What's the news?
Ferrari has revealed the successor to its immense FF grand tourer and it's called the GTC4Lusso - which marries rear-wheel steering to four-wheel drive for the first time in a Ferrari. Due to debut at Geneva, the GTC4Lusso's convoluted name references some of its illustrious predecessors, such as the 330 GT, 330 GTC and 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso.
Exterior
Its dramatic lines are a clear evolution of the FF's shooting brake body style, albeit somewhat edgier than before. Nowhere is this more evident than in the wide and squat rear-end design, which nevertheless features the twin-light signature of Ferrari. Whether you think it's beautiful or not depends on whether you like a challenging aesthetic; brilliant as it was, the FF was hardly classically handsome...
Interior
Ferrari makes big noises about the 'Dual Cockpit' architecture, which features distinct zones for the driver and front-seat passenger, the latter (optionally) benefitting from their own display to control various in-car functions. Otherwise, it's classic high-end Maranello craftsmanship in here, with space for four adults and a new 10.25-inch HD infotainment touchscreen making its debut in the GTC4Lusso. Ferrari has also made the steering wheel smaller and revised the integrated controls mounted upon it.
Mechanicals
It's an evolution of the FF's V12 unit here, boasting the same 6.3 litres of swept capacity but now up on power. Instead of the 650hp and 683Nm of its predecessor, the GTC4Lusso now kicks out a ferocious 690hp at 8,000rpm and 697Nm at 5,750rpm; albeit 80 per cent of that torque is available from just 1,750rpm. With that AWD traction and a kerb weight of 1,790kg (distributed 47:53 front-to-rear), performance is therefore startlingly rapid - 0-100km/h is ripped off in 3.4 seconds (0.3 up on the FF) and the top speed increases marginally to 335km/h. Yikes!
The big news is that the 4RM Evo AWD system has been integrated with rear-wheel steering on the GTC4Lusso, leading to the newly patented 4RM-S (four-wheel drive and steering) set-up. The big Fezza also gets Slip Side Control version 4.0, an electronic differential and SCM-E adjustable dampers. Ferrari reckons that the GTC4Lusso is supremely capable whatever the road or weather conditions you're facing, and we're in no mood to argue with the Italians looking at that list of hardware.
Finally, the front grille features integrated air intakes, the air vents on the wing recall those of the 330 GTC, and at the back are a roof-mounted spoiler and a new triple-fence diffuser; all of the above ensure the new Ferrari has a 'substantially lower' coefficient of drag (Cd) than the FF.
Anything else?
The storming Ferrari GTC4Lusso will debut at the Geneva International Motor Show in March, although you can see more of it at www.ferrari.com.