NEW FERRARI FOUR-SEAT, AWD FF FEATURED

Instead of going the four-door, four-seat route like its rivals, Ferrari has decided to go coupe-shooting brake from the looks of its newest concept car, the Ferrari Four or FF. Styled by lifetime Ferrari collaborator Pininfarina, FF features two doors but has seating for four people; two up front and two at the rear, unlike the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide which both sport four doors and the same seating configuration.

It may be Pininfarina-designed but from the side profile you’d swear the initial concept sketches were nicked from BMW. Can anyone say “Z3 M Coupe?”. Another image that comes to mind is one of a dog shagging your leg. So pretty pretty it ain’t, but will it be effective? The prancing horse alone should ensure that.

The FF is said to have 450 litres of cargo space with rear seats down and up to 800 litres with them up, which is quite remarkable for any two-door. The other reason why it’s called FF, apart from the entry points, is that it moves on four-wheel-drive (FWD). Ferrari fans are probably screaming “sacrilege” right about now but sorry lads, now is not the time to be sentimental. Times they have changed, and so must Maranello if it is to survive.

Total car length is 4.9 metres, width is 1.95m and height is 1.4m. Ferrari claims a dry weight of 1 790kg. Push and shove originate from a 6.3-litre V12 engine blasting out a nuclear-sized 485kW at 8000rpm, and peak torque of 683Nm at 6000rpm. It appears you really have to squeeze every last drop from the rev counter to tap into the best power bands. Mated to a dual-clutch F1-style gearbox, the Ferrari Four is said to accelerate from 0 – 100km/h in 3.7 seconds and attain top velocity of 335km/h.

We know that Ferrari has registered a Hybrid powertrain and we expect to see it debut in the production FF before the end of 2012. Watch out for the V12 car at the 2011 Geneva International Motor Show in March.