Page 76 - SHARP September 2022

WHAT MAKES A
V12 roadster with no natural predators. There’s nothing like it: two seats, rear drive, 12 cylinders mounted ahead of the driver, and a folding hardtop roof. Apart from that last bit, it follows exactly the same template as the first-ever Ferrari, built in 1947.
FERRARI?
As I drive the GTS through the factory gates, the weather is miserable. There’s standing water on the roads. The nearby mountains are blanketed by an impenetrable fog.
WE WENT
A dial on the steering wheel puts the car into Wet mode, as if we’re about to qualify for the Italian Grand Prix. Another button softens the dampers to cope with the bumpy tarmac. The cabin, covered in rich two-tone leather, feels as well-made as a Hermès tote. Within the driver’s sightline are displayed no fewer than three Ferrari prancing horse logos. There’s no shortage of entertainment in a Ferrari, even as we cruise slowly with the mighty V12 purring along just above idle.
TO ITALY TO
FIND OUT
For a brief moment, the sun comes out and we fold the top down. The naturally aspirated 789 horsepower motor makes a noise like the Three Tenors gargling fire. The car is big and the roads narrow, but the GTS feels as nimble as any featherweight sports car. Miraculously, the chassis has no problem keeping up with the lightning-quick steering. The slender carbon paddle-shifters offer the perfect tactile click on gear changes.
All of the above is what makes a Ferrari a Ferrari. The cars create an all-encompassing sensory experience designed to be engaging above all else, regardless of speed or weather or a driver’s ability. A Ferrari asks nothing and delivers everything.
Before taking the car back to Maranello, we stop to refill the tank. The bill is more than €100, but it’s money well spent. If there were one last tank of gas left on Earth, we’d burn it in the GTS.
SPECS
ENGINE: 6.5-LITRE V12 POWER: 789 HP
PRICE: $469,318
THE WEATHER WAS MISERABLE, BUT THE 812 GTS WAS MARVELOUS
By Matt Bubbers
D
RIVING A FERRARI ON ITS HOME TURF HITS DIFFERENT.
The roads around the company’s Maranello factory, in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, have been used to test every one of Enzo’s blood-red cars. As a driver, you can’t help but feel this is hallowed ground. Maybe it’s because the brand has done such a masterful job cultivating its particular mystique over the past 75 years, but more likely it’s because, for most of that history, Ferrari’s cars have been at the very top of the automotive food chain.
That’s certainly true of the new 812 GTS, a half-million-dollar
AUTO
76 SEPTEMBER 2022
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM