FERRARI 812 COMPETIZIONE

Does internal combustion get much better than this?

- DAN GARDNER

PILIFEROUS POET Scroobius Pip once said “You see a mousetrap, I see free cheese and a challenge” and after driving the Ferrari 812 Competizione, I understand what he meant. Apathy has no reward because it requires no action, whereas hard things hold the potential for great satisfaction – even if they look a bit dicey.

In this particular analogy, imagine the cheese is the latest in Ferrari’s line of exclusive special-edition front-engined V12 sportscars and the trap is the Fiorano test track in the pissing rain. Intimidated, I was.

Take for example, the new Competizione’s ancestors; the F12 TDF was a wild iteration of the front-engined, rear-drive coupe that was a handful at the best of times, and before that, the 599 GTO was a savage interpretation of the donor model that really should have been fitted with an ejector seat. And now the limited-edition Special Series bloodline continues in the form of a car that takes the 812 Superfast as its basis.

What has resulted, however, is not simply a liberal application of stickers and carbon fibre but a comprehensive weaponising program that probably violates the Hague Convention.

At its heart, the 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 has been extensively revised with titanium con-rods replacing the iron-age versions, connected to a lighter crankshaft. At the top end, different cylinder heads incorporate finger valve lifters in favour of the bucket tappets found in the Superfast, while the entire induction is new with shorter tracts for better performance at higher rpm.