Ferrari 812 Competizione and Competizione A revealed

The 2022 Ferrari 812 Competizione and Competizione A have been officially revealed more than two-and-a-half years after being conceived by the celebrated Maranello outfit, and there’s A LOT to talk about.

Firstly, the questions on everyone’s lips – how many are they making? And how much will it cost?

The Competizione coupe (that we already knew about before the launch) is being produced in a limited number of 999 examples and will set owners back roughly EUR€499,000 (AU$775,000) (although the options list will jack that number up considerably).

With the shock simultaneous reveal of the Competizione’s topless sister car, the Competizione A (Aperta), we found out that Ferrari will be making 599 examples of the Targa-bodied supercar, with a sticker price of EU€578,000 ($AU900,000).

So a combined 1598 examples sounds like a decent supply, right? Wrong, as Enrico Galliera, chief commercial and marketing officer of Ferrari, explained almost immediately at the international launch, all examples of the coupe and Targa are already sold out.

That’s not surprising really, given Ferrari’s clientele or “family members” as Galliera refers to them, are some of the most enthusiastic and well-heeled on the planet.

What is surprising is the sheer amount of engineering and tech that’s gone into 812 Competizione – it’s a very different car from its regular Superfast sibling.

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The Ferrari F140 V12

The engine

As is the case with every Ferrari ever built, the biggest source of interest in the Competizione is the naturally aspirated masterpiece found under its aero-sculpted bonnet.

An extension of the iconic F140 Tipo F140GA V12 found in the 812 Superfast, the new engine has been worked on to such an extent that it barely resembles the inaugural iteration of the powerplant, which was first unveiled back in 2002 in the Enzo.

The headline figures for the 6.5-litre V12 are tremendous. 610kW and 9250rpm, 692Nm at 7000rpm, and a redline that will scream all the way to 9500rpm.

The lattermost stat means that this V12 is the highest-revving combustion engine ever fitted to a Ferrari road car.

It’s also among the highest-revving, road-going V12 engines ever produced, with only a handful of examples being able to spin higher (think Valkyrie or T.50).

Unlike the Aston or Gordon Murray hypercars though, which have relatively small displacements, Ferrari has managed to make a whopping 6496cc 12-cylinder motor rev to almost 10 grand, which is absurd.

To achieve this beguiling feat, Ferrari’s chief technology officer Michael Leiters and his team had to employ just about every trick in the book, including a few learnt in Formula 1.

The con-rods are new and made from titanium, and they’re 40 per cent lighter than the steel equivalent.

The pistons are also new, as is the crankshaft which has been rebalanced, and the piston-pins have been treated to a diamond-like coating (DLC) that’s said to reduce friction and wear.

The intake system also had to be redesigned, with a new, compact manifold and plenum being created to reduce the lengths of the tracts, thereby allowing for a higher-revving engine and a more linear torque band.

Perhaps the biggest change to the engine comes in the form of a redesigned distribution and cylinder heads.

The cams are DLC-coated and interact with the valve stems through a DLC-coated steel sliding finger-follower that allows for a higher lift profile for the pistons and goes a long way to contributing to the engine’s high-revving capabilities.

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The exhaust

Leiters explained that the new Competizione has, for the first time in the 812’s history, a petrol particulate filter (PPF), which meant that the entire exhaust system needed to be redesigned.

Asked by WhichCar if the PPF had affected the performance or sound of the engine, Leiters replied: “It was a challenge to recover power and a challenge to recover sound”.

To get around the issue, Leiters said the new exhaust system had no silencer, and the “last part of the exhaust is working as a trumpet”, evidenced by the sizeable exhaust tips that blend into the car’s carbon diffuser.

The exhaust’s intake tract was also fitted with a second set of resonators to enhance the sound of induction.

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The gearbox

The herculean levels of power are sent to the Competizione’s rear wheels through Ferrari’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Revised for these newest special edition Prancing Horses, the gearbox features a new calibration and shifting characteristic, which equates to a five per cent quicker gear change time than the standard 812 Superfast.

Gear ratios have remained unchanged, and Leiters also commented that, at 9500rpm, the tolerances of the transmission are almost maxed out.

Like every DCT-equipped Ferrari, shifting will be taken care of via a set of column-mounted carbon-fibre shift paddles.

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Light weight

Being a special edition Ferrari, the Competizione has gone on a significant diet, bringing the dry kerb weight down to 1487 kilograms (35 kilograms lighter than the Superfast).

This weight shedding is down to things like a rapid adoption of carbon-fibre in the car’s construction, with the front and rear bumpers formed from the lightweight composite, as are the Aussie-made Carbon Revolution 20-inch wheels, which shed 3.7 kilos compared to the 812’s standard forged lightweight alloys.

The car’s interior also utilises vast amounts of carbon-fibre and does away with sound deadening.

A lighter 12V lithium-ion battery further decreases mass, as does the aforementioned use of titanium in the new engine componentry.

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Aerodynamics and design

Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari chief design officer, said the Competizione and Competizione A were both designed with the philosophy of form following function, and despite the undeniable good looks of the new supercars, it’s clear much has been done to improve aero for on-track performance.

Most notably, the coupe has done away with a rear windscreen. In its place, a patented sheet of aluminium sports three slats on either side, acting as vortex generators.

This rear screen was only made possible due to the adoption of a rear-mounted camera sending live video feedback to the car’s cabin. Without the camera, Manzoni explained the screen would never have been allowed.

The new screen, working in conjunction with the rest of the car’s aero-enhanced features such as; a flat underbody, large integrated rear spoiler, and new rear diffuser to name just a few, helps the Competizione coupe to produce more than 80 kilograms of extra downforce at 200km/h compared to the Superfast.

Cutting the roof off the Competizione to create its gorgeous Aperta counterpart obviously means that the same rear aero screen cannot be used.

However, Manzoni said that the A’s dual-buttresses have been designed for optimal airflow over the car, and sitting directly behind them is an integrated rear spoiler, to push the open-top supercar further.

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Handling and chassis dynamics

Another major feature of the Competizione is the adoption of independent four-wheel steering, which according to Leiters, has drastically improved the car’s turn-in capabilities and high-speed stability when cornering.

It’s the first time Ferrari has implemented this dynamic technology, which was born from the standard active rear-wheel steering system found on other models.

In the case of the Competizione, the car’s rear-wheel steering system is fitted with a new electronic management system that allows for the right and left wheel actuators to operate independently from one another, rather than being synchronised.

The steering tech works in conjunction with Ferrari’s latest Side Slip Control 7.0 system, an electronically controlled limited-slip diff, F1-Trac traction control and magnetorheological adaptive dampers.

As standard, both the Competizione and Competizione A will come equipped with Pirelli P-Zero tyres measuring 275/35 at the front and 315/35 at the rear.

Those wanting a more track-oriented tyre can also option a set of Michelin Cup 2 R tyres that have been specially homologated for the supercars.

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Performance

The thunderous powertrain, coupled with the faster shifting DCT, lightweight body and uber-sticky Cup 2 R tyres translates to an impressive list of performance stats.

0-100km/h is taken care of in a claimed 2.85 seconds, 0-200km/h takes 7.5 seconds, and flat-out the Competizione will be travelling in excess of 340km/h.

The Maranello outfit has also claimed its newest supercar completed a lap time of 1.20.00 seconds at Fiorano, making the Competizione 1.5 seconds quicker than the 812 Superfast, and one second quicker than its predecessor, the F12 TDF.

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Will it be coming to Australia?

Ferrari remained tight-lipped about its customer allocations, but, given Aussies’ penchant for Prancing Horses, and a very loyal, local fanbase, we’d hazard a guess at least a few Competiziones and Competizione As will be landing Down Under when customer deliveries begin early 2022.