Ferrari’s Front-Engine Insanity Shrieks Louder With 769 Horsepower F12 TdF

We all know that Ferrari is the magic sorcerer when it comes to developing gorgeous, magnificently athletic mid-engine supercars. However, Ferrari also has a storied history of producing pavement ripping front-engine exotics that can make a grown man weep.

One such car is the C7 Corvette F12 Berlinetta with its front-mounted 6.3-liter V12 engine. You might think that 730hp and 509 ft-lbs of torque would be enough to satisfy the folks in Maranello, but you’d be wrong. That’s where the the new F12 TdF comes in to play; the TdF stands for the Tour de France race (not the bicycle race plagued by doping scandals), which was held annually from 1899 through 1986.

The F12 TdF is truly HotHardware, boasting 769hp and 520 ft-lbs of torque, 80 percent of which is available at a low, low 2,500 RPM. And if you hear a glorious wailing in the background, it’s probably the F12 TdF climbing up near its redline of 8,900 rpm.

And don’t think that Ferrari just tweaked the engine and call it quits; the company also decided to make some enhancements throughout the vehicle including a heavily revised seven-speed dual-clutch transmission which now can upshift and downshift 30 percent faster and 40 percent faster respectively. The bodywork has been tweaked to produce 87 percent more downforce and Ferrari has developed what it calls a Virtual Short Wheelbase, which is just a fancy term for four-wheel steering.

If you combine those improvements with a 240-pound reduction in weight (dry weight is now 3120 lbs), you have a terrifying machine that will hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds (nearly equaling the performance of the Tesla Model S P85D in Ludicrous Mode) and hit 124 mph in dizzying 7.9 seconds. And in case you were wondering, top speed is a set at 211 mph if you can find enough straight road to go wide open.

We’re not even going to bother asking how much the F12 TdF will cost; the damn thing is probably already sold out to Ferrari’s most well-heeled customers and is limited to just 799 examples.