F12 vs 812

One thing about the F12 and the 812 is they don't come through in pictures. The 812 looks a lot better in person than you might think.

 

I've saved through time a considerable number of pictures of the F12b and also of the 812. Some of these pictures I've posted them here and they have the particularity of showing the cars not static but moving. That's a fact that the two models when shown in motion and not static, improve their looks from every angle. Aesthetically IMO the 812 looks very good from most angles but after having contemplated the car in detail on the flesh for quite sometime, I have to confess that I can't get into terms with the rear sections. Without trying to make comparisons with the F12 rear sections which are completely different, to my taste and taste is something very personal, I sincerely find some kind of discontinuity between the rear sections and the rest of the 812 giving the impression that they were designed by two different teams.

 

Agree.

 

Well not also the 812 body . . . haha I'm loving how I got this back alive

 

Performance wise I'm sure the 812 SF is an improvement over its F12 predecessor - it would be hard to justify that almost Cdn200K price increase otherwise.....

Esthetically: For me its a mixed bag- i prefer some features of the F12 and others from the 812SF. e.g. i prefer the cockpit upgrades of the 812 over the F12 but i prefer the raked back/slanted appearance of the nose of the F12 (812 looks more vertical / boxy whereas the F12 looks sleeker and agressive). I prefer the bigger and lower side vents of the 812SF but to my eye the rear of the F12 just flows better because of the way the 'uterus' shape flows smoothly into the rear diffuser. On the 812SF your line of sight is (IMHO) interrupted by the way the rear end corners tuck in behind the rear quarter panels - to my eye it breaks it up and looks choppy. All in all, there are clearly pluses and minuses to each design but, nothing that would stop me from ordering up a new 812SF next year!

 

Some more pictures of the F12 Berlinetta and the 812 Superfast side by side.



Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I defy anyone to find a more proportionally perfect GT car than the TDF. It's shape evokes speed, muscle and sensuality all at the same time.

This is a perfect Grand Tourer silhouette...

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

IMO, the TDF fixed all the things I didn’t enjoy about the F12


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

No doubt in my mind..F12>>812.

The F12 has that gorgeous flowing curve over rear fender that flows like water into the slightly lifted tail...sublime. F12tdf really accentuates that perfectly, even better than F12.
The 812, for no real reason, just throws it away in the garbage for some fake aero bauble. Sad.

 

IMO it doesn't make top ten - looks like a room full of people all had a say on what to stick on the car

 

Easily top 3 modern front engine designs; possibly #1.

 

My thoughts exactly. The wide mouth bass front grill on the F12 was an embarrassment to Pinninfarina. The bizarre Fallopian shaped rear end raised eyebrows around the world. The TDF was simplified and turned a bit of an odd duck into a truly stunning car. My only beef is with the rear fender vents and the gap toothed front grill with the little wings on the corners. Close the vents, gap, and cut off those wings and it's a nearly flawless car.

 

When the TDF was launched someone wrote that it looks like an F12 that has had major plastic surgery. The TDF design has that clear racing heritage of the tour the France days with the shark fins on the rear fender reminiscent of similar vents found in the 250 GTO and in other iconic Ferraris. To me the shark fins are one of the main design elements which define the charisma of the TDF but their incorporation and looks aren't consensual.

 

Agreed.

 

It's the rear end of the 812 that absolutely kills it for me.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login



I just love the lines of the F12, especially in Titanio.
The curve over the rear wheel is artful, not contrived.
The side air channels arc gracefully and integrate with the other lines...harmony.
Harmony seems to have given way to chops and angles in modern design direction.
Aggressiveness over beauty? I'll take feminine beauty.

 

Looking Good

 

On the other hand......

Ferrari has some fine examples of using aero and aggression to augment a design with rather wonderful outcomes. The 812 uses aero to provide a strongly rising bonnet line from a-pillar to front wheel arch and swooping down forward of that, plus a pronounced rear arch curve leading into a steeply raked rear lip. And we have certainly seen that language before.

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

But it is broken up....the F12 is more resolved imo

 

The 250 GTO Berlinetta and the 812 Superfast I think can't be compared because they are in completely different categories. The 250 GTO is a design masterpiece, the benchmark for GT Sports cars during the 60’s, one of the most charismatics GT's of all times and it was developed and built exclusively for racing. The 812 isn’t a racing car but a road GT and despite having a superb drive-train and performance, in terms of design and aesthetics isn't a masterpiece and has a very controversial rear side.

 

The 250 GTO is, well, a GTO and thus in a league of its own. But the 812S has struck me as a design masterpiece since I first saw it at the Jan 2017 Maranello preview. FDC is at the top of its game, and the Pista is more proof of that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

My point is that the 812 has some echoes of the GTO. Doesn’t have to be the same type of vehicle (the GTO being a race car), the inspiration is there. Same ultra low-slung stance, drooping nose, kicked up rear, rising bonnetline behind the wheel arch and aero addenda disrupting the previous design. We think of it as a classic now but it was aggressive and outlandish at the time. People would have said it was not as beautiful as the 250 SWB or 250 Lusso but it looked fast and purposeful. Now it is an absolute masterpiece, no question from anyone.

The conclusion has to be that aerodynamic aids influencing the lines of a car does not automatically equal bad design. And also, designs that are challenging when released can become universally accepted as masterpieces later on. I love the F12 and it is undeniably beautiful. But something about the 812 “had me from hello”. (Sorry, must watch too many films...!). I love it more despite, or maybe because of, the aggressive aerodynamic led design.

 

Here is the 250 SWB for reference. Actually the SWB and GTO are interesting comparators. The SWB is quite like the F12 in that it has a more classic beauty, does not have the GTO’s low-sung stance or rising bonnetline and drooping nose - it has a much gentler curve. It has some aero features but it’s look is not dominated by them.

SWB to GTO is reminiscent in some ways of F12 to 812 don’t you think? The SWB is possibly even more beautiful than the GTO but the point is that the GTO is still nothing short of a masterpiece, whichever car is your preference.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Also, did you know that the GTO was nicknamed Il Monstro at its first outing, the 1961 Italian Grand Prix. You can probably guess what that means even if you don’t know Italian.

 

I agree with you that the 250 SWB might have some reminiscence of the F12 Berlinetta due to the fact that both were designed by Pininfarina and because of their timeless elegant beauty. The 250 SWB was designed for the race track and the road but to my taste is one of the most beautiful GT's Ferrari has ever made. To me the 250 GTO is the number two most beautiful GT car ever made because I have to confess, number one is the Jaguar E type. They both were designed for maximum aerodynamic efficiency , the 250 GTO as a pure race tracker and the E type based on a very successful Jaguar, the D type racing car, which had won the 24 hours of Le Mans three consecutive times. In both cars while the designers and engineers were seeking maximum aerodynamic efficiency it seems that by chance or perhaps with the help of some very strong unnatural force, they've come up with two of the most beautiful cars of all times.
All the modern sports cars are designed for a maximum aerodynamic efficiency but the outcome in terms of design lines and beauty is never so exceptional like the 250 GTO or the E type, very rarely as good as the 250 SWB and almost always average and sometimes mediocre.