Ferrari FF flies off production line

The roomy FF will be taken for a spin by the NZ Herald team on an icy track (right) in the Dolomite mountain range, Italy. Photo / Supplied

Ferrari will limit annual production of its new four-wheel-drive FF to 800 units - and already the first year's build has sold out, says the carmaker.

Customers who order the four-door model now will receive their cars in the second half of next year.

The FF sells for €260,000 ($500,000) in Italy, where it goes on sale in May. Production is expected to reach its full speed of 70 units a month by June.

The 800 units sold in two months, after Ferrari began private previews with potential customers in mid-January. The FF, which stands for Ferrari Four, replaces the company's 612 Scaglietti flagship. The FF is marginally bigger and roomier than the Scaglietti but weighs the same at 1790kg, despite adding four-wheel drive. At 4907mm it is fractionally longer than a Holden Commodore.

Under the bonnet is a 6.3-litre direct-injection V12 delivering a claimed 485kW at 8000rpm and 683Nm at 6000rpm.

Ferrari says the FF sprints from zero to 100km/h in 3.7sec and on to a top speed of 336km/h. The 612 Scaglietti managed the sprint in 4sec and hit 322km/h flat out.

Despite having more power than the 405kW 5.7-litre Scaglietti, Ferrai says the FF is more fuel efficient with CO2 emissions of 360g/km compared with the Scaglietti's 470g/km.

Ferrari has been working for almost a decade on the lightweight four-wheel-drive system that debuts on the FF.

"Our four-wheel-drive system weighs about 45kg, half of traditional four-wheel-drive systems which, to transfer torque to the front wheels in four-wheel-drive mode, need a central and a front differential," said Andrea Binotti, chief engineer for the FF.

Ferrari's system, called 4RM, adds a second, smaller two-gear gearbox in front of the engine to transfer torque to the front wheels.

The main gearbox, a seven-speed dual-clutch unit, is mounted in a transaxle design in the rear to power the rear wheels.

The 4RM aids weight balance in the car, with 47 per cent of weight on the front axle and 53 per cent on the rear axle.

In gears from first to fourth, when needed, the FF electronically transfers up to 47 per cent of the 683Nm to the front wheels. In higher gears or on high-grip surfaces, all the torque goes to the rear wheels.

Ferrari product marketing director Marco Valentini said the FF "creates a segment of its own because no other competitors match the model for roominess and all-round versatility".

The shooting brake-style body for the FF, which has a station wagon-shaped tailgate that gives access to the cargo area of 450 litres, rising to 800 litres with the rear seats folded down, was designed by Pininfarina. Italdesign-Giugiaro penned the FF interior and also performed some body engineering for the FF project.

The NZ Herald has been invited to test drive the FF in Italy next month. Part of the drive is on a special ice-and-snow track in the Dolomite mountain range.