Buying and owning a brand-new Ferrari can sometimes be a hassle, due to the Italian company’s desire to protect its image. And a few of its sportiest cars can’t be street-driven. However, getting a used or discontinued Ferrari, even a classic one, comes with fewer strings. And at that point, there are plenty of high-end shops ready to tweak a customer’s Italian stallion. One of them is the Italian coachbuilder and styling house Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. And it’s just released its take on the Ferrari F12.

The Ferrari F12: have V12, will travel at speed

Although its successor, the 812 Superfast, is an extremely fast and competent grand-tourer, the Ferrari F12 is quick on its own merits.

Launched in 2013, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta has a 6.3-liter V12 rated at 730 hp and 509 lb-ft. That’s sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transaxle. And while it weighs 3872 pounds, the 2-seater GT can go 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, Car and Driver and Motor Trend report. That’s only 0.2 seconds slower than the haloed Ferrari Enzo.

Because of all that horsepower, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta can be a split-personality car at times, Road & Track reports. When you’re just cruising around, it’s comfortable and relatively sedate. The leather and interior materials are very high-quality, Autoweek reports. However, it’s a GT car with incredibly sharp and quick steering. And with a standard limited-slip differential, multiple driving modes, adjustable traction and stability control, and adaptive magnetic dampers, it’s well-equipped for the racetrack.

But even with all these features, MT found it “a little too wild for its own good.” Pushed to its limits, which are difficult to explore on normal roads, Car and Driver reports it’s “a bit skittish and unwieldy.”

The tdf

That didn’t necessarily change in 2016 when Ferrari released the F12 tdf. The name refers to the Tour de France Automobile race, which is separate from the cycling one, Automobile explains. It covered more miles than the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Ferrari won it 7 times, MT reports.

The Ferrari F12 tdf is even more powerful than the Berlinetta; its 6.3-liter V12 makes 769 hp and 520 lb-ft. And because it weighs 242 pounds less, the F12 tdf goes 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, R&T reports. But the Berlinetta didn’t really need more power. Which is why the Ferrari F12 tdf has more than just that.

It has wider front tires than the Berlinetta, Car and Driver reports, and different suspension geometry. The dampers, traction control, stability control, and active limited-slip differential have different programming. The dual-clutch shifts faster and has shorter gear ratios. The brakes come from the LaFerrari hypercar. Also, the F12 tdf is the first Ferrari fitted with rear-wheel steering to enhance its stability.

Because of all these changes, the Ferrari F12 tdf is arguably more of a supercar than the original Berlinetta. Its ride is stiffer and can be prone to snap-oversteer if not driven with care. Which is why it’s likely not the F12 chosen to underpin the Touring Superleggera Aero 3.

What makes the Touring Superleggera Aero 3 special?

To be fair, Touring Superleggera hasn’t officially stated what supercar it uses as a base for the Aero 3. However, based on the specs the Italian coachbuilder and design house released, it’s likely the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, R&T reports.

Touring Superleggera has a long history with lightweight sporty cars that date back to when coachbuilders where the ones making car bodies. It helped Aston Martin develop the DB4 Superleggera, and its name adorns the current DBS Superleggera. And a few years ago, it transformed the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione into the Disco Volante.

Touring Superleggera is doing a similar process to turn the Ferrari F12 into the Aero 3, MT reports. In fact, the Aero 3 has a few Alfa-like design elements, especially around the grille. Its body panels, including that rear fin, are made out of carbon fiber. The fin, sadly, doesn’t provide any aerodynamic benefit, Motor1 reports. It’s purely a design throwback to Touring’s coachbuilt Alfa Romeo racers of the 1930s.

The donor Ferrari F12 Berlinetta’s electronics, chassis, and powertrain are untouched, meaning its 6.3-liter V12 still makes 730 hp and 509 lb-ft, Autoblog reports. However, that carbon-fiber bodywork removes about 400 pounds from the F12’s curb weight. Plus, the interior gets some new aluminum and carbon-fiber trim, as well as racing harnesses and new Foglizzo leather upholstery.

Getting one of your own

It reportedly takes over 5000 hours to transform a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta into a Touring Superleggera Aero 3. The process takes 6 months, and the coachbuilder plans to only make 15, Top Gear reports. Because the car is utterly bespoke, the price is a definitive ‘upon request.’

However, while a normal Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is definitely cheaper, it’s not exactly cheap. New, the GT started at roughly $320k, Autotrader reports. And a 2014 example sold on Bring a Trailer in January 2020 for $214,000.

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