In-Depth Photos of the 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast

At the intersection of circles in the Venn diagram of Ferrari, Car and Driver, and November 1971 lies a very special sliver of commonality. It was then that C/D organized the very first Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. The entrants were a hodgepodge of vehicles, many of them modified. But the winning car, a Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona piloted by the one and only Brock Yates and professional racer Dan Gurney, was bone stock. And the spirit of that Ferrari lives on in the 812 Superfast.

When it's sitting still, the 812 looks as if it's sprinting, particularly with the Rosso Corsa (race red) paint worn by our test example.

Air flows up, over, and around the front fenders through channels and tunnels that appear to have been carved by fluid dynamics.

There is something undeniably upper-crust about front-engine Ferrari coupes. These GT cars tend to be fast, beautiful, and, yes, ridiculously expensive and exclusive. The 812 Superfast even ladles some ambitious naming over that GT-car aura-and backs it up by being, well, super fast. We could think of no better place to shoot this car than at an estate with an old-money vibe.

Cabin ergonomics are excellent. All the normal steering-wheel stalk controls are moved to various buttons on the wheel. The idea is that this allows the driver to keep both hands on the wheel at all times.

Crank the steering-wheel-mounted mode switch to Race, and the 812 will stick with an even 1.00 g of lateral grip.

Indicated redline is 9000 rpm (although Ferrari says it revs to just 8900). Regardless, given the opportunity, you will explore the upper reaches of engine speed with great frequency.

The 812 can reach 100 mph in 5.8 seconds and completes the quarter-mile in 10.5 at a blistering 138 mph.

Our test results prove it is what it says it is.

The Ferrari is so quick accelerating from 70 mph that it takes not more than a half-mile of open interstate and 9.3 seconds to show the driver and up to one passenger what 150 mph feels like.

If the 812 has one dynamic weakness, it's the dual-clutch transaxle. Multiple drivers noted hard shifts, particularly when the gearbox reengages after an auto stop-start engine shutdown when the car comes only to a rolling stop.

Rear-wheel-drive cars typically lack the grip required for a sub-3.0-second zero-to-60-mph time, and yet this 812 manages it in 2.8 seconds.

The carbon-fiber racing seats aren't the most comfortable design for a long haul, and if one were to attempt a coast-to-coast run in an 812, that's an option we'd avoid.

This car as it sits costs more than $450,000, about $125K of which is in more than 30 options, including a titanium exhaust and seemingly every carbon-fiber item imaginable.

Unlike many other marques, this Ferrari's name is 100 percent literal. The "8" stands for 800 cavalli vapore, Italian for horsepower. The "12" denotes 12 cylinders, arranged in two banks that are positioned in a perfectly balanced 60-degree V. And "Superfast," well, this car's test numbers speak to that credential.

Hauling down all the 812's speed are four girthy Pirelli P Zero PZ4 tires and carbon-ceramic brake rotors that wouldn't look undersized on a Boeing 737.

Stops from 70 mph require just 142 feet-and this is a car that weighs 3851 pounds.

Ferrari's longstanding use of magnetorheological dampers-going back to the 2007 599GTB-pays off, as the 812's around-town ride rivals that of a family sedan, particularly in the "bumpy road" mode.

The sound isn't as loud as a 911 GT3's or a McLaren 720's-at wide-open throttle, the 812 emits 91 decibels to the Porsche's 100 and the McLaren's 95-but it's a sound that penetrates the soul.

The engine is one in a long line of V-12s from Ferrari, including the one in that Cannonball pacesetter.

Our test results prove it is what it says it is.