MARANELLO, Italy – 588 kW. It’s a lot, no matter which way you look at. Even in an era of high-performance hypercars, this remains a significant number.

One of the head engineers who worked on the engine for the new 812 Superfast admitted that it was something of a challenge to extract yet more power from Ferrari's famed V12 and develop the engine to rev even higher.

Needless to say, the firm succeeded. Further development of an engine that can trace its basic architecture back to the Ferrari Enzo supercar, means the 6,5-litre (up from the F12’s 6,3-litre unit) V12 now develops 588 kW at 8 500 r/min and 718 N.m at 7 000 r/min, with the rev limit raised to a lofty 8 900 r/min! Excuse my enthusiasm, but there is simply so much to celebrate here.

What’s new?

Well, as explained above, the engine, for starters, which boasts more than 75% new parts. Then there’s the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which has been further improved to offer upshifts some 30% quicker and downshifts 40% faster than before.

Although the engineers have learned from the further development of the limited edition F12tdf, the 812 Superfast is in effect a replacement for the F12, which means it is not as focussed nor as hardcore as the F12tdf.

However, that is all relative. The intake manifold is a further development of the system used on the tdf, but hydraulic tappets have been used instead of the mechanical ones. Ferrari’s aim has also been to make the 812 Superfast more versatile than the tdf with also slightly more comfort built into the suspension setup.

Furthermore, this car is the first Ferrari to offer electric steering (which is a big deal for the automaker). It also offers SSC-5,0 (the latest version of the side slip control system), active aerodynamics and Passo Corto Virtuale 2,0 (the second version of its rear-wheel steering system), while the fuel injection system now works at up to 350 bar.

There are also no fewer than four places on the body (excluding the bottom of the car) where air can enter and leave through vents. Move to the interior, and everything falls neatly to hand, including a new touchscreen for the passenger.

Behind the wheel

I’ll get straight to the point. It is a monster to drive. Not in a negative way, but in that you know you always have an abundance of power under your right foot and need to be smart as to when you fully deploy this mighty engine.

The roads in this area are not the smoothest, which largely made it a challenge for the 812 to put all of its considerable power down. Indeed, a bump at high revs will see the tachometer needle jump by a few 100 r/min for a fraction of a second.

Make no mistake, it is firmly sprung, but not to the extent where you wouldn’t want to spend several hours behind the wheel for an extended drive. Any slow (or fast!) moving traffic is easily dealt with, even with modest use of the throttle. However, short shifting was at the order of the day on this route, so I was thankful when we turned into Ferrari’s very own track, Fiorano, to drive 812 Superfast as, well, fast as possible.

After a sighting lap (with none other than Ferrari test and development driver, Raffaele de Simone), I realised – even more than I did when on the road – that the car hides its weight and size rather well. Initially, when you climb in, you notice the relatively long nose in front of you, but once on the move the car starts to feel quite nimble.

You also know exactly where the front wheels are, just below the raised fenders with the air outlets, which you can clearly see from your seat. The smooth asphalt and mostly tight corners at this track suit the 812 Superfast perfectly.

It turns in with less effort than I expected, the front 245/35 ZR 20 tyres (315/35 ZR 20 on the rear) biting hard. And when you apply the throttle, the rear axle pushes you from the corner. However, with 588 kW on tap, the grip limit is always just a prod of the throttle away. But in Race mode the systems (hardware and software) work with you to make your exit from the corner as clean and as fast as possible.

The steering I felt to be neutral. You always know what the car is doing, but there is no feedback like you would experience in a McLaren. But then again, McLaren doesn’t make GT cars, while I would be more than happy to pilot the 812 over long distances, particularly since the steering helps to make the car so easy to drive fast or at town speeds.

On Fiorano's longest straight, I managed to pass 200 km/h. At the end of the straight, as with every other point of the track, I climbed on the carbon-ceramic brakes with total confidence. The brake pedal’s feel and its modulation seems identical to steel brakes on other cars, which can’t be said of most carbon systems.

However, it is the acceleration of the car and the way the rev needle swings round the clock that will stay with me. There is no point in the rev range where the rev needle suddenly picks up speed. It is simply an intense, raw and high-pitch scream as the needle swings past 8 000 r/min on its way to the rev limiter. It picks up speed throughout the rev range, while you can feel the work the rear axle is doing to put this tremendous amount of power down on the track.

Unlike the F12, you can now execute three downshifts in a single second. That is quick, and I did it multiple times. Say you are in fifth gear, approaching a tight corner, you simply pull the left lever in quick succession, and with three quick barks and a spot of clever rev-matching, the gearbox jumps drops three cogs. It is a sensation I’ve not experienced in another GT.

Summary

These days, twelve-cylinder GT cars are few and far between. And I have never expected a GT car this at home on the track. That said, this is exactly what you would expect from Ferrari.

The drivetrain is the cherry on the proverbial 812 Superfast cake for me. The car does so many things right, but to experience the ferocity and intensity of this V12 is something truly special. The fact that there is a boot and neat leather luggage straps behind the seats on the parcel shelf even adds a measure of versatility.

The 812 possesses the sort of performance that will embarrass supercars and it is more involving to drive than some of them, too. Ferrari has been building front-engined (front/mid-engined, in this case) cars for more than five decades and the company has yet again created a vehicle that delivers on every level.

Original article from Car