As if in an act of defiance, Ferrari’s two-finger salute to the approaching electric era is a monumental, limited edition model called the Ferrari 812 Competizione
Back in 2017, Ferrari released their 812 Superfast, their then top-of-the-line GT coupe and was well received. Thanks to the pandemic, it had to soldier on for a rather long four years but finally, we have been invited to Italy for an opportunity to drive its new companion, the new 812 Competizione. Thanks to the myriad of models released by Ferrari of late, it can be difficult to understand where the 812 model range lies.
Here’s a quick primer: Ferrari has several model lines based on their V8 and V12 engines. The 812 is pretty much the top-of-the-range V12 model of their mass-production cars. Each model goes through a five or six-year life cycle and during the latter half of that cycle, Ferrari traditionally introduces a special, limited-edition version of that model. Previously, it was the F12tdf, and for the 812 Superfast model, it is the 812 Competizione.
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Ferrari has limited its production to just 999 coupes and 599 open-top models. Even though all have been spoken for, we were still invited to drive the 812 Competizione around their own race track called Fiorano which is rather generous of Ferrari.
There is still good reason for continuing with the event in light of the sold-out production and that is the celebration of their fabulous natural-aspirated V12 engine that now spins to 9500 rpm. Sure, we have seen Formula One engines spin to twice that but this is still a record for V12 production engines, in the twilight of its reign no less.