The Ferrari FF gets a huge panoramic glass roof in Paris

The main attraction from the Ferrari display at the 2012 Paris show was the bare carbon fiber chassis that will underpin the upcoming F70 hybrid hypercar but in terms of additions to current models, the panoramic roof feature for the four seat, four wheel drive Ferrari FF is the biggest news.

This new full-length panoramic roof on the Ferrari FF makes use of a special reflective glass that provides protection against the elements while still offering what the Italian automaker calls “a genuine open-air driving feeling.” The special high tech glass roof should help to keep out unwanted sound while the glass treatment helps to hold out the sun’s rays so that it doesn’t turn the Ferrari FF into a rolling oven. Based on what we can see in the pictures from Ferrari, this looks to be a fixed roofline so the open air part of the ride must be based mostly on the view and one’s imagination. I have been in plenty of cars will a predominantly glass roof and it is a welcome change over the basic metal roof – although I often find myself wanting to open a solid glass roof.

The glass roof on the Ferrari FF extends far enough back that rear riders don’t find themselves having to look forward and up with a true full straight-up view for all. Interestingly, the one picture of the glass roof from the inside doesn’t appear to offer any sort of interior “cover”, as the rear headliner area appears to run right up to the bottom of the glass. This means that unless there is a cover mounted in the front headliner area, the occupants are always exposed to the sky – which could get a little tiring on especially bright days, even with the tinted glass. However, this glass roof feature looks great from the inside and it looks super clean from the outside.

Unfortunately, the debut of the glass roofline for the Ferrari FF does not include any information what kind of weight it adds to this four door supercar. If I was a betting man, I would wager that this glass roof is heavier than the traditional solid roof found on the current Ferrari FF but in the long run – most Ferrari FF buyers are probably concerned about luxury and comfort first while high performance comes second. After all, if they had been that concerned about high performance, they would have opted for the F12 Berlinetta or the 458 Italia. Also, the odds are good that even with the few extra pounds of glass across the roofline, the Ferrari FF is still one of the fastest cars in the world that will comfortably seat four and go hard in just about any weather conditions – be it rain or shine or snow.

The Ferrari statement from Paris also doesn’t mention pricing or availability of the glass roof option for the FF but considering that a smaller glass roof option for the 2013 Ford Mustang costs $1,995 – we can expect that the Ferrari FF option would be well north of that. Then again, when you pay $295,000 for a new Ferrari, does an extra $5,000 really make a difference? Probably not.

The gallery on the right has more images of the Ferrari FF glass roof option, click any thumbnail for a closer look.