--- title: "2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast: A 789-hp Rock Opera in Italy" description: "Watch as we drive history's fastest production Ferrari in and around Maranello." date: "2017-07-07" modified: "2017-07-07" authors: - name: "Lawrence Ulrich" job_title: "Contributor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/lawrence-ulrich" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/video/12237/the-2018-ferrari-812-superfast-breathes-new-life-into-the-v-12" categories: - "Ferrari News" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Watch This" tags: - "812" - "812 Superfast" - "Exotics" - "Ferrari" - "Supercar" - "test drive" - "V-12" --- # 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast: A 789-hp Rock Opera in Italy ![]() *\www.thedrive.com* *Per favore,* could we please just adopt the [metric system](<#>)? That way, I could say that the Ferrari 812 Superfast has a nice, round 800 metric horsepower, instead of the 789 horses by American measures. Whatever system you use, the Ferrari is fast. Superfast, even, in the name adopted from Ferrari’s last-ever bespoke V12 model, the 1964 Superfast that saw just 37 copies built. The new one shrieks to 211 mpg, clocks 0-62 mph (100 kph) in 2.9 seconds, and 124 mph in 8.5 seconds. For more-recent historical [context](<#>), the Ferrari 550 Maranello, produced from 1997 to 2002, took 14 seconds to reach 124 mph. Check out our video, and I won’t need to waste adjectives describing what’s nearly indescribable, the burble and shriek of the Ferrari’s 6.5-liter, 8,900-rpm, naturally aspirated V12. I drove history’s most powerful series production Ferrari at the storied Fiorano track near the company factory in Maranello. Yes, it was a blast, But honestly, I had more fun on an extended road test through Emilia-Romagna. Rocking the mountain switchbacks, relaxing through charming Italian villages, the Superfast [flexed](<#>) its epic performance [muscles](<#>), yet remained all-day comfortable and roomy. It’s beautiful, of course, with a hood out-to-here, a scalloped waist and a slew of tasteful aerodynamic aids. Yet it’s a confident beauty that doesn’t need to scream for your attention and admiration – it already has it. Ferrari’s first-ever [sports car](<#>) with electric steering also adds rear-axle steering and a raft of Formula One-based technologies, including the [latest version](<#>) of its driver-adjustable Side Slip Control, which helps skilled pilots push the performance envelope while keeping amateurs out of the ditch. As I wrote [in my full review,]() the $310,000 Ferrari 812 Superfast becomes the rare [sports car](<#>) with no direct, like-priced competitor. The Aston Martin Vanquish V12 is also beautiful, but its power (with 580 horses), performance and technology are simply no match for the Ferrari. Ditto the [Bentley Continental](<#>) [Supersports](<#>), which brings a more-competitive 700 horsepower from its own W-12 engine, but weighs 5,300 pounds, about 1,700 more than the Superfast. Some people have [poked fun](<#>) at that Superfast name, and it may be a bit on-the-nose. But consider it truth in advertising. And something tells me that owners will wear the name proudly. *Lawrence Ulrich,* The Drive’s *chief auto critic, is an award-winning auto journalist and former chief auto critic for* The New York Times *and* Detroit Free Press*. The Detroit native and Brooklyn gentrifier owns a troubled ’93 [Mazda](<#>) RX-7 R1, but may want to give it a good home. Email him at Lawrence@thedrive.com.* ## Author Born and forged in the Motor City, now a Brooklynite, Lawrence is the former chief auto critic at the *New York Times* and *Detroit Free Press*. His award-winning work has appeared in *Automobile*, *Road & Track*, *Fortune*, *Conde Nast Portfolio*, *Men's Journal*, *Popular Science* and others. ### Author social links [Twitter]()