New Ferrari F12 variant leaked in patent drawings

The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta took its first public bow at the Geneva auto show in February of 2012. Just 20 months later, Car News China has found some leaked drawings of the new version from the Chinese patent office. (China has a patent office?-ED) They speculate it could be the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta GTO.

CNC says that the characters above the drawings are consistent with earlier leaks, which point to these drawings as being the real deal. The Ferrari 599 GTO made its worldwide debut in Beijing in 2010.

The front end gets a restyled grille that hints at bigger air ducts, while the hood seems to get a few new character lines that direct air around the body. A more aggressive front lip sticks out, with upward facing fangs.

The profile view shows indents in the front fenders, which run from the nose to the back of the doors. Winglets are attached at the B pillar.

Out back there is a bigger diffuser, with central quad exhaust. The rear-window cover looks vented as well, probably decreasing rear visibility, but who cares? Hopefully, those behind will stay behind, left in the dust of the Ferrari's V12 wake.

The current Berlinetta makes 730 hp from its 6.3-liter engine, along with 509 lb-ft of torque. It can sprint from 0-60 mph in about 3.2 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 211 mph. A dual-clutch transmission sends power rearward.

It won't be cheap; the last estimate we had for a normal F12 was around $300,000. If this is a GTO model, we expect it to sticker for more than that.

By Jake Lingeman