Today I had the chance to experience one the most beautiful Ferrari’s I’ve seen in the flesh. It’s been 50 years since the debut of the last spider in the range to score a throbbing front mounted V12. A left-hand drive example of the 812 GTS is on show at North Shore, Ferrari in Sydney.
The 812 GTS is the convertible version of the 812 Superfast. The roof will retract in 14 seconds at speeds nearing 45km/h. The 6.5L V12 produces 788kW and 718Nm of torque, the same figures as the coupe version. A 0 – 100km/h dash is done and dusted in under 3.0 seconds, making it the fastest convertible on the planet. 0-200 km/h is all over in just 8.3 seconds.
The design as I’ve already noted is epic. With an imposing nose with bulging rises and creases over the front wheel arches and air intakes sitting right alongside the sculptured headlight housing.
The side profile is every bit the coupe with deep and curved slivers scraped from the doors.
Much effort been put into ensuring the spider is just as slippery as the coupe. Thanks to clever tonneau cover surfaces plus the integration of a triplane wing into rear diffuser. The latter creating suction and therefore downforce from the underbody.
The rear-end had to cop an entire redesign. The most prominate features are two buttresses beneath where the roof movement mechanism is stowed. The rear wheel arch has lost the 812 Superfast’s “aerodynamic by-pass.”
But Ferrari has overcome this via an additional flap. As with the entire Ferrari fleet the brand offers seven years worth of free regular maintenance! Local pricing has now been confirmed from $675,888 before on-roads!
Chris was EFTM’s Motoring Editor for many years, driving everything from your entry level hatch to the latest Luxury cars through to the Rolls Royce.
He has been in the media for 20 years, produced three Olympic games broadcasts, attending Beijing 2008 & London 2012.
Strangely he owns a Toyota Camry Hybrid, he defiantly rejects the knockers.
Chris is married to Gillian and resides in Sydney’s North West. They have Sam the English Springer Spaniel and Felix the Burmese cat to keep them company, and recently welcomed baby Henry to the family.
He has now left EFTM, and writes freelance and runs his own Facebook Page “Bowen’s Garage”
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