Ferrari 812 Superfast review – Performance and 0-62 time
The pinnacle of front-engined Ferrari engineering, the 812 melds mind-warping performance with a chassis that draws you into the action
In many respects the raw statistics don’t really do it justice. Like many superheated two-wheel drive machines the Ferrari can’t defy the laws of physics, so its 0-60mph time of 2.9sec is almost identical to the likes of the McLaren 720S. Yet once the 812 is rolling it gathers speed with a ferocity that borders on the manic. Keep your foot in and, where conditions allow, you can keep going all the way to 211mph.
The higher you rev the 812, the more magnificent it gets. But the pure performance of the Superfast in a straight line, and the traction it somehow manages to generate, even on quite bumpy roads, is what leaves you with the deepest impression of all. It feels nothing short of rabid in a straight line, with the kind of throttle response that only ever comes from a big, atmospheric engine that revs high and hits hard, everywhere.
Even at 4000rpm in third gear it feels pretty much ready to take off. And at 8500rpm in second gear it’s actually hard to describe how fast it feels, how loud it sounds, how utterly fantastic it just is. And the way the gearbox slices through the ratios, up or down, is very much integral to the experience.
Richard Meaden put the 812 to the test around Anglesey in issue 254 of evo
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‘It’s hard to know what we’re aiming for time-wise, because funnily enough we’ve never benchmarked a near-800bhp, front-engined, rear-drive GT before, but at the beginning of the day the Ferrari crew (who one would suspect have run some kind of simulation) suggest 0.8sec shy of a 488 GTB would be a good effort.
‘It proves to be a remarkably prescient target, for my best time is a 1:13.6 – you guessed it, precisely 0.8sec off the time I set in the 488 (evo 228). With the 812 it’s very much the case that to go faster you have to drive slower. Not that it is at all ponderous (quite the opposite), but the biggest rewards come from being calm and controlled with your inputs, not trying to be the last of the late brakers or impatiently chasing the throttle.
‘Despite the electrickery, it’s the 812’s mass and layout that ultimately dictates how much of that performance can be deployed and how much is converted into smoke, sweat and smiles. In an era increasingly defined by race-car levels of downforce and an obsession with lap times, cutting loose in the 812 Superfast is a celebration of excess and a lesson in good old-fashioned car control. It’s a monster, but my god it’s a magnificent one.’ – Richard Meaden, evo 254 (December 2018)
