My love story with the 812 - My First Ferrari

Growing up as a kid in the early 2000’s, supercars have always been a big part of my life. I mention the early 2000’s because that was really the turning point in automotive history for the modern-day supercar. You had cars like the Veyron, the Mclaren F1, SLR Mclaren, the Enzo, the Murcielago, the list goes on and on.

Like any kid out there today, I really resonated with Lamborghini as a brand when growing up. I had a 1:18 scale model of a Murcielago SV and a poster of a green pre LP Murcielago for as long as I could remember..

My passion for cars never faded away as I grew up and I’ve been fortunate enough to start several successful businesses and stack my chips until I’ve reached the position that I’m in today at just 21 years of age.

Earlier this year I bought my first Ferrari and my first supercar, a 2018 Grigio Silverstone Opaco over full Rosso Ferrari 812 Superfast.

I wrote that long prelude to iterate the fact that before the 812 came out, I was never really an avid Ferrari fan. And even when it came out, I still said to myself that I’d love to buy an Aventador or an LP640 Murcielago when I had the money.

I heard a lot of great things about the car and for someone reason the 812 just made something in me fizzle. I was simply attracted to it despite being not the biggest fan of the brand or any of the other cars apart from some of the late great NA models like the 458 and 430 scuderia.

Long story short, I decided to take a calculated risk and purchase this very specially specced 812 earlier this year over an Aventador Pirelli Edition.

And my goodness, I couldn’t be more glad. This is single handedly the most exciting, emotional, pantomime and capable car I’ve ever driven. After acquiring the car and rubbing shoulders with a new tax bracket I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to drive a range of different super cars, mostly during a short rally I was on at the beginning of this year. I drove everything from a 992 GT3 to an Aventador SVJ and everything in between including a 720s and an F8 spider.

Nothing holds a candle to the 812 in my eyes. The sheer sound of that 6.5 litre naturally aspirated V12 is unmatched, the SVJ sounds great, but the 812 is just that much better. The way the car feels, for being a large car it’s absolutely very dynamic and light on its feet. Nimble is an understatement, and being that it’s Ferrari’s first time trying out electric steering in a car I was pleasantly surprised at the way the car reacted to my inputs. I’m able to keep up around the corners with GT3s and F8s and a lot of mid engined super ads. The throttle response is instantaneous with no shortage of power and torque especially in the upper echelons of the rev range. The rear wheel steering makes a world of a difference in creating this perception from the drivers seat that the wheelbase of the car is a lot shorter than what it really is. The sound is glorious with each up-change sounding like a chainsaw cutting heavy metal and each downshift like a whaling symphony conducted by an Italian maestro under the hood. And how could I forget the styling, this car is simply beautiful. Arguably it’s a very deserving and more than adequate evolution of the F12. It’s like Pininfirina gave Ferrari the blue prints with the F12 and then Ferrari made the F12 into what they think a super GT should look like with the 812.

Anyways, enough with my blabbering as if I’m some sort of snobby British auto journalist, I’m simply so in love with this car. This car brings me back to my childhood when big NA V12s were in super cars and super cars were all about drama and noise and the way you’d feel when you get behind the wheel of one. The car is very easy to live with but I don’t feel as though there’s ever a dull moment when driving. Not even when sitting in traffic, I like to roll the windows down and hear the idle of the V12 louder whenever I’m at a standstill during rush hour here in Miami.

Long story short, I’ve been a person who flips through cars every few months ever since I’ve owned my first performance car a little over two years ago. The 812 has won my heart and it’s the one thing in my garage that I’ve come to the conclusion about never ever letting go.


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It’s actually paint! Well, there’s stealth PPF over it but underneath it’s the exact same satin finish.

And exactly the same conclusion I came to with regards to the Aventador. The car was every bit there in terms of noise and road presence but the driving dynamics just didn’t cut it for me. I feel like that car is made to do two things well, turn heads, and go very fast in a straight line. Around turns it feels heavy and sluggish even through the SVJ I drove had the rear wheel steer and updated TCU tuning they did on the ISR since they came out with the S.

 

My mistake! Thanks for the correction! Just bunches it in with the rest of the ‘turn of the century’ supercars

 

Yes! Just moved down here recently!