Ferrari GTC4 Lusso Fixes FerrariFour's Flaws

2016 Ferrari GTC4Lusso

When Ferrari announced the FF, it was a bit hard for me to swallow as a concept (as you can read here if you're bothered). It was Ferrari's first all-wheel-drive car, it had a hatchback tailgate and it sort of looked like a big angry Pokemon with a fat arse. "Oh no! It's the first step towards a Ferrari SUV!" many exclaimed in panic. Also the name was silly - FF stands for "Ferrari Four" as a nod to AWD and four seats, but that meant its full name was the "Ferrari Ferrari-Four" and that's just messy. It was only once you'd seen through all these layers and the ~£240k price tag that you realised there was a 660-horsepower V12 shooting brake with a prancing horse on it and extra stability in slippery conditions, which should be loved as a concept. A practical everyday car that's also a V12 Ferrari? Who can argue with that?!

Now, Ferrari are making it slightly easier to love with a revised version. Firstly, it has a new name: GTC4Lusso. Much like the F12berlinetta and F12tdf, it reads like Ferrari's keyboards are broken, or like they were considering making it a hashtag and then chickened out at the last second. I am not following their silly lack of punctuation, because all my spacebars work...
Still, the "GTC/4 Lusso," if you prefer, is a mishmash of historic nomenclature, referencing the likes of the 330 GTC and 365 GTC/4 as well as Ferrari's first luxury-oriented car, the 250 GT Lusso. It is unclear what the 'C' in 'GTC' means here - previously it meant Coupé which doesn't apply here - but the '4' refers to the number of seats and driven wheels rather than the number of camshafts (which probably is four anyway). After the 488 GTB, it's another pleasingly old-school name of sorts.

But enough about the name. There's a V12 shooting brake to look at, and doing so is a lot more pleasant this time around as they're reshaped it all to cut both drag and ugliness quite effectively. The nose design is cleaner, the side surfacing is more elegant and dynamic, plus the change from two big tail lights to four smaller ones (a bit of a #Throwback) has done wonders for the subtly reprofiled tail. Overall, the proportions are just better, as are the details - the side gills are exactly as you'd find on some of Ferrari's '60s grand tourers such as the 330 GTC or a 275 GTS. The full-length sunroof ought to help rear-seat passengers feel a bit less claustrophobic too.

Speaking of occupants, the interior design has also been revamped, featuring a "Dual Cockpit architecture." Translated from designerese, that means the front passenger gets their own set of instruments to read, including the car's speed, gear and revs. Depending on who your passenger is and how you're driving, this is either a brilliant idea or a terrifying means of being judged. If you're stuck with someone who makes it the latter then feel free to distract them with the 10.25-inch touch-controlled infotainment screen while you enjoy the improved driver ergonomics on and around the steering wheel (partially made possible by a more compact airbag). To make room for more cubby holes, the central gear selection pod is now sat alongside the driver's knee, while the passenger gets a similarly-shaped handle to grab when they see, hear and feel that you've just floored it in 3rd gear and almost doubled your speed in mere seconds.

Not that it should come as any surprise; the 6.3-litre V12 now produces 20 more horsepower to make 680PS in total at 8000rpm, with 514lb/ft of torque at 5750rpm (80% of that [411lb/ft] is available at 1750rpm for low-end shove). Despite weighing a hefty 1790kg (47:53), the GTC/4 Lusso hits 62mph in 3.4 seconds and rockets on to about 208mph up top. To make you less nervous than you newly informed passenger, Ferrari have updated their clever "4RM" all-wheel-drive system to include rear-wheel steering, much like the F12 TDF or a Honda Prelude. On top of that, an active electronic differential and adjustable active dampers combine with active electronic "Side Slip-angle Control" to keep things sane even on slippery surfaces. This despite the fact that the front wheels only ever get 20% or less of the total available power and torque.

Rear seats can still be folded down for wagon-like luggage space

That's about all the information we have at the moment, but more will be revealed at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March. In the meantime there are a few more words in this weird PDF-ish thing from their website. Oh and these other press images. That face look like it knows something sneaky...