2012 Ferrari FF

First registered on the 28th of January 2012 this wonderful Ferrari FF has been in the care of the owner for the past nine months. Finished in the very best colour combination of them all, this Grigio Grey example has the wonderful tan leather interior and two sets of the limited-edition alloy wheels, one in grey and the other in black.

Originally a Maranello Ferrari car, the vendor believes that it is fitted with every option that was offered at the time. It also has a full Ferrari service history and an advisory-free MOT.

The ultimate in usable Ferraris, this four-wheel-drive estate car offers stellar performance and massive practicality, all wrapped up in one of the most gorgeous shapes of the 21st century.

The Grigio Silverstone coachwork is as near to flawless as you’re are ever going to find on a 12-year-old car. Still featuring factory levels of accuracy in the panel alignment and shutlines, the panels are also free of dents, dinks, and damage. The 458-derived front end looks terrific, merging seamlessly into the aluminium spaceframe estate car rear.

The paintwork itself is stunning, and is wonderfully complemented by air vents in the front and rear wings, the quad exhaust system, and the minimalist front grille.

The complex and wonderfully styled light lenses are all in excellent condition, as are the badges – including the iconic yellow Ferrari items on the front wings - and glazing; on a car like this even the smallest blemish starts warning bells ringing, so the fact that they’re all still mint is hugely reassuring.

Ferrari-branded Rosso Scuderia Brembo calipers and ceramic brake discs peek from behind the 20-inch, five-spoke limited-edition alloy wheels. The wheels themselves are in great shape and are free of scuffs, scrapes and other damage. They’re shod with 245/35ZR20 Pirelli P-Zero tyres on the front, and 295/35ZR20 Pirelli P-Zeros on the rear. All look to have good tread.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

It gets even better, because the vendor also has a set of identical limited-edition wheels that he uses for winter tyres. Finished in black rather than grey, he’s throwing these in with the car despite them retailing at around £5,000 – but then that’s the kind of guy he is. Thus equipped, you’ve got the ideal inter-continental missile to waft your family to the ski slopes in complete comfort and reliability.

Other accessories include front parking sensors and a rear parking camera plus Ferrari sports exhaust pipes.

Problems are limited to a few small stonechips and minor marks, almost all of which are limited to the front end. There is, in other words, nothing to worry about at all.

The tan leather and carbon fibre interior is simply gorgeous; few manufacturers do a better job that cossetting than Ferrari, and we can imagine the car’s new owner sitting in the car in their garage just to savour the feel and smell of what is one of our favourite interiors of 2020.

It’s in great shape, too. The tan leather front seats, which are heated and electrically adjustable, are ultra-supportive and only very gently creased. The rear seats are even better, and vast swathes of matching leather cover the dashboard, door trims, and centre console. All of it is every bit as well-trimmed as you’d expect using only the softest leather and some of the neatest stitching in the business.

The tan leather is supplemented by lashings of carbon fibre and alloy trim; this is a very well-specified example and we applaud the good taste of whoever spec’d it.

The flat-bottomed leather and carbon fibre steering wheel is every schoolboy fantasy made real, and the huge carbon fibre paddles ensure that flipping up and down the seven-speed is a joy, no matter what angle the wheel might be at.

The five-position manettino (‘little manager’) control is present and correct too, as is a top-mounted gearshift light. You can also control the lights, dampers, windscreen wipers, and indicators without removing your hands from the wheel, and there’s a vivid red engine start button as well. It’s in fine fettle, which is just as well as a new one will set you back north of £6,000. For a secondhand one.

The wheel sits in front of a fabulous instrument cluster; the emphasis is, of course, placed on the rev counter. Red-lined at 8,250rpm, it is flanked by two square displays. The centre console holds the buttons for the gearbox and launch control immediately below the heating controls, while those for the electric windows and hazard warning lights sit slightly behind.

There’s a launch control button too, plus a beautiful alloy footrest for the front seat passenger to brace themselves against. (Oh, er, missus…)

The rear seat passengers are similarly cossetted because there are TV screens in the back of the front seat headrests, and a huge centre console that works very well to keep warring kids apart. The original Ferrari-branded headphones are still in place, too.

The grey carpet in the boot is very clean and free of damage, scuffs and wear. There are protective load space rails in there too, plus four tie-down points to keep your Louis Vuitton luggage from sliding around when you’re lapping the Nürburgring.

The service history is comprehensive, and is recorded as follows:

• 11.02.2013 and 1,902 miles – service by Maranello  

• 31.01.2014 and 5,144 miles – service and fresh brake fluid by Maranello 

• 22.01.2015 and 9,306 miles – service by Maranello 

• 07.02.2016 and 13,190 miles – service, fresh brake fluid and drive belts by Greypaul

• 27.03.2017 and 20,182 miles – service by Greypaul

• 30.03.2018 and 20,859 miles – service and fresh brake fluid by Lancaster

• 13.03.2019 and 22,255 miles – service by Maranello 

The engine bay is filled with that massive V12 engine. Dark and coal-like in appearance, the vibrant red camcovers and silver inlet manifolds serve only to highlight the importance of engineering excellence allied to dramatic aesthetics. Obviously, it’s all very clean too, but then you could have guessed that, couldn’t you?

It starts, revs, and runs as it should. We are told that it also still drives as the factory intended, which is to say very, very well. The theory that every petrolhead should own a Ferrari at some point in their life is easy to dismiss – until you drive a car like this and realise there really is some magic to the formula…

The Ferrari’s MOT certificate, which is valid until September 2021, was gained without a single advisory point, something it’s been doing (with the exception of mentions for worn tyres) forever.

It also comes with two keys, the original book pack comprising the handbook, service history booklet and other miscellaneous booklets, a sheaf of old MOT certificates and invoices, and the V5 registration document.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

NB: The Ferrari comes with the cherished registration number ‘VX11 FFF’.

Any Ferrari is a very special thing, but a four-seater, four-wheel-drive, V12-powered shooting brake is a unique – and desirable – proposition.

And with the current fashion for running modern classics, cars that combine the elegance and dynamic rewards we all crave alongside better reliability and greater safety, cars like the FF are starting to find a ready market among folk who refuse to compromise on the way their cars look or go.

Of course, the market is necessarily smaller than it is for more mainstream cars, not least because we expect the winning bidder will have to find somewhere between £96,000 and £110,000 to make it theirs. But, the FF is such an achingly beautiful, powerful, and versatile sports car that we can’t imagine ever getting tired of owning one.

And that’s priceless.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the seller near St Albans in Hertfordshire; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.