FF [2011-2016] [Official] 2011 Ferrari FF

[klier]

If I wish one thing was different, it would be to replace the grinning grill with GTO style mesh.

The chrome is an option, you can have it all black too.

BTW, guys, there is a configurator on Ferrari.com, it's just sick how individual this car is. Just SICK!!!

Discover the new FF

 

[Merc1]

Interesting as it is, it just isn't a good looking car IMO.


M

 

[Merc1]

No here is something you don't see anywhere anymore, a passenger side speedo.


M

 

[Merc1]

The car is full of little details:



Back up camera in the speedo when you shift into reverse. Neat.



M

 

[martinbo]

Right, thanks to my good mate and countryman, Human for pointing me in the direction of this AutoExpress article on the Ferrari FF's 4RM AWD system. It's as I said: effectively a car with two separate transmissions (gearboxes) - one for the front axle and one for the rear.

I asked:

I wonder how they synchronise the geared speeds for the front and rear wheels?

And here's the answer (in bold):

At the heart of the FF is the new seven-speed, semi-automatic, four-wheel drive transmission. It was patented by Ferrari seven years ago, and it’s taken the firm that long to develop it into a system that's does the Italian firm's sporting pedigree justice.

Unlike conventional four-wheel-drive systems, which are driven through a single gearbox and rely on propshafts and differentials, the FF’s set-up uses a conventional seven-speed gearbox on the rear axle, and adds a second gearbox, with two gears, that's bolted to the front of the engine.

Described as a power take off unit, or PTU, energy is drawn directly from the crank, and then fed to the front wheels through a pair of wet clutches. As a result, it's lighter and more controllable than a traditional 4WD set-up.

The PTU’s gearing is set slightly higher than that of the standard gearbox that transmits power to the rear wheels, so to equalize the speed between front and rear axles, the clutches continually slip. The system only works when the rear wheels begin to spin, and each front wheel can be controlled independently.

The front wheels can also 'overspeed', meaning that they run even faster than the rear wheels. This means Ferrari can introduce something called torque vectoring – a kind of advanced traction control that uses engine power to improve grip, rather than just brakes, as a conventional ESP system does.

Very clever in theory but I'm still battling to understand how two gears in the PTU provide the spread of wheel speeds that the rear transaxle 7 speed gearbox would.

The theory extoled above is that, in order for the Ferrari to feel and act like a proper RWD Ferrari most of the time, the front wheels would need to free wheel. So, this free-wheeling is facilitated by the clutches being "open" and thus allowed to slip. When the rear wheels start to spin the clutches engage the front wheels which are driven at a slighter higher speed (i.e. taller ratio) than the rear wheels. The reason for this is obvious - you don't want the car to slow down when the front wheels are called into action.

So, I then thought about the two ratios in the front gearbox vs. the 7 at the rear came to assumption that perhaps in higher gears 5,6,7th the front wheels are never actuated because slippage at the rear axle is improbable.

...and then... I found the greatest write up on the whole system that it deserves its own post. Stand by

 

[martinbo]

Inside Line Geek Out: How Ferrari's 4RM system really works




IL Geek-Out: Ferrari FF 4RM All Wheel-Drive System
By Jason Kavanagh | March 11, 2011

Perhaps you've seen Ferrari's zoomy video depicting the 4RM all wheel-drive system in the 2012 Ferrari FF, but felt it was lacking in specifics.

You're not alone. In order to better understand the nuances of 4RM, Ferrari's first production AWD system, we sat down with Ferrari technical director Roberto Fedeli who explained the gory details of the company's twin-gearbox, nine-speed all wheel-drive system.

No doubt, an all wheel-drive Ferrari is a puzzling -- some might say sacrilegious -- concept to the Tifosi.

It's perhaps no surprise that the company's first foray into four driven wheels was carefully considered. If you can remember the terminal understeer present in the first AWD Porsche 911, the late-'80s 964 Carrera 4, then you understand the concern.

Philosophically, Ferrari's 4RM system in the FF is more of a traction aid than a handling aid. Fedeli explains, "We don't want to use the four wheel drive in order to enhance the performance in the dry because we think that the best solution for the sporty car is to have all the torque at the rear."

Mostly Rear Wheel-Drive

The amount of torque you're trying to transmit directly dictates the size of the bits needed to transmit it, and in the FF the front wheels receive a maximum of just 20% of the engine's torque. The mild torque split is borne out by the puny diameters of the front driveshafts compared to the monstrous ones out back.

That the requirement of relatively low torque-handling resulted in relatively small and light front-drive bits was just the beginning. Ferrari located the engine completely aft of the front axle line which presented an opportunity to get nutty with the AWD layout.

Were the FF to employ a traditional AWD system, power would flow down the driveshaft to the rear-mounted transaxle and on to a center differential, from which a second driveshaft would then redirect power to the front differential and then on to the front wheels.

This is a needlessly heavy -- and space-robbing -- layout when you're only trying to send a maximum of 20% of the total torque to the front wheels. "We don't want another driveshaft between the gearbox and front axle because this means weight and space. Space means, again, weight, and if you don't want to lose the space inside you have to make the car bigger and bigger," says Fedeli.

Instead, the FF's front wheel-drive equipment is completely divorced from the main gearbox. A familiar rear-mounted seven-speed transaxle handles the power to the rear wheels, while a second gearbox with two forward speeds (plus a reversing mechanism) manages the power to the front wheels.

Gearboxes Front And Rear

Yes, the FF has two gearboxes. The front gearbox is driven off the nose of the crankshaft and the entire unit is largely integrated into the engine block. According to Fedeli, the front power take-off hardware weighs "35-40 kg [77-88 pounds], while saving the same amount of kilos compared to a traditional [AWD] solution."

Power for the front wheels is thus taken directly from the crankshaft, through one of the two gearbox ratios and then on to two electronically-controlled wet clutch packs, each of which can vector torque to a halfshaft connected to the front wheels. There is no center differential.

The two ratios in the front gearbox work like this -- the first ratio is used when first or second gear is selected in the main gearbox. The second cog up front is selected when the main gearbox is in 3rd or 4th gear.

When the main gearbox is in fifth, sixth or seventh, no power flows to the FF's front wheels since the car is not traction-limited in such high gears. Fedeli elaborates, "In 5th gear, all the torque that our engine is able to give us we can transmit only on the rear axle. In all conditions, also in snow when the surface is 0.3, 0.2 mu, we only need the rear axle in order to transmit all the torque."

Due to the nature of gearing and the desire to vector torque variously to the front wheels, it is imperative that the front gearbox ratio always be taller than the corresponding ratio engaged in the rear gearbox.

First gear in the front 'box is some 6% taller than second gear in the main gearbox. Second gear in the front gearbox, too, is 6% taller than fourth. The mismatched front-rear drive ratios require that the front clutch packs always operate with some slippage in order for the front and rear wheelspeeds to match.

Most of the time the FF will behave like a conventional rear-drive car. When there's plenty of traction present, the front clutches will be open, transmitting zero torque to the front wheels. Predictive algorithms derived from throttle position, steering angle, yaw and wheelspeed sensors allow the ECU to close the clutches to vector torque to the front wheels as needed.

This "on-demand" strategy avoids constant slippage of the carbon fiber-lined clutch packs. Still, the system is said to be able to withstand hard use, as the heat liberated in the clutch packs is dissipated by an independent fluid cooling system.

In-House Brainchild

So, Ferrari just licensed this clever AWD concept from a supplier, right? No. The 4RM system was developed and patented by Ferrari, and the various gears and bits are manufactured by Italian supplier Carraro.

In terms of performance, 4RM indeed improves launch performance, although Fedeli stresses "this is not the main goal of this system." The FF hits 100 kph (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds and would be "two or three tenths" slower without AWD.

We'll be driving the FF in the coming weeks, where we'll hopefully address the pressing question of what burnouts look like in an AWD Ferrari.

--Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor

So there you have it. AWD but not. In essence this is a low speed traction control system designed to provide drive to the front wheels when traction is lost at the rear in low speed, low grip scenarios. The 4RM provides significant weight savings in this transaxle configuration.

If Ferrari went the traditional AWD route then their system would look much like the one in Nissan's GTR where a second, offset propshaft emerges from the transaxle transmitting torque to a front differential. This is a heavier solution (although it's more "proper AWD") than the one employed in the Ferrari FF.

 

[Sunny]

^Smart, but I have to wonder about the life of the front clutch pack especially if you are drifting around in the snow all day.

 

[K-A]

The car is full of little details:



Back up camera in the speedo when you shift into reverse. Neat.



M

Wow! Is that Ferrari being innovative in interior tech/ergonomics/etc.?! Watch everybody else copy this.

 

[klier]

Wow! Is that Ferrari being innovative in interior tech/ergonomics/etc.?! Watch everybody else copy this.

Never been inside a new BMW I suppose? This is hardly new. Well, maybe for Ferrari.

BTW, that speedo on the passenger side posted by Marcus is SO COOL!!! Hadn't seen that yet!!

 

[Human]

BTW, that speedo on the passenger side posted by Marcus is SO COOL!!! Hadn't seen that yet!!

All the info a passenger needs in this kind of car

 

[Soup]

2012 Ferrari FF Drive

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 4-passenger 3-door hatchback

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $300,000

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 382 cu in, 6262 cc
Power (SAE net): 651 bhp @ 8000 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 504 lb-ft @ 6000 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 117.7 in Length: 193.2 in
Width: 76.9 in Height: 54.3 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 4150 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 3.5 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 11.5 sec
Top speed: 208 mph

 

[HighestOfHigh]

Interesting as it is, it just isn't a good looking car IMO.


M

The front of the car is perfect IMO. I just can't get over the hatch for a Ferrari. Just seems out of place. A coupe would have been glorious!

 

[SKY]

At last a company that hears my demand of blue leather:

MAGNIFICENT.

 

[Kowalski]

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[coolraoul]

I'm really starting to love that car. Provided it's not red, which doesn't suit it at all. Any darker colour will do.

That's bold from Ferrari, but I love it.

 

[Giannis]

The FF's looks are mind-blowing!

 

[bmer]

Not exactly the most flattering angles. The car looks comically stubby.

 

[Centurion]

I'm sorry but I can't get to grips with this car. If one wants a comfortable Ferrari Grand Tourer there's the 599 GTB wish is also amazingly gorgeous. Adrenalin junkies can get their fix in an 458 GTB. The practical aspects of this car are simply not good enough. Crawling into that back seat doesn't look fun and neither does spending long hours there.

Millionaires wishing to transport four adults and a dead bear at the same time is better off choosing a Cayenne Turbo and ticking all the boxes on the option list, and using the rest of the cash to buy a 458 Italia. I mean the FF is the king of oxymorons:

It's four wheel drive but not really.
It's four seater passenger car but not really.
It's a hatchback but not really.
It's a super car but not really.
It's easy on the eyes but not really.
It's the Ferrari of my dreams but not really

//Thursday rant

 

[Thomas]

Can someone please explain exactly how this awd system works because if I'm understanding this video correctly there is no direct interaction between what the rear and front wheels are doing. I mean when this clutch at the front engages what actually happens to the normal power being directed to the rear?

Also, Ferrari are claiming their DCT has ZERO shift time, how is that possible, surely all DCT transmission are basically following a very similar design.

 

[Sunny]

Can someone please explain exactly how this awd system works because if I'm understanding this video correctly there is no direct interaction between what the rear and front wheels are doing. I mean when this clutch at the front engages what actually happens to the normal power being directed to the rear?

It is all in this post - http://www.germancarforum.com/612-scaglietti/36264-official-2011-ferrari-ff-19.html#post508386