Is This The End Of The Naturally Aspirated Ferrari V12?

May. 25, 2015 5:51 PM ET by Jay Traugott / 79 Comments

Look at the LaFerrari's engine setup. There's your first clue.

The LaFerrari is perhaps the clearest indication of how Ferrari views the future of the V12 engine. With the naturally aspirated V8 a thing of the past now that the 458 Italia's replacement, the turbocharged 488 GTB, has arrived, the question now is what will happen to the n/a V12? Is the current F12 Berlinetta the last n/a V12 car Ferrari will ever build? By all indications, yes; the LaFerrari's V12 hybrid boost setup will likely replace the n/a V12. It is, for all intents and purposes, the future of Ferrari flagships.

That's not an entirely bad thing but it will mean the end of an era. The F12 is powered by a 6.3-liter V12 with 730 hp and 509 lb-ft of torque. This engine, in fact, is the latest in a series of V12s that dates back to 2002, where an earlier version powered the Enzo. XCAR has taken the F12 Berlinetta out for a spin to experience that n/a V12 one final time.

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