The Ferrari flat-12 engine family is a series of
flat-12
A flat-twelve engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-twelve, is a twelve-cylinder piston engine with six cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft.
Flat-twelve engines are less common than V12 engines, but they have been used in vario ...
DOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...
petrol engine
A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...
s produced by
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
from 1964 to 1996. The first racing Ferrari flat-12, the
Mauro Forghieri
Mauro Forghieri (13 January 1935 – 2 November 2022) was an Italian mechanical engineer, best known for his work as a Formula One racing car designer with Scuderia Ferrari during the 1960s and 1970s. He is credited with introducing the first de ...
-designed ''Tipo 207'', was introduced in the
Ferrari 1512 F1 car in 1964. Later flat-12 racing engines were used in Ferrari Formula One and sports racing cars from 1968 until 1980, including the
212 E Montagna,
312 B series,
312 PB and
312 T series. The roadgoing flat-12 engines were introduced with the
365 GT4 BB and were produced in various versions until the end of
F512M production in 1996.
Configuration and nomenclature
Ferrari flat-12 engines have two banks of 6 cylinders oriented at 180 degrees from each other in a
horizontally opposed or "flat" layout. This layout was first utilized in a Ferrari engine by engineer Mauro Forghieri in the 1964
Ferrari 1512 Formula One racing car, which was the first flat-12 car of any type to race.
Ferrari had previously only manufactured engines with
V or
straight
Straight may refer to:
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* Straight, slang for heterosexual
** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype
* Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture
Sport and games
* Str ...
cylinder layouts. The flat-12 engine was initially developed for use in Ferrari racing cars because the shape of the engine resulted in a lower center of gravity, which improved various handling dynamics. In the later
312 B and
312 T F1 cars, the low height of the flat-12 was aerodynamically advantageous, as it allowed additional airflow to reach the rear
spoiler
Spoiler is a security vulnerability on modern computer central processing units that use speculative execution. It exploits side-effects of speculative execution to improve the efficiency of Rowhammer and other related memory and cache attacks. Ac ...
.
All Ferrari flat-12 engines have a
crankshaft
A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...
design where each pair of opposing
connecting rods
A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the cranksha ...
use the same crank pin, a trait shared with earlier Ferrari V12 engines. This distinguishes this engine design from a
boxer engine
A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, ...
. According to engine designer Forghieri:
Three names for the Ferrari flat-12 engines are in common use: "flat-12", "180° V12" and "boxer." "Flat-12" does not specify crankshaft design and therefore can refer to either a non-boxer engine like the Ferrari or a true boxer engine like a
Porsche flat-6. Alternatively, some sources prefer to call Ferrari flat-12 engines a "180° V12", referring to the V12-derived crankshaft design and the 180° angle between cylinder banks.
Other sources refer to them as "boxer" engines. Despite the technical inaccuracy of "boxer", this term is widely used both in the press
and official Ferrari publications, including the factory-issued specifications of the 312 B F1
and sales brochures for the BB 512 road car.
Racing engines
Tipo 207
Ferrari's first flat-12 engine design was the 1.5-liter ''Tipo 207'', used in the 1964-65
Ferrari 1512 Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
car (also known as the 512 F1). The ''Tipo 207'' flat-12 engine was designed by
Mauro Forghieri
Mauro Forghieri (13 January 1935 – 2 November 2022) was an Italian mechanical engineer, best known for his work as a Formula One racing car designer with Scuderia Ferrari during the 1960s and 1970s. He is credited with introducing the first de ...
and displaced with a bore and stroke of and a compression ratio of 9.8:1. The crankcase was cast from aluminum alloy. The crankshaft ran in seven main bearings. Four gear-driven overhead camshafts operated one intake and one exhaust valve per cylinder. The ignition system used twin distributors (chain-driven off the timing gears) and a single spark plug per cylinder. Ancillary components such as the alternator, fuel pump and injection pumps were placed on top of the engine. The first version of the ''Tipo'' ''207'' engine, presented to the press at Ferrari's December 1963 press conference, was equipped with an
indirect fuel injection system manufactured by
Lucas
Lucas or LUCAS may refer to:
People
* Lucas (surname)
* Lucas (given name)
Arts and entertainment
* Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk"
* ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities
* ''L ...
. This was changed to a full
Bosch injection and ignition system prior to the car's competition debut in 1964. In 1965, the engine was revised with a new cylinder head design and revised injection trumpets.
The engine developed @ 12,000 rpm, compared to the @ 11,000 rpm of the 158's
V8 engine. This power output made it one of the most powerful contemporary 1.5-litre Formula One engines, possibly surpassed by Honda's
RA271 V12. However, the engine's torque curve was not broad enough to provide a significant advantage over other cars and the 1512 was not competitive by the end of the 1965 season.
Tipo 232
The 2-liter ''Tipo 232'' flat-12 engine was developed for the 1968 Ferrari Sport 2000 (later called
212 E Montagna)
sports racing car
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is o ...
. The engine was designed by Ferrari engineer Stefano Jacoponi, based on the earlier Forghieri-designed ''Tipo 207'' flat-12. Overall capacity of this engine was , bore and stroke was 65 mm x 50 mm and the compression ratio was 11:1.
The crankcase was aluminum alloy with cast-iron cylinder liners. While the displacement was increased over the ''Tipo 207'', the ''Tipo 232'' was more compact. It had four main bearings (instead of the seven used on the earlier engine), the 27° included angle between the intake and exhaust valves was narrower and ancillary ignition/fuel injection components were mounted lower. Like the ''Tipo 207'', the engine used four gear-driven overhead camshafts, but now operating two intake and two exhaust valves per cylinder. Fuel was delivered by a Lucas indirect injection system. A
Magneti Marelli
Magneti Marelli S.p.A. () is an Italian developer and manufacturer of components for the automotive industry. The firm is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and includes 86 manufacturing plants, 12 R&D centres, and 26 application centers in 19 c ...
transistorized ignition system was equipped, using a single spark plug per cylinder.
When first installed in the Sport 2000, the engine produced at 11,500 rpm. Later during the 1969 racing season the engine was further developed and the compression ratio increased to 11.3:1. and could produce for short bursts and consistently. The engine was specialized for the short courses of the
European Hill Climb Championship (where it was extremely successful in 1969) and was not intended for endurance events, although sufficient water and oil cooling systems were incorporated to prevent frequent engine rebuilds.
Tipo 001
The ''Tipo 001'' was a 3-litre flat-12 used in
312 B Formula One cars and
312 PB sports racing cars between 1970 and 1974. Designed by Mauro Forghieri, this engine was intended to replace the aging
Colombo V12 used in the
312 F1 and
312 P sports racing cars. The ''Tipo 001'' was the first Ferrari F1 engine funded by
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
, after
Fiat took a 50% stake in the company in 1969. Fiat's restructuring of the racing program and additional funding led Forghieri to create a new, separate R&D department where the 312 B F1 car and ''Tipo 001'' engine were developed. Forgheri was strongly influenced by the
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...
V8 engine when designing the ''Tipo 001'', particularly in how the movement of oil inside the crankcase was optimized to reduce oil pumping losses and the design of the combustion chamber.
The overall capacity of the engine was , with a bore and stroke of 78.5 mm x 51.5 mm and a compression ratio of 11.8:1. Later versions used in the 312 B2 and B3 had a bore and stroke of 80 mm x 49.6 mm and a compression ratio of 11.5:1. The aluminum alloy crankcase (with cast iron liners) was made in two pieces, with a vertical split at the center of the case. In order to reduce weight,
shot-peened titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
connecting rods
A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the cranksha ...
were used. The one-piece machined crankshaft ran in four main bearings and was coupled to the flywheel with a rubber coupling (developed by
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
) that reduced stress on the crankshaft, preventing breakage. Like the previous ''Tipo 232'', four overhead camshafts were driven by gears and operated two intake and two exhaust valves per cylinder. The included angle between the valves was further reduced to 20°. Lucas indirect fuel injection and single-plug Marelli transistor ignition were equipped. The overall engine height was reduced compared to the earlier ''Tipo 207'' F1 engine and the engine was only heavier than the rival Cosworth DFV V8, despite having 4 additional cylinders and larger overall dimensions.
Ferrari initially reported the ''Tipo 001'' produced a power output of at 11,500 rpm, which exceeded the power output of both the earlier 312's V12 and the DFV by almost .
By the end of the 1970 Formula One season, further development increased the ''Tipo 001''
's output to at 12,600 rpm.
In its final version in the 1974 312 B3, the engine produced at 12,500 rpm.
Alongside the engine's use in the 312 B F1 cars, a detuned version of the ''Tipo 001'' was used in 1971-1973 312 PB sports racing cars. This version initially produced at 10,800 rpm, increasing in 1973 to at 11,500 rpm.
Tipo 015
The 3-liter ''Tipo 015'' flat-12 engine was used in the
Ferrari 312 T series of Formula One cars between 1975 and 1980. It was heavily derived from the ''Tipo 001'', but was adapted to fit the 312 T's new transverse gearbox. The overall capacity of the engine was with a bore and stroke of 80 mm x 49.6 mm and a compression ratio of 11.5:1.
The engine's design was continuously improved during its years of competition, including increased use of lightweight magnesium and titanium components and refinements to the cylinder heads, combustion chambers and intake ducting.
The first 312 T engines produced approximately at 12,200 rpm.This increased to at 12,200 rpm in the 1978 312 T3 and finally at 12,300 rpm in the 1979 312 T4.
The ''Tipo 015'' was succeeded by the ''Tipo 021'' turbocharged V6 in the 1980
126C. The ''Tipo 015'' was Ferrari's last naturally-aspirated engine until 1989.
Roadgoing engines
Ferrari introduced a roadgoing flat-12 engine with the 1973
365 GT4 BB. This engine was further developed for use in 512 BB, 512 BBi, Testarossa, 512TR and F512M models, remaining in production until 1996.
Tipo F102A
The ''Tipo F102A'' engine was the first flat-12 cylinder configuration fitted in a Ferrari road car, the 1973-1976 365 GT4 BB.
Design and development of the new engine was overseen by Ferrari engineer Giuliano de Angelis and Angelo Bellei.
The F102A engine's was derived from the ''Tipo 001'' Formula One engine
as well as earlier
Ferrari Colombo V12 engines. The engine's displacement, bore & stroke, rods and pistons were the same as the ''Tipo 251'' 60° V12 Colombo engine powering the
365 GTB/4 Daytona it replaced.
The F102A had two valves per cylinder and twin overhead camshafts per bank, although these were now belt driven, instead of by chain as on earlier Ferrari 12-cylinder engines. Belt drive was chosen to reduce noise, improve reliability and reduce manufacturing and servicing costs.
The engine fitted with two banks of two triple-choke
Weber 40IF3C carburettors and an electronic Magneti Marelli "Dinoplex"
ignition system.
In contrast to both the ''Tipo 251'' and the ''Tipo 001'', the spark plugs enter the combustion chamber from the top, rather than the sides.
The
block
Block or blocked may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting
* W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
and
cylinder heads
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber.
In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...
were constructed from
Silumin
Silumin is a general name for a group of lightweight, high-strength aluminium alloys based on an aluminum–silicon system. Aluminium-silicon alloys typically contain 3 to 25% silicon content. Casting is the primary use of aluminum-silicon alloys, ...
light alloy, with Borgo light alloy pistons, shrunk-in cast iron cylinder liners and a
cross-plane, forged steel crankshaft.
As was standard Ferrari practice, the crankshaft was machined from a single billet of steel, which was aged prior to machining in order to improve structural stability.
The engine was lubricated by a
wet sump
Within piston engines, a wet sump is part of a lubrication system whereby the crankcase sump is used as an integral oil reservoir. An alternative system is the dry sump, whereby oil is pumped from a shallow sump into an external reservoir.Wet sum ...
with a capacity of and twin oil filters.
According to de Angelis and Bellei, the first prototype F102 A engine produced at 7,100 rpm and propelled the prototype to during testing.
Some Ferrari sales materials quote this 380 bhp figure, while others reported the production version of the F102 A engine produced 360 bhp at 7,500 rpm and 311 ft/lb of torque at 4,500 rpm.
Figures reported in other factory and press publications vary, with the owner's manual reporting 344 PS (253 kW; 339 hp) at 7200 rpm.
Tipo F102B
In 1976 Ferrari launched a revised version of the BB, the
BB 512. This car was equipped with a ''Tipo F102B'' flat-12 engine enlarged to 4943cc. This engine was based on the preceding F102A, but enlarged to 4943 cc. Bore and stroke were now 82 mm x 78 mm and the compression ratio was increased to 9.2:1.
Camshaft timing was also altered.
Ferrari initially claimed a peak power output of at 6800 rpm and of torque. Later Ferrari publications revised this to .
Despite the loss in peak power, the flatter torque curve of the 4.9 liter engine provided a smoother and more user friendly power delivery. The larger displacement engine also allowed Ferrari to meet more stringent pollution and noise regulations without losing performance.
A
dry sump
A dry-sump system is a method to manage the lubricating motor oil in four-stroke and large two-stroke piston driven internal combustion engines. The dry-sump system uses two or more oil pumps and a separate oil reservoir, as opposed to a conve ...
lubrication system was now used to prevent oil starvation and surge issues, which were exacerbated by the higher cornering forces generated by the BB 512's wider tires.
The F102B engine was also used in
512 BB LM racing cars. In series 1 cars, the engines were modified with new pistons, camshafts and carburetors, resulting in a power output of approximately . Series 2 cars also had a Lucas mechanical fuel injection system, fed by dual Turolla fuel pumps. In this form, the engine generated approximately
Tipo F110A
In 1981 the BB 512 was replaced by the BB 512i, powered by the ''Tipo F110A'' engine. This engine was based on the F102B but was now equipped with Bosch
K-Jetronic Jetronic is a trade name of a manifold injection technology for automotive petrol engines, developed and marketed by Robert Bosch GmbH from the 1960s onwards. Bosch licensed the concept to many automobile manufacturers. There are several variations ...
fuel injection. It had the same dimensions and overall capacity as the F102B. The fuel injection system allowed Ferrari to meet stricter emissions regulations. Overall power output was now at 6,000 rpm. The Dinoplex electronic ignition system now had a built-in rev limiter that activated at 6,600 rpm.
File:1973 Ferrari F110 A - 52038303406.jpg, F110 A engine, with Bosch K-Jetronic air/fuel metering unit visible at left
File:1973 Ferrari F110 A.jpg, F110 A engine with covers partially cut away to show timing belt arrangement
File:Ferrari Engine older V12.jpg, F110 A engine in a BB 512i
Tipo F113A/B/D/G
The
Testarossa
The Ferrari Testarossa (Type F110) is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured by Ferrari, which went into production in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer. The Pininfarina-designed car was originally produced from 1 ...
was introduced in 1984, replacing the BB 512i. It was equipped with the ''Tipo F113A'' engine. This engine was the first roadgoing Ferrari flat-12 engine with four valves per cylinder. The power output was , making it the most powerful engine mounted on a production sports car at the time of its launch. The bore and stroke and 4943cc cubic capacity was identical to the preceding F110A engine.
The F113A was fitted with a Marelli Microplex MED120 electronic ignition system and Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection. Export versions for United States, Canada and Japan had
catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is an exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction. Catalytic converters are usually ...
and KE-Jetronic fuel injection. European versions got those features in 1986 and the revised engine was known as F113B.
The 1991
512 TR was equipped with the ''Tipo F113D'' engine. This was an upgraded version of the F113A in the Testarossa, maintaining the same cubic capacity of 4.9 L. Changes were made to the porting, with redesigned inlet plenums and larger valves providing more efficient fuel/air mix ingress, whilst the fuel injection and ignition system were changed to a combined Bosch
Motronic M2.7 system.
The engine was further improved with new shallow-skirt pistons and a modified crankshaft design. This engine produced at 6,750 rpm and at 5,500 rpm.
For the 1994
F512M the engine was further upgraded and designated ''Tipo F113G''. This engine had a lightened
crankshaft
A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...
, titanium alloy
connecting rods
A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the cranksha ...
, new pistons and a stainless steel low backpressure exhaust system.
The compression ratio increased to 10.4:1. The F113G produced at 6,750 rpm.
The flat-12 production ceased with the F512M, being replaced by the front-engined
550 Maranello which featured the new 65° V12
F133 engine.
File:1984 Ferrari F113 A - 52038302501.jpg, Right side of a F113 A engine
File:1984 Ferrari F113 A.jpg, Left side of a F113 A engine
File:SC06 1991 Ferrari Testarossa engine.jpg, F113 A engine in a Testarossa
Aircraft engine
In the late 1960s, Ferrari was approached by
Franklin Engine Company
The Franklin Engine Company was an American manufacturer of aircraft engines. Its designs were used primarily in the civilian market, both in fixed wing and helicopter designs. It was briefly directed towards automobile engines as part of the Tuck ...
with an order for an engine that could be installed in a small twin-engined aircraft. Mauro Forghieri began adapting a flat-12 engine design for this purpose, as this configuration would fit within a wing. However, the project was quickly cancelled when Franklin entered
receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...
. Forghieri's design work on the aircraft engine was incorporated into the 1970 ''Tipo 001'' racing flat-12 engine.
Specifications
See also
*
List of Ferrari engines
This is a list of internal combustion engines manufactured by Ferrari.
Straight-2
Ferrari was rare among automobile manufacturers in attempting to build a straight-2 automobile engine. The racing prototype never made it to production.
* Lamp ...
References
{{Ferrari
Ferrari engines
Flat engines
Gasoline engines by model
12-cylinder engines