Ferrari’s new V-12 engine won’t be getting turbochargers anytime soon. The company’s product development boss, Gianmaria Fulgenzi, said that turbocharging the engine “is not in my mind.”
He told Autocar that Ferrari uses turbochargers when it has to downsize an engine while maintaining the power output. The naturally aspirated V-12 propelling the 12Cilindri, the GT successor to the 812, didn’t shrink, with its 6.5 liters of displacement now making 830 horsepower in the new supercar.
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Ferrari spent a lot of money to guarantee that the engine would meet Euro6e emissions regulations without compromising performance, and it worked. The new 12Cilindri can reach 62 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds and 124 in 7.9 while on its way to its 211-mph top speed. Fulgenzi told Autocar the V-12 was naturally aspirated “for many reasons.”
“The V12 is natural,” he said. “It is something that creates emotion, sound and acceleration from a low RPM to maximum RPM. That’s the product we wanted to deliver.”
The new V-12 is similar to the engine in the 812 Competizione. However, the 12Cilindri’s engine can modify its torque curve through the third and fourth gears with a system called “Adaptive Torque Shaping.” An eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox routes the power to the rear wheels.
Ferrari is facing some serious headwinds to its identity. Automakers have had to downsize engines to reduce emissions, and Ferrari has avoided doing that to the V-12 for now. However, governments around the world are instituting strict deadlines that ban the sale of combustion-powered cars, and regulators will continue to demand cleaner, more efficient engines until then.
