FERRARI FF on Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road Review

Launch Control doesn't quite work as there's a certain incline, even at the base, but the twins in the transmission treat us well. We are now in the first section of the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road and here many of the corners are tight, as if they want to strangle you along with your car. Don't forget to add the generous and perpetual dose of incline that makes the delight of the place.

We're thrilled, because we know that, despite being in a Ferrari, we're treating these corners with a four-wheel drive system. Sure, it's a defyingly complicated one that implies two transmissions and no transfer case, but we've got loads of Manettino modes to modulate its actions. Brilliant.

We're biting the tarmac now and the staggering combination between the V12's determination to give us all its horses and the engine's linearity brings a reassuring feeling through these bends.

We're running extra wide - we forgot about this corner that we had named "The Axe". The designation comes from the... subtle nature of the line used here. It comes after a medium-size straight that allows you to gather a bit of speed and just when you thought you can start opening the throttle, the right hander suddenly sharpens up, catching you out on a fat line.

The G forces make us swear we'll sign up for some aviation training courses. Nevertheless, if you feel any physical discomfort while going fast here, it means you're going to crash because you're not focused enough.

The road is so demanding that you need to rely on your instincts for the basic car control activities and divert all your attention towards the finesse parts.

Somewhere in between these majestic corners sit two straight lines, one of which allowed the Ferrari FF to hit a rather unholy speed.

When we talked about the Manettino modes above, we lied. If you want to enjoy this thing, you've basically got two settings. There's Sport, which keeps this GT planted and felt brilliant for the warm-up runs, but this doesn't allow you to make full use of the chassis’ potential. You can't quite set the steering angle using the throttle, because the car won't let you oversteer.

The proper good times start from the moment you reach CT Off. Here's where you part ways with the traction control. There's still the stability control to keep you from looking like a drunken ballerina, but we'd advise you to refrain from mixing this mode with first gear full throttle accelerations.

We spent most of the time in second and the FF allowed plenty of goodies. The slip angle, the tire smoke, they were all there to please us.

There's always CST Off, which means that you've got nothing but the E-Diff to help you though the bends, but this isn't exactly the place to indulge in such pleasures.

The barriers on the side look solid and large enough to prevent us from engaging in any unwanted descent activities. Alas, there's no clean section left here, the hard surface is adorned with tire and even paint marks everywhere.

Somewhere around the mid-point of the 7.3-mile (11.7 km) road, there's a generous parking on the left. This is much larger than the one we've passed a few minutes ago and marks a thorough shift in the architecture of the road.