Ferrari 812 GTS review: the ultimate V12, now in surround-sound
Some car names are a tad optimistic. The Honda Legend, for example: instantly forgotten. The Mitsubishi Carisma: a car without any. The Skoda Rapid: slower than walking. The Ferrari 812 Superfast, though, nails it with Ronseal certainty. Eight hundred horsepower and a top speed of 211mph see to that. You could call it a rapid and charismatic legend. I called it the most memorable car I drove in 2020.
Now there’s an open-air version: the 812 GTS. And while it has a less literal name, it uses the same 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12. Rest assured, then, it’s still super-fast. Absolutely bananas-fast, in fact.
Ferrari says the 812 GTS is its first series production, front-engined V12 convertible since the 365 GTS4 (better known as the Daytona Spider) of 1969. But the key words here are ‘series production’: the limited-run 550 Barchetta and 575M Superamerica followed essentially the same template.
Like its classic forebear, this is one of the most glamorous cars of its era: an excess-all-areas roadster that could whisk you to Cannes before breakfast. All you need is £293,150 – and perhaps a vaccine passport.
In theory, the 812 GTS competes with the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante and Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster. In reality, it’s an experience quite distinct from anything else. The most memorable car of 2021? Let’s see.
This isn’t a Rosso Corsa kind of Ferrari; its long bonnet and fulsome curves suit low-key colours. The rear deck is flat, but two speedster-style humps maintain the elegant side profile of the coupe. The only details that jar are the black plastic panels behind the doors, which are meant to resemble side windows.
Press a button and the metal roof panel lifts, rotates acrobatically through 180ยบ, then folds away in 14 seconds. Or just retract the vertical rear window to enjoy the 12-cylinder soundtrack even when it rains.
Chassis bracing to compensate for the removable roof adds 120kg, taking dry weight to 1,645kg (reckon on another 100kg or so with fluids). Nonetheless, quoted performance figures are identical to the Superfast: 0-62mph in ‘less than 3.0 seconds’ and 211mph flat-out.
The 812 I drove last year had hard-backed bucket seats and wall-to-wall Alcantara trim. This GTS press car has a more indulgent spec, to better suit its target market. Granted, it’s still no Bentley, but the mix of soft leather and carbon fibre reflects both sides of its character.
Close the long door and your eyes are drawn to the squared-off steering wheel. A row of F1-style shift lights stretches around the top, indicator switches are on the spokes (long shift paddles mean no space for column stalks) and Ferrari’s trademark manettino dial is nestled underneath. There are five drive modes: Wet, Sport, Race, CT Off and ESC Off.
The infotainment is last-generation, centred around a small display in the instrument cluster – rather than the tablet-style touchscreen of the new Roma. It’s fiddly at first, but Apple CarPlay (a pricey £2,400 option) soon became my default interface.
Besides, push a red button to awaken the Tipo F140GA engine and you instantly forget about podcasts, playlists or Test Match Special. I blip the throttle and a razor-sharp yelp slashes the atmosphere in half. It sounds exotic and intense, exciting and intimidating.
The visceral snarl of the V12 is ever-present, and amplified gloriously by opening the roof. Yet the Ferrari doesn’t announce its presence as forcefully as you might think, particularly in ‘normal’ driving. There isn’t the rolling-thunder rumble of the Aston Martin, or the rapid-fire crackles of the Lamborghini.
Only when you explore the upper reaches of the rev range – when the LEDs on the steering wheel change from red to piercing blue – does its note harden into a feral, goosebump-inducing howl. By that point, in anything past second gear, you’ll be travelling very super-fast indeed.
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