Ferrari’s unveils $423,000 sports car for traditional v12 lovers ahead of Miami Grand Prix

Ferrari has unveiled a €395,000 ($423,000) combustion engine sports car meant to help the Italian manufacturer defend its industry-leading margins.

The 12Cilindri, also sold as a €435,000 Spider convertible version, is inspired by Ferraris touring cars from the 1960s and represents a fresh option amid several sold-outs, Bloomberg reported. The two-seater shows off Ferrari’s ability to sell cars that on average cost four times as much as those of Porsche AG.

The unveiling marks Ferrari’s first launches of this year, after five models in 2023, as it presses ahead with a rapid roll-out of new models to keep the attention of its wealthy customers.

Ferrari has hiked prices and benefited from its wealthy buyers being less acutely affected by inflation and high-interest rates. While the company has started to shift toward battery power, it’s relying largely on its highly profitable combustion engine vehicles to bolster margins. 

Unveiled on May 2 in Miami ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in the city, Ferrari’s latest model features a 12-cylinder engine packing 819 horsepower.

Deliveries of the closed-roof version will start by the end of this year, with the convertible arriving in early 2025. A company spokesperson declined to comment on how many would be made. The car has the same cockpit style as the Purosangue, which Ferrari unwrapped in 2022 to enter the lucrative market for sport utility vehicles.

While the new model line demonstrates Ferrari’s continued commitment to combustion engines, CEO Benedetto Vigna has started to pave the way toward electrification. The Maranello, Italy-based manufacturer is building a factory to make hybrid and electric cars that will be ready next month and plans to unveil its first fully electric vehicle in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Ferrari’s F1 team, which will welcome star driver Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 racing season, and its reputation for quality have helped make it the strongest luxury automotive brand in the world, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Ferrari is outpacing its peers for a second consecutive year, Joel Levington, director of credit research for Bloomberg Intelligence, said last month. “We suspect this trend will continue,” Levington said.

Weighing 1,560kg (3,440 pounds), the 12Cilindri is styled like a berlinetta-“little saloon” in Italian-with a glass roof that swoops low in the back. A novel design in front replaces traditional headlights with a single wraparound band reminiscent of the Ferrari Daytona.

With a top speed of more than 211 miles per hour, the car can race to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in 2.9 seconds.

Ferrari said it developed software that can modify the maximum torque available as a function of the gear selected, giving the driver the feeling of smooth, progressive pickup as the transmission ratio increases.