Autocar‘s Matt Prior discovers the 789-horsepower grand tourer is as easy to drive as it is quick.
Ferrari is not just a sports car company. For decades, it’s made grand touring cars designed for rocketing passengers across long distances in complete comfort, each model more technologically advanced and powerful than the last. The 550 Maranello came along in the ’90s with its 485-horsepower V12. The 599 GTB Fiorano of 2006 had a staggering 611 (probably prancing) horses. Flash forward to the modern day and the 789-horsepower 812 Superfast. It begs the question: Is more powerful automatically better?
As the above Autocar video shows, it depends on what’s packaged along with that extra power. Ferrari didn’t just take an F12 and give it an engine tune and call it a day. Sure, the Superfast’s naturally aspirated V12 creates almost 800 horsepower and more than 500 lb-ft. Yes, those numbers add up to the 812 being able to hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, 124 mph in 7.9, and a top speed of 211 mph.
However impressive those numbers may be, they’re not the whole story. Neither are the incredibly quick shifts from the rear-mounted dual-clutch gearbox. Ferrari’s engineers significantly altered the 812’s steering, giving it electric assistance and making the back wheels capable of turning in unison with or in opposition to the front wheels to combat oversteer and understeer, respectively.
According to Prior, those changes make the 812 much easier to drive than a Ferrari F12 or TdF. In fact, it’s addictive to drive. He acknowledges that no car is perfect, but states that no one has gotten closer to making the perfect super GT than Ferrari has with the 812 Superfast. It’s an improvement over its predecessors – not just because of what’s under its hood.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
