The Ferrari F12berlinetta and its predecessor, the 599->ke395, are some of the baddest front-engine, V-12 supercars->ke177 in the world. Poke each with a sharp stick, and they will easily hit 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds, and deliver lap times ahead of anything else with the engine out front.

But the Ferrari pricing and positioning strategy seems backwards to some outsiders. The 458 is the entry-level car, then the FF wagon, then the F12 and ultimately, the million-dollar LaFerrari.

As the flagship production car line, the F12 is absolutely one of the best cars ever made. Period. Its high-dollar clients like it so much that the previous 599XX program of special, owners-only racing events has become a major profit center for the Prancing Horse.

A bit like renting a car for about $50,000 a day for a few days a year, the Corsa Clienti and XX evolution programs have some rich history with Ferrari. Worth recalling that the 288 GTO Evoluzione->ke252 both directly spawned the F40 and a whole generation of turbocharged sports cars->ke506 from Japan.

So to really get buyers to open the checkbook wider than ever, the F12XX program must whet their appetite for the front-engine exotic, but also leave them wanting even more. A buyer of one car suddenly owns two red stallions. It does not take an accountant to know how lucrative this double-down selling strategy is.

Of course, spending time on Yas Marina circuit or Imola with hundreds of racing-overalls-wearing Ferrari engineers does bring a bit more street cred when wearing a red baseball hat back home in the standard F12.

So what do these double-rich buyers want from the XX program of the latest F12 supercar? Will it be a lightness and stripped-out racing program, a test-bed for new tires and manettino settings?

Or just a fun way to set the brakes on fire while keeping the wide-eyed racing stare of F1 heroes?

This exclusive TopSpeed rendering shows a speculative preview of the next Ferrari F12, which we have dubbed the F12berlinetta XX - or just F12XX for short.

2015 Ferrari F12XX - TopSpeed Rendering

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  • Model: 2015 Ferrari F12XX - TopSpeed Rendering
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Background on the Ferrari XX Program

As seen above, the changes from the previous-gen 599 to the 599XX were quite extreme in the aero, suspension and traction setup. Lack of catalytic converters easily liberatds an extra 200 horsepower and the loudest bellow of any Ferrari model. Far above the drive-by noise regulations that limit most supercars to about 110 decibels at full throttle.

The F12XX is such a special project for a few reasons. And on further consideration of Ferrari's outrageous scheme for its richest clients, it does start to make sense.

First off, the car is front-engine so it's much easier to drive at the limit or in a 'real life' racing scenario than any mid-engine model like the 458 Speciale.

Try as these gentlemen racers might, the skills and poise would have cars spinning into the walls far to often.

So the F12XX is not only a way to spend some extra time on a racetrack with red uniforms, but is also a teaching tool. It teaches buyers how to be better racing drivers, and teaches Ferrari with some direct product feedback from important people.

Ferrari is many things, but not one to take hints and suggestions from the hoi polloi who drop $300,000 in a dealership somewhere. The Maranello operation shrugs off most of the scathing critiques on social media that would have other brands in scrambling PR damage mode.

The other reason Ferrari's XX program is brilliant is that the cars pack far too many customer gizmos and legal/safety components in standard specification.

The cars will delight on a track, but the extra 1,000 pounds of airbags, insulation, catalytic converters, speakers, etc. is all thrown into a dumpster.

The changes are only possible at such a deep mechanical level because XX cars are born only for private tracks. No license plates will adorn these cars for many years to come.

So Ferrari can, for lack of a better word, cheat many of the standard road-car regulations that diminish performance. Tires, emissions, glass and lights are all sidelined in favor of extreme lightness and unforgiving race settings for the aero, dampers and traction manager systems.

Most Likely Next Steps For an F12XX

The F12 is ripe for improvement. It is too expensive and limited in production to make many waves on the account balance sheets of Ferrari, so something is needed relatively urgently.

The TopSpeed design team has a been brainstorming since the F12 first saw the light of day. What is next for the incredible (but forgettable) Ferrari F12?

2015 Ferrari F12XX - TopSpeed Speculative Preview

This latest rendering really ups the intensity of the previous one (below) via a moving racing image. Dynamic shots of the F12XX on the track show just how low and mean this track-only racing prototype will be.

Mechanically, removing everything that is not speed-related will dramatically increase lap times and the rush of red-hot brakes and howling V-12 engines all around.

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta XX - Previous TopSpeed Speculative Preview

The modifications for this different rendering of an F12 XX are light on the outside in order to keep the overall profile of the F12 intact. After all buyers who will buy two of the same car must like the way it looks as standard.

So a far deeper chin spoiler and ground effects package is a major change. A flat underfloor and some additional aero spats also help to keep the XX sucked down to the tarmac.

Thinner mirrors and a slightly longer overall length is another big change visible between the production 2014 F12 and the TopSpeed F12XX rendering.

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If you have the cash, these Ferrari XX models are about as quick as you can go on the world's best tracks a few times a year.

For only the mega rich, and not the super duper absurd rich, the regular F12 is hard to beat for street-legal thrills.