The Ferrari flat-12 engine family is a series of flat-12 DOHC petrol engines produced by Ferrari from 1964 to 1996. The first racing Ferrari flat-12, the Mauro Forghieri-designed Tipo 207, was introduced in the Ferrari 1512 F1 car in 1964. Later flat-12 racing engines were used in Ferrari Formula One and sports racing cars from 1968 until 1980, including the 212 E Montagna, 312 B series, 312 PB and 312 T series. The roadgoing flat-12 engines were introduced with the 365 GT4 BB and were produced in various versions until the end of F512M production in 1996.
Configuration and nomenclature
Ferrari flat-12 engines have two banks of 6 cylinders oriented at 180 degrees from each other in a horizontally opposed or "flat" layout. This layout was first utilized in a Ferrari engine by engineer Mauro Forghieri in the 1964 Ferrari 1512 Formula One racing car, which was the first flat-12 car of any type to race. Ferrari had previously only manufactured engines with V or straight cylinder layouts. The flat-12 engine was initially developed for use in Ferrari racing cars because the shape of the engine resulted in a lower center of gravity, which improved various handling dynamics. In the later 312 B and 312 T F1 cars, the low height of the flat-12 was aerodynamically advantageous, as it allowed additional airflow to reach the rear spoiler.
All Ferrari flat-12 engines have a crankshaft design where each pair of opposing connecting rods use the same crank pin, a trait shared with earlier Ferrari V12 engines. This distinguishes this engine design from a boxer engine. According to engine designer Forghieri:
Three names for the Ferrari flat-12 engines are in common use: "flat-12", "180° V12" and "boxer." "Flat" does not specify crankshaft design and therefore can refer to either a non-boxer engine like the Ferrari or a true boxer engine like a Porsche flat-6. Alternatively, some sources prefer to call Ferrari flat-12 engines a "180° V12", referring to the V12-derived crankshaft design and the 180° angle between cylinder banks. Other sources refer to them as "boxer" engines. Despite the technical inaccuracy of "boxer", this term is widely used both in the press and official Ferrari publications, including the factory-issued specifications of the 312 B F1 and sales brochures for the BB 512 road car.
Racing engines
Tipo 207
Ferrari's first flat-12 engine design was the 1.5-liter Tipo 207, used in the 1964-65 Ferrari 1512 Formula One car (also known as the 512 F1). The Tipo 207 flat-12 engine was designed by Mauro Forghieri and displaced with a bore and stroke of and a compression ratio of 9.8:1. The crankcase was cast from aluminum alloy. The crankshaft ran in seven main bearings. Four gear-driven overhead camshafts operated one intake and one exhaust valve per cylinder. The ignition system used twin distributors (chain-driven off the timing gears) and a single spark plug per cylinder. Ancillary components such as the alternator, fuel pump and injection pumps were placed on top of the engine. The first version of the Tipo 207 engine, presented to the press at Ferrari's December 1963 press conference, was equipped with an indirect fuel injection system manufactured by Lucas. This was changed to a full Bosch injection and ignition system prior to the car's competition debut in 1964. In 1965, the engine was revised with a new cylinder head design and revised injection trumpets.
The engine developed @ 12,000 rpm, compared to the @ 11,000 rpm of the 158's V8 engine. This power output made it one of the most powerful contemporary 1.5-litre Formula One engines, possibly surpassed by Honda's RA271 V12. However, the engine's torque curve was not broad enough to provide a significant advantage over other cars and the 1512 was not competitive by the end of the 1965 season.