In the rarefied realm where automotive engineering transcends into art, Ferrari has unveiled its latest masterpiece—the 12Cilindri Spider. This open-air embodiment of Maranello’s philosophy transforms the already masterful 12Cilindri coupe into an immersive environment where the boundaries between driver, machine, and road dissolve into an epic experience.
As Jacopo Marcon, Ferrari’s product manager for the 12Cilindri Spider, said at its initial launch, the naturally aspirated V12-powered roadster firmly “goes against today’s trends. With this model, we’re keeping our purist tradition alive, addressing those clients for whom Ferrari means the most.” This philosophy honors the vision of the company’s founder, Enzo Ferrari, who once stated: “The 12-cylinder will always be the original Ferrari car. Just think that [our] 12-cylinder was born in 1946” to power the very first Ferrari-badged car, the 125 S. “So everything else is a derivation of this original model.”
The 12Cilindri project was years in the making, drawing inspiration from Ferrari’s prestigious lineage. “The 12Cilindri Spider is inspired by the legendary GTs of the 1950s and ‘60s,” such as the 250 GT California Spyder, Marcon explains, “driven by gentlemen drivers who demanded not just superlative performance, but also the level of comfort needed to race for 12 or even 24 hours. The philosophy of those cars is embodied in the 12Cilindri Spider.”
Thanks to its naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine—an increasing rarity in an era dominated by forced induction and electrification—the 12Cilindri Spider, priced from $510,000, has 830 horsepower boosting it from 0-62 mph in just 2.9 seconds, with a top speed exceeding 211 mph. Marcon calls the new car “the most complete Ferrari GT of all time,” representing the perfect balance between sportscar capabilities and grand touring comfort: “So of course very high performance, but at the same time a car can be used for long drives without being too much stress or without too much fatigue.”
“The fundamental factor is innovation in keeping with tradition,” declares Ferrari powertrain product leader Ruggero Cevola. “And while it’s true that we’re talking about Ferrari’s most iconic engine, [what’s] crucial is that this engine is reinvented for every new 12-cylinder iteration. So the 12Cilindri Spider features a naturally-aspirated V12, but it’s different from the unit powering the 812 Superfast or the Purosangue.”
And more than just a convertible variant of the 12Cilindri coupe, it is a complete reinterpretation. The retractable hardtop—a marvel of precision engineering—disappears in a choreographed sequence, completing its transformation in just 14 seconds at speeds up to 28 mph. When deployed, it maintains the coupe’s distinctive silhouette; stowed, it reveals a cockpit where sunlight plays across hand-stitched leather and brushed-aluminum surfaces. The car’s aluminum space-frame architecture, developed specifically to enhance both closed and open configurations, preserves precise handling characteristics while introducing a new dimension of maneuverability at speed.
It is with the roof retracted that the full sensory experience unfolds. Ferrari’s acoustic engineers crafted a sound profile unique to the 12Cilindri Spider that builds from a sophisticated purr at idle to an operatic apex approaching the 9,500-rpm redline. Unlike synthetic sound enhancement employed by lesser manufacturers trying to make inferior powerplants sound like a V12, this is the “authentic voice of internal combustion,” reaching the driver through carefully calibrated resonance chambers and aerodynamic sound paths.
“What was crucial was the painstaking attention we dedicated to making sure that the client gets what they want from the 12Cilindri Spider in terms of performance,” Cevolani notes. “This meant that we couldn’t think of the car as a set of separate parts, such as its engine and its gearbox, but as a system working in synergy to deliver the thrilling experience we want the client to enjoy…. The engine integrates perfectly with the gearbox to give the driver a sensation of progressive, linear acceleration all the way up to maximum revs.”
The design philosophy behind the 12Cilindri Spider, meanwhile, represents a decisive step into the future while acknowledging Ferrari’s storied past. Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s esteemed Chief Design Officer, shares his vision thusly: “We wanted to create something truly disruptive in terms of design language, something that carries all the chromosomes of the Ferrari marque, but which also looks far into the future. And it wasn’t easy, because we’re dealing with a car with very specific proportions. This is a car we’d usually describe as a grand tourer with a mid-front mounted V12, a long bonnet and a cab pushed all the way back. So it’s almost perched on the rear wheels, a relatively classic architecture if you’d like. So it was very hard to identify the right criteria to apply to this new design.”
Manzoni adds that the 12Cilindri is “not meant as an homage to tradition other than one feature, which is a clear nod to the 365 GTB/4 of 1968”—the gloss-black front strip between the headlamp clusters—”but is rather the product of my intention, and that of the Styling Center, to create something truly futuristic. An object inspired in part by science fiction, and in part by what was probably the most wonderful era in car design, [the] 1970s.” Hence the carbon-fiber buttresses behind the seats, which not only provide rollover protection while channeling air to minimize buffeting, but serve as sculptural elements continuing the body’s firmly drawn lines.
Inside, the 12Cilindri Spider offers a cockpit that is also more than a cut above. The seats, developed specifically for the Spider, feature a structure that provides both support during spirited driving and comfort during grand-touring excursions. The leather, requiring over 13 days of hand-finishing, is designed to respond to environmental conditions, “developing a patina that tells the unique story of each vehicle.” Physical switches machined from solid aluminum are a return to tactile controls in opposition to digital interfaces, which, while useful, are not as pleasing to the touch. Most important of all perhaps is the signature “manettino,” or steering-wheel mounted driving mode selector, which allows one to modify the vehicle’s character, from Comfort to Wet, Sport and Race, without diluting its essential nature.
“Driving the 12Cilindri is a unique and thrilling experience,” says Ferrari development test driver Matteo Caprini, “which instantly answers the question of why Enzo Ferrari chose this architecture for his Berlinettas”—the 2+2 sports-coupe type favored by the legendary marque’s founder, who once declared, “Above all, the gran turismo is for someone who wants to stand out, who demands instant performance that they can’t get from other cars.”
Marcon clarifies the 12Cilindri Spider’s position in Ferrari’s lineup: “In keeping with our philosophy of a different Ferrari for different Ferraristi, and different Ferraris for different moments, the 12Cilindri Spider has been conceived for clients seeking an uncompromising open-air driving experience, but also a car that sets new benchmarks for performance, comfort and technology. This is why this car slots neatly into the center of our range positioning”—with the “touring” vehicles like the Roma and Purosangue to one side, and the “sports cars” such as the 296 GTS and SF90 Stradale on the other—”because it responds perfectly to the needs of both sportscar drivers and track-focused drivers.” (Ferrari reserves the term “supercars” for even more exalted vehicles like the F80).
According to Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna, who spoke at the vehicle’s private unveiling, “The 12Cilindri Spider represents the pinnacle of our engineering and design capabilities, continuing our tradition of creating vehicles that deliver emotional experiences that cannot be quantified by specifications alone.” As Vigna also recently revealed, 40 percent of the marque’s new clients are now under 40 years old, a demographic that clearly desires new technology, but highly values the heritage of the brand—which is, not coincidentally, now (per vehicle) the world’s most profitable automaker.
Ferrari will of course produce the 12Cilindri Spider in strictly limited numbers, with each example representing not merely a stylish mode of transport, but an investment in automotive art; more than 90 percent of all Ferraris ever made are still on the road today. The brand’s Atelier program allows clients to customize their Spider through a collaborative process directly with Ferrari designers, ensuring each example reflects its owner’s personal aesthetic while maintaining the marque’s impeccable aesthetic standards, in line with those of Il Commendatore, Enzo Ferrari himself. Certain overly garish color combinations may even be off limits.
The marque has to be vigilant regarding customization “because we have to defend the values and the identity of the brand,” as Vigna asserted earlier this year. “We will not make a strange [looking] car, for sure.” Which doesn’t mean that all Ferraris have to be red or black—the beguiling launch color for the 12Cilindri Spider was Verde Toscana. One just has to employ good taste and look toward enhancing value, not just attracting attention.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Maxim magazine.