5 minute read
Ferrari 812 GTS
TESTED 26.10.20, WILTSHIRE ON SALE NOW FERRARI 812 GTS
You know the Ferrari that’s so amazing and quick that they called it the Superfast? This is just like that, but with no roof. In losing the Superfast tag, as is Ferrari’s way (the F8 Tributo with no roof is simply called the F8 Spider), the 812 GTS gains a folding hard-top and 75kg because of the mechanism and the body-stiffening required.
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What it retains are the elements that make the 812 Superfast special. Up front is a 6.5-litre V12 petrol engine with no turbochargers that revs to nearly 9000rpm and on the way makes 789bhp. It drives the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. And if that amount of power through only two driven wheels sounds hairy, holding it together is a complex array of electronics that oversees traction control, stability control, a limitedslip differential and even Side Slip Control, which allows some oversteer.
I think you would classify the 812 GTS as a convertible super-GT, with rivals including the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante and perhaps the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster but not too much else. It’s just too powerful and expensive (£293,150 before options, and buyers will be encouraged to add plenty) for there to be many alternatives.
There are only two seats inside – not even tiny rear ones fit only for a Pomeranian – and, unlike in a Lamborghini drop-top, no seating space has been taken away to bring you a folding roof; the seats slide just as far back as in the coupé.
They’re well finished and supportive and bring a decent driving position, although some might want the steering wheel (a bit complexly buttoned and squared-off, but you get used to it) to reach closer.
The rest of the cabin is pleasingly laid out, albeit the two small screens behind the steering wheel – which control the infotainment and monitor the car’s trip computer, temperatures and other systems – aren’t totally straightforward. But I really like the look and feel of the air vents, there’s a cool secondary display in front of the passenger so they can see how fast you’re not going and all is rather nicely designed and well finished.
The engine is the masterpiece in
Array of electronics keep this 789bhp RWD car out of hedges
AN ENGINE FROM 2002… KIND OF
The 812’s engine can trace its roots back to the Enzo’s 5998cc V12, but it has so many new internals by now that you could think of the Tipo F140-GA as a rather different engine to even the 6262cc unit from the F12 Berlinetta that preceded it. Over that, it has been ‘stroked’ to gain the extra capacity yet still revs to 8900rpm.
At the 812 Superfast coupé’s launch, Ferrari’s engineers felt that this engine has perhaps one more iteration within it to produce the necessary power increase that comes with a new-generation car. Assuming, of course, that events haven’t overtaken it and that some form of electrification or at least turbochargers become a necessity by then.
TESTER’S NOTE With the roof up, you can drop a small rear window to let in more exhaust noise, with seemingly no wind noise to corrupt it. MP
the 812 GTS, though. I know that revelling in it is all very 20th century, but one day we will enjoy internal combustion like this only in the same way that we know traction engines. What is it about the noise? Even people who don’t know it know it when they hear it: a V12 that sounds so smooth, expensive and exotic.
It revs to daft levels for an engine of this capacity; peak power arrives at 8500rpm and torque at 7000rpm. Some 80% of that comes by 3500rpm, though, and honestly that’s enough to be getting on with most of the time.
Ferrari’s dual-clutch gearbox is one of the best on the market, too, so smooth and quick. And it’s amenable even when left in automatic mode, despite it and the engine’s stop-start system keeping things as quiet as possible to minimise emissions – although at 17.2mpg and 373g/km of CO2, there’s evidently a limit to what they can do.
The 812 GTS is enjoyable to drive even at sensible road speeds. This is a big car (4.69m long and 1.97m wide with extremities that are hard to see) and, like all modern Ferraris, has ferociously quick steering. I think that’s meant to make it feel more agile, and it probably works. Ferrari claims a dry weight of 1600kg, but we weighed an 812 Superfast fully fuelled at 1725kg, so call this one 1800kg with a bit of fuel and some options. Nonetheless, it turns keenly.
It rides well, too. Ferrari has two modes on its adaptive dampers, and the ‘bumpy road’ set-up is best for most British asphalt, but the differences are subtle and it’s good to find a system where both work well. The steering weight doesn’t change either, but I know that some testers would rather it were less hyperactive.
I would say the experience feels less manic than in the 812 Superfast. The dampers have been relaxed (or maybe it’s just due to the extra weight high in the car), but there’s no skittishness.
Obviously, it has 789bhp and is rear-wheel drive and it’s November in Britain, so you can’t be an idiot, but it’s a real pleasure to drive the 812 GTS along with the roof up or down and enjoy the drama. There’s only a little buffeting with the top down.
In our 812 Superfast road test, we felt the coupé lacked the lengthy strides that its ride needed to truly succeed in its class. With a little weight added but a more rounded demeanour and barely noticeable chassis flex, the 812 GTS feels like the right character for this car. MATT PRIOR
FERRARI 812 GTS
In losing its fixed roof, the 812 Superfast gains a more rounded and likeable composure AAAAB
Price £293,150 Engine V12, 6496cc, petrol Power 789bhp at 8500rpm Torque 530lb ft at 7000rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic Kerb weight 1800kg (est) 0-62mph Less than 3.0sec Top speed 211mph Economy 17.2mpg CO2, tax band 373g/km, 37% RIVALS Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster, Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante
