GIMME SHELTER

There’ll be times you won’t want a rear-drive V12 convertible on filthy autumn roads — but even the daftest ideas make perfect sense in Ferrari’s 812 GTS

- Ben Barry

I WATCHED THE COMPELLING, IF INCREDIBLY sad, documentary, challenger: The Final Flight, on Netflix recently, where the key revelation is (spoiler alert) that the engineers knew the rocket-booster o-rings might fail but gave the go-ahead for the launch, causing NASA's space shuttle (this bit you know) to transform into a kind of 9/11 at 46,000 feet.

This cataclysmic disaster springs to mind as I squeeze the Ferrari 812 GTS’ throttle pedal to the floor in third gear on a slightly damp Scottish road. Said pedal controls Ferrari's most powerful ever series-production 12-cylinder motor, a 6.5-liter version of the f140 unit conceived originally for the 2002 Enzo and whose performance is bettered only by the hybrid-boosted Laferrari hypercar and limited Monza Sp1 and Sp2 models that squeeze out 10 hp more.

Compared to the 740-hp f12, the 812’s predecessor, Ferrari have introduced a longer stroke plus 350 bar direct injection, revised control of variable-geometry inlet tracts, a compression ratio upped just a fraction to 13.6:1, and a shrieky, non-turbocharged 8,900-rpm peak engine speed, far above rivals from Aston and Bentley that serve up less performance for less graft. oh, and Ferrari has shortened the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox’s ratios six per cent, so you can fast-forward to the good bits even quicker.

All this equates to 800 hp, 0-200 km/h in 8.3 seconds, a soundtrack that’d have the philharmonic downing tools, and a large side order of intimidation when you squeeze that drilled throttle pedal to its stop.