Ferrari's 12Cilindri gallops into Korea for continental first

The 830-horsepower, 12-cylinder supercar made its Asia debut in Incheon on Thursday, with pre-orders already sold out in the country.

Ferrari's 12Cilindri was unveiled in Korea on Thursday in a first for Asia. [SARAH CHEA]

INCHEON — Classic Ferrari fans, you waited long enough. Your Italian prancing horse marque brought the 12Cilindri, the long-anticipated replacement for the 812 Superfast, to Korea before any other country in Asia on Thursday.

The Ferrari 12Cilindri, containing the Italian word for "cylinder," may be its last front-engined, road-legal 12-cylinder two-seater supercar without turbochargers or hybrid technology.

Emanuele Carando, global product marketing director at Ferrari, and Kim Kwang-cheol, CEO of FMK, the local distributor of Ferrari, pose with the 12Cilindri at an Asia Premiere event in Incheon on Thursday. [FERRARI]

"The Korean market, a mix of high-tech and classic brands, reflects the nature of Ferrari, so we decided on Korea as the first Asian country, and the second country in the world, to unveil the 12Cilindri," Emanuele Carando, global product marketing director at Ferrari, told the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Asia Premiere event in Incheon Thursday.

“The 12Cilindri plays a very important role in the range, representing a perfect combination of performance and pure driving thrills, packed with the highest levels of comfort and technology."

The sports car boasts up to 830 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque.

It takes only 2.9 seconds to reach 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) from a dead stop, and 7.9 seconds to hit 200 kilometers per hour, with a maximum speed of 340 kilometers per hour.

The 12Cilindri may be Ferrari's last front-engined 12-cylinder two-seater supercar. [FERRARI]

The 12Cilindri may be Ferrari's last front-engined 12-cylinder two-seater supercar. [FERRARI]

Orders are already closed in Korea as Ferrari produces a very small quantity of the car for current owners of the brand's vehicles.

The sticker price starts from 395,000 euros ($426,000), though the Korean price was not disclosed.

Deliveries in the country will start next year.

Interior of 12Cilindri [FERRARI]

"Korea is the most polished market in Asia with a huge fan base for luxury car lovers," Carando added.

The decision to make the car's Asian debut in Korea is something of a surprise, considering that sales for the Italian carmaker in Japan vastly outnumber those in Korea. In 2023, Ferrari sold 339 units in Korea, up 12 percent on year, while 1,395 were sold in Japan.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]