If you thought that Ferrari was going to rest on its laurels after pulling the wraps off of the 2012 F12 Berlinetta sports car, think again. An all-new replacement for the fabled Enzo Ferrari hypercar – which was discontinued in 2004 – is due to launch by the end of 2012.
The new car — which will likely be called F70, in keeping with the previous F40 and F50 models – will maintain the old Ferrari flagship’s striking design (as seen in these renderings by Scott Olsen), rear-wheel drive, and mid-mounted engine, but little else. It had been rumored that the Enzo’s replacement would eschew the traditional V-12 powerplant in favor of a direct-injected, twin-turbo V-8, but that won’t be the case: the F70 will likely use the same 6.3-liter V-12 as the F12 and FF gran turismos, but in a much more powerful guise. In F70 tune, that twelve-cylinder should produce about 800 hp, and it will also be paired with KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) driveline that includes a 120-hp electric motor. That motor allows zero-emission travel under light load, but can also assist the V-12, bringing the car’s net power output to 920 hp. Don’t assume a twin-turbocharged V-8 is entirely down for the count just yet – it’s quite likely that the F70 will serve as the swan song for the engine, which will in all probability eventually be superseded by a twin-turbo V-8.
Since the weight target of the carbon-fiber supercar was clearly inspired by the Millechili (1000 kilogram, 2200 pound) concept, the F70 should come close to the track-only FXX, which weighed just 2550 pounds. Despite the carbon fiber body, Ferrari is planning to use copious amounts of aluminum – including an aluminum chassis – to keep construction complexity down. Ferrari wants the F70 to be quicker off the line and faster overall than the 1001-hp Bugatti Veyron. Don’t be surprised to see weight savings help the F70 best the 0-62 mph time of 2.46 seconds held by the Veyron.
Rumor has it the Ferrari F70 will make its debut this fall to select Ferrari customers before it’s formally unveiled in the spring of 2013, most likely at next year’s Geneva motor show., and then to the public in the spring, most likely at the Geneva show. With the previous Enzo costing around $700,000, it wouldn’t be surprising if Ferrari stuck a seven-figure price tag on the new car.