Ferrari's fantastic four-wheel-drive FF flagship four-seat fastback

The long-anticipated successor to the 612 Scaglietti takes the stage as Ferrari's flagship grand tourer. It carries four seats like its predecessor, but elongates the roofline for a shooting brake/hatchback body-style that offers plenty of cabin space and – with those rear seats folded down – as much cargo capacity as a small wagon.

It may be the first shooting brake to roll out of Maranello since the legendary 250 Breadvan, but that's not even the extent of the firsts pioneered in the new Ferrari Four. It also carries the company's long-in-the-making part-time all-wheel drive system: the innovation is called 4RM, and while technical details haven't been revealed, it is said to be only half as heavy as a conventional system, helping the front-engined shooting brake keep a 47:53 rearward weight bias. Coupled with a sub-4,000 pound curb weight (some 110 pounds less than the 612), the HELE stop-start system previewed in the California concept from the Paris show also helps keep emissions and fuel consumption down.

Of course nobody buys a Ferrari for its environmental credentials, so here's the info you've been waiting for: 0-62 in 3.7 seconds (a third quicker than the 612) and a top speed of 208 mph (about nine mph faster than the 612). Credit that bit to the all-new, direct-injection, 6.3-liter V12 and its 651 horsepower and 504 lb-ft of torque, which you can read about – together with the other technical details – in the press release after the jump. Ferrari's also launched a dedicated microsite for the new flagship.