It’s 30hp more powerful than the 812 Superfast, weighs 38kg less, and has no rear window. And those are just three of the many reasons the 812 Competizone is bonkers…

SINGAPORE — Ferrari’s 812 Competizione and 812 Competizione A make one thing clear: when Ferrari wants to press your buttons, it knows exactly where to jab. The Italian supercar brand has just shown off the two special versions of the 812 Superfast, the V12 coupe that first met the world at 2017’s Geneva motor show (remember those?).

Both are part of Ferrari’s “special series” line-up, meaning they’re limited-edition, hardcore versions of a model as it approaches retirement (although Ferrari tends to refer to them as “new models”). Think F12tdf to the F12berlinetta.

Roughly two-and-a-half years in the making, the new Ferraris take a striking car and turn the drama up to 11. They have an aerodynamic “blade” across the bonnet inspired by racing livery but properly functional, and the coupe has no real rear window — a camera system lets you see what’s behind you, creating the technical freedom for a fixed rear panel with vortex generators that make the huge, full-width tail wing more effective. It looks a treat, too, doesn’t it.

Ferrari tends to build limited-edition cars by the hundred, and technically this is true of the 812 Competizione even though its availability is on the high side: 999 will leave the factory, with production getting underway early next year and deliveries due in the third quarter of 2022 in Singapore.

The 812 Competizione A (the “A” is for “aperta”, Italian for “open”) is meant to be more exclusive, with only 599 units slated for production. That starts in the fourth quarter of 2022 so mid-2023 is our guess for when you will see one in Singapore.

They might as well have built only a dozen, though: Enrico Galliera, Ferrari’s chief marketing and commercial officer said at a virtual press conference that they are all sold out.

Oh well. Ferrari will ship a 812 Competizione here in September for invited guests to look at even though every last one spoken for. Probably to inspire a bit of FOMO in ditherers, and for the fast-acting customers to congratulate themselves on their good taste.

It’s way too early for Singapore pricing details, but Italian prices (500,000 Euros in Italy for the coupe and 578,000 for the targa top) suggest S$1.6m to S$1.8m without options or Certificate Of Entitlement, with the open top car at the higher number.

Worth every penny, if you ask us. For one thing, the 812 Superfast lives up to its name, so the fact that this is a sort of 812 Superfaster means it has more ability to make us drool than all the pasta in the world.

But perhaps more poignant (and less icky) is that it could mark a farewell to arguably the purest of all Ferrari engine types: the naturally-aspirated, non-electrified V12.

What a farewell, though: the 6.5-litre engine revs to a barmy 9,500rpm, and makes 830 horsepower at 9,250rpm. Maximum torque — all 692 Newton-metres of it — arrives at 7,000rpm, long after most engines have run out of puff, if they even rev that high.

The 1.5-plus tonne two-seater goes from 0 to 200km/h in 7.5 seconds. Let that sink in for a second. The sprint to 100km/h takes 2.85 seconds, if you’re interested, and the 812 Competizione won’t stop accelerating until it blows past 340 km/h. 

The laptime around Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit is 1m 20s flat. That makes it the fastest non-hybrid Ferrari around the place (the SF90 Stradale, SF90 Spider and the LaFerrari all crack the 80-second mark).

The performance is courtesy of the fact that it’s 30hp more powerful than the 812 Superfast, and 38kg lighter. It also has a new rear-wheel steering system that’s independent. That means the rear wheels don’t have to steer in parallel, and instead can each point at whatever angle is appropriate. Chief technology officer Michael Leiters said tonight that the system sharpens turn-in but can also help to stabilise the car, and it makes the driver more confident.

The upshot of it all is that the new car is 1.5 seconds faster than the 812 Superfast. Effectively, the 812 Competizione is what it looks like when Ferrari is in competition with itself.

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