Sound Investment: Ferrari V12s Keep It Real
Earlier this week, I went to my first vintage race at Road America. It was an awesome experience where I met another fellow journalist who got to be in the races.
What it also did was give me a real appreciation for the sound of a large naturally aspirated engine. Specifically the sound of a Formula 1 V10.
I am a big fan of the series and thought that the new sound of the V6 turbo’s was ok, it wasn’t the V8s I heard last year in Austin, but I figured it was the sound of progress.
That is until I heard a Benetton screaming up the hill. Now I don’t really like the sound of the new cars, and was delighted to hear that Ferrari would not be turbo charging their larger V12 powered cars any time soon.
Earlier this year, Ferrari announced that most of their V8s would begin to be turbo-charged in order to come into compliance with global trends to increase fuel mileage and cut emissions. This was largely met with happiness due to the fact that the cars would get a big increase in torque.
But where others met this news with great expectation, it was always worrying that the noise, that quintessential Ferrari howl would be lost due to the addition of the turbos. Now Ferrari has announced that its largest GTs and halo cars would not get the turbo-charging treatment, keeping that distinctive V12 wail going for the immediate future.
While the Italian company would keep the V12 sans turbo, they will add additional KERS type systems to those cars in order to meet the standards. This is definitely not a bad thing, just look at the insanity that is the LaFerrari.
The addition of a hybrid system adds instantaneous torque and the greatest button ever devised since the starter, DRS. For those that don’t know what that is, it cuts the aerodynamic drag, and gives you all the electrically derived torque the system can muster.
Essentially, it’s nitrous without the chance of blowing up your engine. It’s the new age nitrous. That system coupled with the high-revving V12s are going to make for some epic cars in the future.
Do you like the sound of a large naturally aspirated engine? Agree or disagree in the forum>>