These are the first real world photos of the new Ferrari F12tdf limited edition, snapped at a dealership prior to the cars delivery to its owner. They show a Rosso Corsa red F12tdf – a color that accentuates the exposed carbon parts and frankly raises questions about the looks of the car.

Ferrari F12tdf is a limited edition of 799 units and it costs an arm and a leg to purchase. And that is if you can find yourself a place on the waiting list. So naturally you would expect it to look pretty awesome, especially as it is based on the F12 which is a very decent looking super car. Now that we see the tdf in the real world though, we have to be honest we are not so sure.

Then again, there is an explanation for why Ferrari F12tdf looks the way it does. You see, the car is designed as an homage to the Tour de France race cars of the 50s and 60s, and it was fashionable back then for race cars to have all sorts of louvers and large openings, hence the various grilles and puncture wounds in this car’s body.

The new looks in the F12tdf come with advantages in terms of aerodynamics and also lightness.  The car is a whopping 100kg lighter than the normal F12 and it boasts 40 more horsepower. That means Ferrari had to fill it with advanced electronics and even a complicated rear wheel steering system to make it drivable. They could have lower the power a bit and make the whole thing simpler, but that’s not Ferrari’s way.

Photos via Autogespot