Daytona peach

With styling that recalls the legendary 365 GTB/4, Ferrari's new 819bhp, 211mph '12Cilindri' promises to be one very sweet supercar indeed

- YPUSUF ASHRAF

AT FERRARI, WE LIKE TO SURPRISE,' SAYS 'A marketing boss Enrico Galliera at the unveiling of Maranello's latest supercar, the 12Cilindri. But how much of a surprise can this be? We know there's a V12-engined two-seat GT - the replacement for the 812 Superfast - lurking under the red silk cover before us, but as it's pulled off, there are gasps in the room. The car beneath looks like a Daytona. Not the modern Icona-series SP3, but an original, plexiglass 365 GTB/4 with its visor-style headlights and vented clamshell bonnet.

Ferrari doesn't usually do retro, and this isn't what we were expecting.

It feels like we've been predicting the death of big, naturally aspirated V12s for a decade, but noise and emissions regulations haven't swallowed them up just yet. Ferrari knows just how much customers love their 12-cylinder cars (the Purosangue is sold out for years), so it's jumping through all the necessary legislative hoops to keep them alive and in the case of the new, €395,000 (c£340,000) 12Cilindri, make them faster, more exciting and even more dramatic.

Charles Leclerc apparently thought the 12Cilindri was an Icona-series model when he first set eyes on it, and it's hard to spot any resemblance to the 812 - the new car even has a 20mm shorter wheelbase thanks to a redesigned aluminium chassis. According to Ferrari engineers, the goal has been to blend some of the aggression of the 812 Competizione with the GT qualities of the Superfast, made possible by overhauled chassis and software systems throughout the car. The 6.5-litre V12, meanwhile, now generates a Competizione-matching 819bhp and revs to an astonishing 9500rpm.

Perhaps the only thing a little underwhelming about the 12Cilindri is the name. Ferrari insists that it should be spoken as 'dodici cilindri', but we'd bet that unless you're Italian, you'll know it as the 'Ferrari twelve cylinder'. An ordinary name for what could be a truly extraordinary car.