Ferrari 812 Competizione Review

The Competizione is the latest in a line of lightened, sharpened V12 berlinettas that runs through the 599 GTO and the F12tdf, and Ferrari allocated it only to customers who met its criteria. It was presented in May 2021 alongside an open Competizione A; Ferrari set production at 999 coupes and 599 Apertas, and both sold out. In America it listed at $598,513. Its engine went on to power the 12Cilindri, which says something about how far Ferrari had pushed it.

The engine makes the case. The 812's 6.5 liter V12 now makes 819 hp at 9,250 rpm and revs to 9,500, still without turbochargers or electric help. The rear wheels steer independently of each other, each with its own actuator, which Ferrari says sharpens the response to the steering and keeps the rear axle feeling planted. The most visible change is the rear screen, a single aluminum panel with vortex generators, which Ferrari says was a first for a production car. Top Gear predicted it would be looked back on as a triumph, and other testers were struck by how approachable it is for a car with so much power.

Living with it is closer to an 812 Superfast than the numbers suggest, since it remains a two-seat front-engined GT, though the missing rear window leaves the door mirrors to do all the work. Ferrari's seven years of included scheduled servicing soften the early years, after which it costs what a V12 Ferrari costs, and the EPA rates it at 14 mpg combined. The market has made the question of running costs academic. The Classic Valuer's records show no public sale since launch below £850,000, roughly double the original sticker, and auction results have run past $2 million.

Ferrari's front-engined V12 has since moved on to the softer, more screen-heavy 12Cilindri, which makes the Competizione look like the high point of the 812 line and of the naturally aspirated V12 berlinetta so far. It is loud, fast and precise, and expensive to buy and to run; for the customers Ferrari chose to sell it to, none of that was a surprise.