L; 382.1 cu in) naturally aspirated direct injected 65° V12, which produces 660 PS (485 kW; 651 hp) at 8,000 rpm and 683 N·m (504 lb·ft) of torque at 6000 rpm.

Transmission

The FF is equipped with a 7-speed double-clutch semi-automatic paddle shift system similar to the California, 458 Italia, and the F12 Berlinetta.

The new four-wheel drive system, engineered and patented by Ferrari, is called 4RM: it is around 50% lighter than a conventional system, and provides power intelligently to each of the four wheels as needed. It only functions when the manettino dial on the steering wheel is in the "comfort" or "snow" positions, leaving the car most often in the traditional rear wheel drive layout.
Ferrari's first use of 4RM was in a prototype created in the end of the 80s, called 408 4RM (acronym of "4.0 liter, 8 cylinder, 4 Ruote Motrici", meaning "four-wheel drive").
This system is based around a second, simple, gearbox (gears and other components built by Carraro Engineering), taking power from the front of the engine. This gearbox (designated "power take off unit", or PTU) has only two forward gears (2nd and 4th) plus reverse (with gear ratios 6% taller than the corresponding ratios in the main gearbox), so the system is only active in 1st to 4th gears. The connection between this gearbox and each front wheel is via independent haldex-type clutches, without a differential.Due to the difference in ratios "the clutches continually slip" and only transmit, at most, 20% of the engine's torque. A detailed description of the system (based on a conversation with Roberto Fedeli, Ferrari's technical director) has been published.