There have been Ferrari shooting brakes over the years, but many were one-offs like Giotto Bizzarrini’s 1962 250 GT “Breadvan.” A series production Ferrari shooting brake was something else entirely, and the FF (“Ferrari Four”) shooting brake designed by Pininfarina and Flavio Manzoni and then launched at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show was something of a risk.

It wasn’t just the Ferrari FF’s body style that was unconventional. There was a 651-horsepower V-12 up front, yes, but this worked with a four-wheel drive system, something never before seen on a Ferrari production car. The looks and layout were a bit polarizing upon the Ferrari FF’s debut, but few could argue with the performance.

The 6.3-liter V-12 gets the FF to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds, and the car can rip off a quarter-mile in 11.5 seconds on its way to a 208-mph top speed. Comparatively speaking, the FF is faster to 60 mph than the 288 GTO, F40 and F50 and only a half a second slower than the Enzo. The driver can also adjust the suspension to five different settings.

Most of the time, the FF’s super-quick dual-clutch 7-speed F1 gearbox drives the rear wheels via paddle shifters. When road conditions call for more traction, up to 20 percent of the torque can go to the front wheels via a 2-speed gearbox. According to road testers, the FF lacks understeer even when it’s being hustled.

Unlike most four-seat performance cars in which the back seats are little more than a parcle shelf, the FF’s rear seat is genuinely able to accommodate an adult. Access is accomplished by pulling up aluminum levers which move each front seats forward, so rear seat passengers can propel themselves into individual bucket seats. Once there, there is plenty of headroom and legroom. The rear seat splits 60/40 with a center pass-through. Rear storage measures 16 cubic feet with seats up, 28 cubic feet when they are folded. Not cavernous, but impressive for a Ferrari.

And because it’s a Ferrari, interior trim is high quality, upholstered in leather or Alcantara with numerous options like carbon fiber accessories. There was even a passenger’s side speedometer option. The central instrument is a huge tachometer with high resolution LCDs on each side. The right screen displays speed in analog or digital fashion and shows the backup camera view when reverse is engaged. The left screen shows accessory gauges, trip information and warning lights.

The Ferrari FF’s price was a $302,450 MSRP at introduction with an average of $45,000 worth of additional options, so it traded in a rarified sector when new. But the fact that 2291 were sold between 2011 and 2016 indicates that the model found a genuine niche. And in 2016, Ferrari introduced an improved, restyled shooting brake called the GTC4Lusso.

On average, FFs will likely have more mileage on them than other Ferraris when they come to market. That means that from a collectability standpoint the always garaged and seldom driven examples will command a larger premium. Since the FF is a high-tech and very expensive car, consistent maintenance by Ferrari specialists is a must.