SOMECARS ARE CLEARLYGOING TOBEFUTURE
icons thankstotheir prowess. Thatcould beall-round
brilliance in the case of something suchas a Porsche 911
GT3 RS, or it could bespecific brilliance as in the case of a
Renault Sport MéganeTrophy-R’s handling. However, the
Ferrari FFis nota top-of-the-class future icon.
As if to provethe point, when it was in eCoty 2011 it didn’t
fare too well, notonly endingupfi rmly near the bottom
of the votingsheets but bemusingpeople in the process.
That jovial front-tyre abuser Richard Porter gave the most
memorable quote, saying: ‘If the world really
needs a practical Ferrari, wemight aswell
teach sharks to domaths.’
Sothe FFis nota best-in-breed, rosette-
on-the-bonnet futureicon. Instead, it is
fromthe samemould assomething such
asa LamborghiniUrracoorAudiRS2.It
is different.
It is notthe sweetest-handling Ferrari
(although it’s verynimble for onesolarge),
nor the quickest (although it’s stillchuffi ng
rapid), nor the best looking (even if, likeme,
you really rather dig the bread-van vibe, you
must admit thereare someawkward angles), but it is one of
the most individual and interesting Ferraris ever produced.
If it was merely Ferrari’s fi rst four-wheel-drive production
car thenarguably it would be nomore thana curiosity, but
several things elevate it above fascinating footnote status.
For a start, thereare the mechanics of that patentedfour-
wheel-drive system,which takes power off the crank at the
frontof the engine and sends it to the frontwheels through
a separate two-speed gearbox (thePower Transfer Unit or
PTU)and a couple of wet clutches. Asthe patent suggests,
FERRARI FF
4RM is nota system that you will fi ndanywhere else and,
while notperfect, I love the ingenuity it represents.
Thenthereis the fact that the FFwas Ferrari’s last stand
against the SUV. It’s cavingin now of course, but the FF
shows thatpractical performance doesn’t havetotake
inspirationfromthe farmyard. Somewaggishtypeshave
suggested the FFrivals the Renault Sport Clio Trophyas the
greatest hatchback ever, but that’s nota twin test I feel the
Ferrari pressoffi ce would be keento sanction...
Plentyofperformance carswill ofcourse transport
fourpeople in luxury, but the fact that the FF
will also allowyou to fold the seats downand
movea medium-sizedarmoire to the auction
rooms or takea mountain biketo a mountain
is rather wonderful. And thenthereis the fact
thatit balancesout the practicalitywithan
F1-derived, 642bhp, naturally aspirated V12.
Short of performingHamletin a hardware shop
you couldn’t fi nda greater juxtapositionof
theatre and utility.
It’s worth pointingout that the FFis actually
superior to the later GTC4Lusso in that regard,
because therewas a feeling thatcustomers
would appreciate a more acoustically insulated cabin for
the facelift model. Asa result it’s muchharder to hear the
6.3-litre V12 in the later Lusso, which seems a shame as it
really is one of the great automotive engines.
Anyway, the fi nal factorinthe FF’s intriguing bidfor
future iconstatus is that it’s rather rare bymodern Ferrari
standards. Offi cial numbers don’t seemto exist, but with
fewer than 2500 believed to have beenproducedbetween
2011 and 2016, it is thought to bescarcer thaneventhat
most assuredof Ferrari future icon, the 458 Speciale.
‘YOUCOULDN’T
FINDAGREATER
JUXTAPOSITION
OFTHEATREAND
UTILITY’
Not the best Ferrari, but one of the most intriguing, claimsHenry Catchpole