More Than a Car: What It's Truly Like to Drive the Ferrari 812 GTS
The night before you drive a Ferrari 812 GTS, you don’t really sleep. You lie in bed in the humid São Paulo air, your mind racing, trying to process the sheer numbers: 800 horsepower, a 9,000 RPM redline, a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12. The figures are so immense they feel abstract, like theoretical physics. You tell yourself it’s just a car. Four wheels, an engine, a steering wheel. But you know, deep down, that’s a lie.
A car is a tool for getting from one place to another. The Ferrari 812 GTS is an event. It’s a myth made of carbon fiber and aluminum, a legend from a bygone era that you can actually touch. In the context of late 2025, with the automotive world now dominated by the silent, instant torque of electrification and the muted whoosh of turbocharged hybrids, the 812 GTS stands as a monument to a golden age. It is, perhaps, the last of the great, untamed automotive beasts.
So, what is it truly like to be handed the keys? To sit behind that prancing horse badge and attempt to command a machine that is, by every rational measure, too much for any public road? This isn’t a review of 0-60 times or lateral G-forces. This is an attempt to capture the feeling, the fear, the euphoria, and the soul of what it’s like to drive the Ferrari 812 GTS.
The Approach: First Impressions of the Ferrari 812 GTS
It sits in an underground garage in São Paulo, a splash of Rosso Corsa red against the cold, gray concrete. And the first thing that strikes you isn't the beauty, but the sheer presence. The Ferrari 812 GTS is not a small, delicate sports car. It’s a machine with immense proportions. The bonnet stretches out for what feels like miles, a vast, sculpted landscape hiding the V12 masterpiece beneath. It looks less like a car and more like a predator at rest, every line, vent, and aerodynamic channel designed with a singular, violent purpose.
You run a hand over the flank, feeling the cool metal. You trace the complex aero channel that starts behind the front wheel and flows into the door. This isn’t styling; it's a sculpture carved by the wind. Opening the door, you’re greeted by the intoxicating aroma of fine Italian leather and the cold, metallic scent of carbon fiber.
Slipping into the driver’s seat is a moment of pure theater. The carbon fiber racing seats hug you tight. Your view is dominated by two things: that endless red bonnet and the steering wheel. It’s an intimidating piece of equipment, festooned with buttons, dials, and switches. The turn signals are buttons. The wiper controls are buttons. And right there, at the five o’clock position, glowing with an almost sacred intensity, is the big, red ENGINE START button. Everything else fades away.
The Awakening: Igniting the Soul of the Ferrari 812 GTS
There is a ritual to waking a Ferrari 812 GTS. You press your foot on the brake, take a deep breath, and push the red button.
For a split second, there’s silence. Then, the starter motor whirs for a moment before all twelve cylinders erupt into existence with a sound that is less an explosion and more a sonic event. It’s a sharp, high-pitched bark that echoes off the garage walls, a sound so loud and aggressive it feels like you’ve broken some fundamental law of civility. It instantly settles into a clean, menacing, high-strung idle, the vibrations tingling through the carbon fiber seat and up your spine. It feels alive.
This is where the GTS—the convertible version—reveals its greatest party trick. A flick of a switch, and the hardtop roof elegantly folds away in 14 seconds. The concrete ceiling of the garage disappears, replaced by the world outside. You are no longer insulated. You are exposed, a part of the environment, and the star of a show you haven’t even begun to direct. This is the essence of the Ferrari 812 GTS experience: pure, unfiltered sensory immersion.
The Urban Jungle: Navigating São Paulo in a Ferrari 812 GTS
Pulling out of the garage and into the chaotic embrace of São Paulo traffic is an experience of profound absurdity. Piloting a car nearly two meters wide, with a turning circle of a small moon and a ground clearance measured in millimeters, through the city’s dense "trânsito" is a mix of terror and comedy.
Every "valeta" (gutter) and "lombada" (speed bump) becomes a potential financial catastrophe. You find yourself instinctively cringing, your hand hovering over the life-saving "Bumpy Road" button on the steering wheel, which softens the magnetic suspension just enough to prevent a catastrophic scrape. The car’s width means you’re constantly checking your mirrors, hyper-aware of the swarm of "motoboys" weaving through traffic with inches to spare.
But then, something amazing happens. You start to notice the reaction. Thumbs-up from the motoboys. Phones pressed against the windows of buses. People at traffic lights breaking into wide, uninhibited smiles. The Ferrari 812 GTS doesn't seem to inspire the same envy as other luxury cars; it inspires a sense of shared joy and awe. It’s an event for everyone who sees it.
And for all its intimidating power, the car is surprisingly docile in this environment. With the Manettino dial on the steering wheel set to "Sport" (or even "Wet" for the truly cautious), the dual-clutch transmission shifts with creamy smoothness. The throttle response is manageable. You can crawl through traffic without the lurching and bucking of older supercars. It’s a monster in a well-tailored suit, capable of behaving with perfect civility when required. But you can feel it, always, the tension under the surface, the V12 begging for an open road.
The Escape: Unleashing the Ferrari 812 GTS on the Open Road
The escape from São Paulo comes in the form of the Rodovia dos Bandeirantes, one of Brazil's finest highways.
You find a gap, drop a few gears using the massive carbon fiber paddle shifters, and press the throttle to the floor.
And the world simply breaks.
The word "fast" is a useless, inadequate descriptor for what the Ferrari 812 GTS does. It is not an acceleration; it is a recalibration of reality. The initial surge is so violent it pins you to your seat, forcing the air from your lungs. Your vision narrows, the scenery blurring into impressionistic streaks of green and gray. The numbers on the digital speedometer become a meaningless, flickering blur.
But the defining sensation is the sound. With the top down, the noise is an all-consuming physical force. The deep V12 hum explodes into a hard-edged, metallic roar that climbs and climbs, the pitch getting higher and more ferocious until, at 8,000 RPM, it transforms into a searing, F1-inspired shriek that seems to tear a hole in the fabric of the universe. You pull the paddle for the next gear—BANG—the shift is instantaneous, and the assault begins all over again. It is utterly terrifying and completely, euphorically addictive.
Then there’s the handling. The steering is hyper-quick, telepathic. You think about changing lanes, and you’re already there. The car feels impossibly agile for its size, a trick pulled off by Ferrari’s "Virtual Short Wheelbase" rear-wheel steering system, which turns the rear wheels slightly to make the car pivot with otherworldly grace. It inspires a level of confidence that is frankly dangerous in a car this powerful, making you feel like a racing hero, even if just for a few fleeting, heart-stopping seconds.
The Afterglow: The Lingering Impression of the Ferrari 812 GTS
The drive ends. You pull back into the garage, the engine ticking and pinging as the hot metal cools. You press the Engine Stop button. The V12 symphony is replaced by a deafening silence.
For a moment, you just sit there. Your ears are ringing. Your hands are trembling slightly, still buzzing with adrenaline. You get out of the car, and the world outside feels different. Everything seems muted, slower, less vibrant. Driving a normal car afterward feels like you’re moving through molasses.
This is the lingering impression of the Ferrari 812 GTS. It recalibrates your senses. It’s an experience so intense, so potent, that it stays with you for days. It’s not just a memory of a drive; it’s a new benchmark for what excitement feels like. You understand that you weren't just driving a car. You were interacting with a masterpiece, a culmination of everything Ferrari has learned about building passionate, soul-stirring machines.
FAQ: Your Questions About the Ferrari 812 GTS Driving Experience
1. Is the Ferrari 812 GTS genuinely difficult to drive? Surprisingly, no—in normal driving. The gearbox is smooth, the steering is light, and visibility is decent for a supercar. However, it is incredibly difficult to drive fast. Its limits are so high that exploring them on a public road is impossible and irresponsible. It demands immense respect.
2. Can you actually use all 800 horsepower? On a public road, absolutely not. You can only use it in tiny, exhilarating bursts that last a few seconds. The magic of the car isn't about using all the power all the time, but the ever-present knowledge that you could.
3. How does the GTS (convertible) compare to the Superfast (coupe) to drive? The chassis is so rigid that you lose very little in terms of pure performance. The real difference is sensory. The Superfast is an incredible car, but the Ferrari 812 GTS is an opera. The open-top experience immerses you in the sound and the environment in a way the coupe simply cannot match.
4. Is it a comfortable car for a long trip? For a front-engine V12 supercar, yes. The magnetic suspension does a brilliant job of smoothing out imperfections, especially with the "Bumpy Road" mode. You could comfortably drive it from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, arriving with a massive smile on your face.
5. What's the most surprising thing about driving the Ferrari 812 GTS? Its duality. The most shocking thing is its ability to transform from a relatively civilized, comfortable grand tourer into a ferocious, screaming race car with the simple flick of the Manettino dial. It’s this incredible breadth of character that makes it so special.
Conclusion: More Than a Car, It's a Benchmark for Passion
To drive a Ferrari 812 GTS is to understand that some machines have a soul. It’s a car that transcends its own performance figures and becomes a conduit for pure emotion. It is, in every sense of the phrase, more than a car.
It’s an orchestral instrument, a piece of kinetic sculpture, and a time machine. In an age of silent efficiency, it’s a loud, proud, and unapologetic celebration of the internal combustion engine in its most glorious and operatic form. It reminds you of what is being lost in the inevitable transition to our electric future.
The experience of driving a Ferrari 812 GTS is a privilege. It leaves an indelible mark on your soul, recalibrating your definition of speed, sound, and automotive passion. It is, without exaggeration, one of the greatest and most memorable driving experiences a human can have.
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