RARELY does a completely new super car come along, and even rarer is a high-speed, four-seat tourer. All right, it's more of a 2+2, but the new Ferrari 456GT is one of the most impressive machines invented in the lead up to the 21st century.
The beauty of the 456's engine - each cylinder is 456cc and there are 12 of them, making 5.4 litres in all - is that it is not a highly stressed, turbo-charged unit.
It is possible, though, to leave it in sixth gear and cruise around at low revs all day. At 70 kilometres per hour, the engine is turning over at just 1,200 rpm - little more than tick-over. But drop it down a couple of cogs, bring it 'on cam' and the dry-sump V12 unit unleashes all those 325kW of power, accompanied by a roaring howl from the four exhaust pipes, guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, and giving the 456 an incredible top speed in excess of 300 km/h.
And if acceleration figures turn you on, try this: the Ferrari 456GT will take you from rest to 100 km/h in a fraction over five seconds. That's quick by any standards. But it takes an experienced driver to control this beast; keep it in the power band - between 4,000 rpm and 7,000 rpm - and you simply have to work at it, hanging on to the steering wheel and trying desperately to change gear fast enough to keep up. In short, the performance of the Ferrari 456GT is stunning.
In handling terms you could not get much better than the 456, bearing in mind it has its engine mounted up front. But thanks to the location of a rear-mounted trans-axle - six-speed gearbox and limited slip differential in one - the weight distribution is almost perfect.
Built by the famous Italian firm of Pininfarina, the 456 features an aluminium body over an alloy steel, tubular chassis, while the massive bonnet is made of carbon composite material with honeycomb inserts in the interest of a lighter vehicle.