2026 Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider | UK Review
All the thrills of the coupe, amped up admirably with the roof down. In short, heaven
Ferrari presented a rather generous gift for our UK drive of the 12Cilindri Spider: a Coupe to sample directly beforehand. A gift, because few folks would define driving back-to-back naturally aspirated V12 supercars as ‘a bad day’. But a gift to us road-testing folk wishing to divine some proper comparison between fixed- and folding-roof versions of the same car. Usually, your real-world testing of the official tech figures relies on anecdotal evidence – your own or your colleagues’ – which may be months or even years old. Being able to tangibly perceive how some extra weight and an open roof impact the Dodici Cilindri experience is an unexpected present.
The base spec of a 12Cilindri is well-versed, though worth repeating. A 6.5-litre, 65-degree V12 provides the rear axle alone with 830hp at 9,250rpm (!) and a more modest 500lb ft at a still stratospheric 7,250rpm. Shifting duties are given to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with Ferrari’s familiar, oversize fixed paddles. Despite the lack of turbocharging, Ferrari has deployed ‘torque shaping’ software in third and fourth to help ensure power delivery builds to an addictive crescendo.
It sits among a vast suite of electronic systems with Side Slip Control, and its willingness to let you play with the car’s balance in relative safety, still the headline act and the easiest sell. There’s four-wheel steer and brake-by-wire, the latter perhaps less appealing to the luddites, but it works very well in the 296 GTB. Active aero deploys at higher speeds – most likely on track rather than road – and aids stability in faster corners with its 50kg of downforce at 155mph. Whether you go Coupe or Spider, 0-62mph takes a claimed 2.9 seconds and your top speed is 211mph-plus.
The Spider swaps a fixed roof for a folding aluminium panel, one which whirrs theatrically back or forth in 14 seconds at up to 28mph. It naturally robs you of boot capacity (200 litres versus 270) and brings extra weight (a modest 60 kilos) via its complex mechanism and additional bracing, concentrated on the front pillars and side sills, to ensure the handling loses as little tenacity as possible. The gorgeous, crackle-finished V12 continues to sit comfortably behind the front axle to contribute to a weight distribution that shifts oh-so-marginally rearwards from the Coupe’s 48/52 split. It’s now 47.8/52.2, if you must know…
But numbers pale beside the visceral difference. With the Goodwood sun shining and the roof quickly stowed, the engine’s initial start-up blare spills more easily into the cabin. While the 12Cilindri is consistently critiqued (for better or worse) for how sensible it makes running a V12 in everyday conditions - the frenzied nature of the glorious old 812 Superfast and GTS suddenly neutered - our direct comparison reveals an opened-up Spider to at least begin to redress the balance.
Pottering out of the paddock and onto the roads, the gearbox shuffles its merry way up to implausibly high gears with little fuss, the shifts imperceptible in Auto and the car eagerly – and capably – holding sixth gear through villages. So far, so civilised. The low-speed ride on both 12Cilindris feels fussy on UK surfaces without ‘bumpy road’ mode selected, the heavier Spider tangibly fussier and occasionally shakier, yet both are more than sophisticated enough in their damping once you’re prodded the Manettino switch inwards to yield the softer setup.
It’s a neat duality that’s been with us since the 458 – my only qualm being that perhaps the process could be reversed on clearly road-biased cars, to make the softer setting default and the firmer, more track-focused setup the one that’s toggled. Nevertheless, any excuse to fiddle with the Manettino is a good one. Consistently using its proper noun arguably lacks journalistic nous – a suggestion we’ve all happily swallowed the marketing – but it also proves that nobody does drive select switches like Ferrari. And by extension, nobody makes flicking toward the tantalising prospects of ‘CT Off’ so hard to resist.
That’s despite the standard, early-miles acclimatisation its flighty steering rack demands. It’s a necessary recalibration in all modern Ferraris, and one that feels more pertinent in a positively enormous front-engined GT, where you soften your forearm movements – letting your elbows hang lower and looser – to calm the inputs of your hands and avoid the front axle feeling too hyperactive.
It’s never a hardship, rather a pleasing piece of dialogue between you and the car as you first meet. And loosening the electronics is almost beneficial – it makes the flow between you and the 12Cilindri so much smoother, and the extra movement afforded to its rear axle becomes an intrinsic part in the way you move down the road together. Both Coupe and Spider deliver the same immediacy and a surface-level impression of their abilities. These are cars with a deep well of talent, yet ones willing for you to experience their baseline thrill at even modest speeds.
Flipping useful, actually, when the 12Cilindri is so outrageously quick. Matt B alluded to an old-school VTEC feel when he drove the Spider on the continent last year, and there’s a clear change in character when you flick-flack the tactile paddles and bury your foot harder into the carpet. The docile, easygoing cruiser transforms into something altogether more frenzied, and whereas the Coupe gives you an aural hint at the switch, an open Spider bludgeons your senses. You enjoy a high-pitched howl towards its sky-high redline, followed by the SNAP! through the air as the DCT shift hammers you into the next ratio, practically tearing the atmosphere around you asunder. It borders on an ethereal experience.
As we’ve frequently noted elsewhere, this transmission is superb – smooth when you want it to be, but parading the physicality of an old 458 Speciale when you don’t. And once you’ve experienced a few full-bore manual shifts, you’ll find it very hard to push its dainty centre console switch back into Auto and let the car soak up your fun. Opportunities to tickle its 9,500rpm limit are naturally scarce; wringing out second gear calls upon a dry, warm road, while extending third gear opens up the moral quandary of how much of the 12Cilindri’s vast potential you can feasibly enjoy on regular roads. There’s not a total lack of frustration at the mesmeric highs that remain too lofty for public consumption, I have to admit. But the handfuls of lock and flares of revs permitted by the coddling world of CT Off should temper most folks’ annoyance.
Drive both stripes of 12Cilindri together on a sunny day and it’s difficult not to conclude the drop-top’s the more exciting place to be. Even if the weather’s not friendly enough to fold the roof fully, then simply whirring down its central rear screen should tickle your neck hairs nicely in all manner of ways. There’s visual pleasure too: its tensed, muscular shoulders fill the side mirrors and your view through its canted windscreen is underscored by the sculptured bonnet and its cute vents.
And though the seat and neck heating lie behind a fiddly ‘Thermal Management’ touchscreen menu, Ferrari has at least now swapped the steering wheel haptics for proper buttons. Albeit not the engine starter switch, which remains disappointing for its dearth of tactility. The storied process of firing up a Ferrari continues to deserve more, but clearly interiors are Maranello’s (and indeed San Fran’s) new plaything. If ever a ‘legacy’ company adapted and evolved without repose, it’s Ferrari.
For now, though, we can bask in the fact the Spider feels broadly as brilliant to drive as the Coupe, while offering an even more enveloping layer of sound and sensation with the roof folded. Is it unbecoming for a proud petrolhead to recommend the cabrio? Experience a frenzied upshift or two from inside a 12Cilindri Spider and you won’t give a damn what the rest of our cohort thinks.
SPECIFICATION | 2026 FERRARI 12CILINDRI SPIDER
Engine: 6,496cc, V12
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 830@9,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 500@7,250rpm
0-62mph: 2.9sec
Top speed: 211mph-plus
Weight: 1,620kg (dry, with lightweight options)
MPG: 18.2
CO2: 353g/km
Price: from £366,500
From the story: ‘Nobody makes flicking toward the tantalising prospects of ‘CT Off’ so hard to resist. That’s despite the standard, early-miles acclimatisation its flighty steering rack demands.’ Sounds like Mat Armstrong might be getting one in his workshop soon.
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