Ferrari vows to cling to its V12 for as long as possible

The 812 Competizione and 812 Competizione A supercars that premiered a couple of days ago both pack Ferrari’s most powerful road-legal internal combustion engine, a 6.5-liter V12 rated at 830 PS (819 hp / 610 kW) and 692 Nm (510 lb-ft) of torque. Not only does this prove that air-cooled engines still work, it is also an important signal that the Italian sports carmaker intends to hold on to them.

Speaking with TopGear, Enrico Galliera, Ferrari Chief Marketing Officer, admitted that the V12 truly remains the heart of brand. As such, engineering teams will continue looking for ways to keep it relevant – and prove that the days of naturally aspirated V12 units aren’t over yet.

For his part, Ferrari CTO Michael Leiters told TopGear that the engine could further optimized in terms of fuel consumption and power output, albeit at the expense of environmental standard compliance.

Overall, the sentiments expressed by the Prancing Horse execs left us with the impression that the internal-combustion supercar era is long from gone, and that the new V12 will stay in production even as the environmental legislation grows stricter.