Due to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, images of the Ferrari FF have certainly caused a sensation. It was a shock to everyone who wasn't expecting the company to unveil something very different in 2011, although any thoughts of a Porsche Cayenne-style SUV proved wide of the mark, thankfully, with Ferrari's president Luca di Montezeolo confirming that there will never be a four-door car wearing the prancing horse.

The FF replaces the oddly styed 612 Scaglietti, and adopts a new styling direction for modern-day Ferrari, adopting a profile not dissimilar to the BMW Z3 Coupe. But unlike the German car, the Ferrari FF has found almost unanimious praise for its new design direction, which has overshadowed the use of 4WD, and the fact its all-new V12 is the most powerful production engine to emerge from Maranello.

 

The FF - an acronym for Ferrari Four (four seats and four-wheel drive) – is described by Ferrari as a car that 'represents not so much an evolution as a true revolution'. Interesting that Jensen's four-wheel drive Interceptor, a car similar in concept, was also called the FF.

Of course, the new car generates the numbers: 651bhp at 8000rpm, 0-60mph taking 3.5 seconds, and a top speed of 208mph. It weighs 1790kg – 50kg less than its predecessor, and returns 18.3mpg and 360g/km when specced with the HELE stop-start system. It's 4907mm long, 1953mm wide and 1374mm tall, making it longer, but narrower and taller than the 612.

Drive is fed via a transaxle-mounted dual-clutch F1 gearbox, but the big news is the FF’s patented four-wheel-drive system. Called 4RM, Ferrari claims the system weighs 50 per cent less than a conventional all-wheel drive transmission, and helps to maintain a 47:53 weight distribution.

An array of personalisation options and accessories has been developed for the FF, including six model-specific exterior colours and special leather upholstery. The newcomer will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, with prices yet to be announced.