Ferrari Recalls 80 12Cilindris Because It Accidentally Gave Them Illegally Dark Window Tint
When you buy a bright and shiny new half-million-dollar Ferrari V12 Grand Touring supercar, it's probably because you want people to look at you, right? Unfortunately for some new Ferrari owners, they'll remain anonymous to passersby, as their ostentatious four-wheeled status symbols are tinted too dark for anyone on the outside to see who is in the inside.
Last week, Ferrari filed a voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because it inadvertently shipped some 12Cilindri units to the U.S. with non-compliant tint. The recall documents indicate that Ferrari will be recalling eighty units of its new 12Cilindri sports coupe because the tint applied to the rear and side windows is too dark for Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Apparently, it was "caused by a wrong configuration of the model technical features" as the wrong windows were specified for U.S. customers, and the bungle wasn't discovered until after the vehicles arrived.
According to FMVSS No. 205, title 49, subtitle B, chapter III, subchapter B, part 393 subpart D, subsection 393.60, "coloring or tinting of windshields and the windows to the immediate right and left of the driver is allowed, provided the parallel luminous transmittance through the colored or tinted glazing is not less than 70 percent of the light at normal incidence." That is to say that you can't just drive around on the roadways of America with side windows tinted in a way that won't allow at least 70% of natural light to pass through. It isn't clear just how dark Ferrari went with the glass, but that seems pretty dark to me.
Having lived in the desert for quite a while, I appreciate good window tint on my cars, but it's a fine line to walk between blocking too much heat and being able to see appropriately at night. And 70% visibility is perfectly acceptable for pretty much every situation, so in this case, the law on the books is probably a good one.
As you might expect with a vehicle of this level of expense, Ferrari is replacing the indecently dark windows for its customers at no additional charge. It seems some customers who have received their 12Cilindri already may have found the windows too dark and had the windows changed at their own expense prior to the recall. Ferrari will be reimbursing those such customers for the cost.
Ferrari's technological tour de force 12Cilindri is powered by an 818-horsepower 6.5-liter V12 mounted up front. For the most part, you'll probably be driving by sound rather than sight anyway, given that big V12's sonorous exhaust note. Your sense of sight probably won't help much either, because everything will be so blurry when the car rockets from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. And with a top speed of 211 miles per hour, you'll be going practically faster than you can see anyway. Visibility is overrated; just wing it.
Ferrari already knows which cars are affected, so if you own a 12Cilindri and you think your windows are too dark, you should probably call your dealer and ask about it. If you aren't in a hurry, though, and you don't want to stack miles up on your fancy Fezza's odometer, you can just wait until Ferrari contacts you about it. The company has until May 15th to notify all customers, and they'll get an appointment on the books to get the glass replaced.
