Easy to forget now, but series production, front-engined Ferrari V12 drop tops endured a seriously long hiatus until quite recently. From Daytona Spider to 812 GTS there wasn’t a single one, in fact, which always seemed strange given the epic engines that were under Prancing Horse bonnets. Some might consider the point as a tad disingenuous, because there were Barchettas and SuperAmericas and the like, yet they were extremely rare even by Ferrari standards and did entail more faff than the average convertible. Faff that cars like the GTS and now the 12Cilindri Spider, complete with Retractable Hard Tops, do not require for open-top V12 nirvana. Up to 28mph, 14 seconds, one button, bish bash bosh.
It says much of the GTS’s success, arriving as it did a couple of years into the 812’s production run, that the 12Cilindri Spider is here from the very beginning. And with Ferraris’ popularity at an all-time high, an order now won’t be fulfilled until 2027. The considerable appeal isn't hard to understand: a 9,500rpm V12, negligible weight gain, open-top exhilaration. Makes you wonder what took them so long to go again, really. Imagine how a 599 or F12 Spider might have sold…
A quick refresh of the vitals: the 12Cilindri Spider carries over plenty from the hardtop, with even the various assists system - independent rear-wheel steering, ABS Evo, Side Slip Control, electronically controlled diff - unaltered. The distinctive, dramatic aerodynamic rear flaps, which Ferraris says on their own can contribute another 50kg of downforce at 150mph, have survived the Spider treatment. The 830hp, 6.5-litre V12 and eight-speed dual-clutch are still here, with another 60kg to carry, accounted for by 40kg of roof mechanism and 20kg of beefing up (the sills are reinforced here). That means 1,620kg in its optionally available lightweight socks, so probably around 1,800kg ready to rock - but because of adding much less weight than before (an 812 GTS carried a 120kg penalty), this version of the 12Cilinidri is lighter by 25kg than its predecessor, where the coupe is 35kg heavier.
The numbers won’t be a concern when presented with a 12Cilindri. If not quite the classic V12 beauty of the past that it aims to evoke (because no new car can be as delicate or as pretty as something from 60 years ago) it does to these eyes very successfully meld traditional and futuristic cues. While not much roof is missing, especially not compared to something like a Roma Spider, an even more glamorous Ferrari has resulted. Maybe the back is a tad busy, especially when carbon fibre is decked on, though if the combined response of cynical car hacks and members of the general public is anything to go by, Ferrari has another stunner on its hands. Low, wide and dramatic, it’s exactly what you’d hope for from a Maranello-built super-GT. And this time around there’s not a hint of Corvette to be seen anywhere…
The roof is a proper work of art, near enough silent in its operation but also appropriately flamboyant in the way it hurls glass and metal to the sky. There’s a usefully-sized 200-litre boot there even with the roof down, air flow is managed very well to keep buffeting reasonable and top-up refinement rivals the coupe. Conventional fabric soft tops might be more popular these days, but Ferrari’s take on a folding hard top remains pretty persuasive.
If the same interior gripes remain as the 12Cilindri - fiddly infotainment and fiddly haptic controls, perhaps a bit less space than expected - then the same positives are retained as well, the materials being sumptuous and the sense of occasion palpable. The steering wheel feels perfect, the gearshift paddles are glorious and the rev counter doesn’t go red until almost 10. Modern supercars, no doubt about it, can still be exciting.
Startup histrionics from the V12 are notable for their absence, however as per just about everything in a heavily filtered world. The aftermarket will have a field day. But pleasingly, that’s about as close to critical as it’s possible to be about this configuration. It’s really like two powertrains in one, such is the ability for a mild-mannered, unassuming engine and automatic gearbox to transform into something like an old sequential GT1 racecar in its savagery with just a throttle extension. And some denial.
Our launch route favoured the 12C’s mellow side, which is a shame given the addictive intensity of the V12’s upper reaches. On the other hand, it demonstrated just how usable, approachable and easygoing Ferrari has made 830hp at the rear wheels. The 812’s powertrain could always be a chill guy when needed, and that’s definitely still the case even with a shorter final drive - it’ll bimble around in seventh and eighth at barely more than idle without complaint. But now there’s also a calmer edge to the ride and steering that didn’t exist previously, which certainly lessens the fear factor of driving something so large and so potent. Width notwithstanding, there’s little that would inhibit the 12C’s use as an everyday convertible. It’s so easy, so obliging, so comfy.
This makes its flip side all the more extraordinary, a duality that the ever so slightly mad 812 didn’t possess. This car can be both more accommodating and, incredibly, more exhilarating. That rush to peak power at 9,250rpm (!) is like little else, the vast and majestic unit revving for all the world like it’s an old-school VTEC Honda. Or a superbike engine. A 6.5-litre, 12-cylinder headbanger, apparently just as happy at 500rpm above idle as it is 500rpm from 10,000. The investment in lightweight internals, in getting those finger followers for the valves, a new alloy for the pistons and titanium for the conrods, has more than paid off. How this much engine can move so fast and so freely genuinely beggars belief. It’s enough to get you a bit emotional, truth be told; having sat through a press conference including old Enzo footage declaring that the 12-cylinder “will always be the original Ferrari car”, and then experienced a car called the 12 Cylinder make 830 operatic, feral horsepower on its way to 9,500rpm, really is quite special. Those concerns about a mellow idle don’t linger long.
The open top assists in all that, of course, because you can hear the great gasps of air being guzzled in, the crack that pierces the air with aggressive upchanges, and the V12’s tone shift from sweet and subdued to manic, melodic and magnificent. The eight-speed dual-clutch is probably the best ever made, gearchanges imperceptible when required and unforgettably fierce when not. We can only hope that Ferrari spins more bodystyles from the 12Cilindri, just for additional opportunities to fawn over one of the truly great drivetrains.
It’s not half bad to drive, either, even if meaningful cornering opportunities weren't exactly plentiful. That same overarching feeling from the coupe is in evidence here, where a huge amount of technology conspires to create an experience that feels hugely authentic and not a little bit rewarding. You know there are systems making turn-in feel super sharp, vectoring torque to aid traction and aiding the accuracy of your corrective lock, because Ferrari has gone to great lengths to explain them, but it’s impossible to detect their intervention or suggest they’re doing anything but enabling your entertainment.
The 12Cilindri inspires genuine confidence, too. Its steering is unfailingly accurate, the traction fantastic given 911-size tyres with twice the power, and the damping is also very impressive given the weight. The brake-by-wire feels a tad strange still, if reassuringly hefty. The point is that when you put it all together, it feels entirely natural to extend a Ferrari worth as much as your house just that bit further. CT Off and manual mode are mesmerising, the Spider offering up bundles of grip or the option to dictate attitude with the throttle like it really is the '60s again and you’re a moustachioed gentleman racer called the Seventh Marquis of Hessle or something. In your Ferrari V12 - only now with 830hp. It’s completely enthralling.
Alright, so it does wobble a tad sometimes. Ferrari won’t share a torsional rigidity figure for the Spider, so we have to assume that the Nm/degree can’t quite match the coupe. Catch a ridge across the road or a particularly mean compression and you can feel a steering column that’s not as rock solid as it once was. But those moments are seldom and fleeting, and a very long way from the soggy Spiders of old. Improvements have been made, for sure, even if the compromises haven’t been totally eradicated. While this never feels like anything but a traditional cabrio supercar (as opposed to the carbon-tubbed freaks that don’t suffer for the removal of the roof), that status never feels an impediment to enjoyment. What’s gained in the 12Cilindri experience in terms of how it looks and what it sounds like are worth the odd murmur through the chassis.
There’s a very simple case to be made, basically, for the Spider over the conventional 12Cilinidri, in a fashion that’s never quite been the case before. Partly because they haven’t existed, but partly because Ferrari convertibles have often been a tad disappointing. On this drive at least, that is no longer the case. Maybe a more demanding route would highlight some undiscovered flaws and create some clear air between the variants; even if it did, though, it would be no surprise at all to find more customers won over by the sensory experience - bordering on overload - of the Spider. Supercars don’t come much more super. Your move, Aston Martin…
SPECIFICATION | 2025 FERRARI 12CILINDRI SPIDER
Engine: 6,496cc, V12
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 830@9,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 500@7,250rpm
0-62mph: 2.9sec
Top speed: 'over 211mph'
Weight: 1,620kg (dry, with lightweight options)
MPG: 18.2
CO2: 353g/km
Price: from £366,500
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