8 Best Engines Ever Put In A Ferrari

There are numerous factors that make Ferrari arguably the greatest name in the car world — its stunning designs, its exclusivity, and its storied racing history. However, Ferrari's biggest strength has always been its ability to create world-leading engines, with the perfect balance of race-winning performance and a crowd-pleasing soundtrack. The brand is most famous for its 12-cylinder engines, but its V8 and V6 powerplants have also proved to be among the best of their kind over the years.

However, times are changing over in Maranello. Much like the rest of the industry, Ferrari has begun the inevitable switch toward electrification, with the brand's latest supercars receiving hybrid powerplants and an electric supercar set to be unveiled in 2025. Ferrari's CEO has confirmed that he expects 40% of the carmaker's sales to be pure electric by 2030, with 80% electrified to some degree. The days of Ferrari's internal combustion engines are numbered, then, but the brand's legacy of world-beating gas powerplants won't be easily forgotten. These eight represent the best of the Prancing Horse's past and present output.

Originally debuting in the 456 GT, the F116B was the first all-new 12-cylinder Ferrari engine design since the "Boxer" engine of the '70s, and it effectively replaced the Colombo V12's place in the lineup, powering the brand's grand tourers. It sported a new 65-degree angle between the cylinder banks, as opposed to the 60-degree angle that had been a signature of the Colombo engine. Later versions of the 456 used the reference F116C, but both designations produced 442 horsepower in 456, with peak power arriving at 6,200 revolutions per minute.

It was later used in the 550 Maranello, with minor revisions and the factory reference F133A. These revisions boosted power output to 478 horsepower, which was delivered at 7,000 revolutions per minute. A further revised version appeared in the 575 Maranello, with the engine's final appearance being in the 612 Scaglietti, where it made 533 horsepower. Ferrari's reputation for making grand tourers had somewhat waned with the 412i, but thanks to this new V12, its successors reaffirmed the brand's place at the top of the tree, blending all-out performance with smooth power delivery.

Depending on who you ask, the F113 is either Ferrari's greatest flat-12 engine or one of its greatest V12 engines. The confusion stems from the discrepancy between its layout and the official terms that Ferrari uses to describe it. Technically speaking, the engine is laid out like a 180-degree V12, with opposing pistons connected to one crank pin, rather than one crank pin per piston as with a typical "flat" boxer engine. The F113 is therefore definitely not a boxer — however, some would argue that any 12-cylinder engine laid out at a 180-degree angle could be classified as a "flat-12," and Ferrari confused things even further by referring to cars with the flat-12 design as "BB" — an abbreviation of "Berlinetta Boxer."

Ferrari later claimed that the "Boxer" designation was simply "poetic license" to cover up the fact that the car where it first appeared, the 365 GT4 BB, was unofficially named after movie star Brigitte Bardot during development and that the original name would have been too scandalous to add to a production vehicle. Whatever you want to call it, the 180-degree 12-cylinder engine was one of the most iconic powerplants of its era, with the F113 engines found in the Testarossa and F512M being the peak of over 20 years of its development. In its most powerful configuration in the F512M, the engine produced 440 horsepower at 6,750 revolutions per minute.

Most Ferrari-developed engines end up in cars with the Prancing Horse badge, but not all. The F136 V8 was developed as a joint project for both Ferrari and Maserati, and it made its debut in the Maserati Coupe and Spyder back in 2001. It later featured in a variety of Ferrari models, including the F430, California, and 458. It even made its way into the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, making 444 horsepower in the limited-run supercar.

Notably, the F136 is the last naturally-aspirated Ferrari V8, with its successor the F154 sporting twin turbos. Although the engine was phased out in Ferraris after the 458, it lived on in the Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio until 2019. Apart from its performance, the F136 was renowned for its soundtrack, which as any owner of an older Ferrari will be keen to point out, always sounds better when there are no turbos involved.

While the death of the V12 engine is almost inevitable as gas-powered cars get phased out thanks to impending zero-emissions regulations, the Ferrari F140 proves that there's still plenty of room for a 12-cylinder car in the market for now. The F140 debuted in the Enzo, with its design based on that of the F136 V8 engine. The 6.0-liter V12 in the Enzo was the most powerful naturally-aspirated engine fitted to a production car at the time of its release, and it was carried over to the Maserati MC12, with which the Enzo shares its underpinnings.

Since then, versions of the engine have appeared in the LaFerrari, 812 Superfast, and F12 Berlinetta, as well as a number of low-volume specials. It was recently confirmed that the Purosangue SUV will also feature a reworked version of the same engine, and with long waiting lists already reported for the model, it seems new V12 Ferraris will continue to be produced at Maranello for the foreseeable future.