Ferrari is known for not seeking out lap times on its vehicles. Frankly, we get it – times can vary depending on weather conditions, temperatures, and driver skill, none of which has anything to do with the car's actual capabilities. That holds especially true for the 12.9-mile Nordschleife loop at the Nürburgring, where missing just a handful of apexes can return a drastically slower lap time. Still, with a good driver behind the wheel, the sprawling course can provide a strong benchmark for a vehicle’s overall performance. And the 812 Superfast certainly isn’t lacking in that department.
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Sport Auto occasionally runs full-on timed laps of the Green Hell in a range of cars, and the fantastic front-engined Ferrari made the cut. The footage just went up on YouTube a few days ago, but obviously, the lap took places during warmer and considerably greener times. Specifically, the video description says the air temperature for the timed run was 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit), with the tarmac roughly 20 degrees warmer. Certainly a nice day for a drive, though performance might be a bit better with slightly cooler temperatures.
Gallery: Ferrari 812 Superfast Nurburgring
As for the Ferrari, it was wearing a set of Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres and was, of course, completely stock. Not that the 812 Superfast needs aftermarket help to be, well, super fast – its front/mid-engine layout gives the grand tourer excellent weight distribution with a slight bias to the rear, and the big V12 isn’t hurting for power. With 789 bhp going through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, It’s the most powerful naturally-aspirated Ferrari road car ever built.
Watching the lap from inside the car, it seems pretty well planted through the Nordschleife’s tricky turns. There appeared to be only a few pucker-worthy moments behind the wheel, all coming on the back half of course after the Karussell. The G-meter hit 1.4 on numerous occasions, and though the Ferrari reached a maximum speed of 189 mph on the Nürburgring’s massive straight, clocking 154 mph through Fuchsröhre in a rear-wheel-drive Ferrari with almost 800 bhp is downright heroic. Watch from 2:15 to 2:30 to see exactly what we mean.
Aside from that, a Nordschleife lap time of 7:27 in a grand touring machine not adorned with added aero components is seriously impressive.