Ferrari 812 Superfast Laps Nurburgring in 7:24, Puts On a Show

The Maranello machine was taken to the Ring by Sport Auto, with the German magazine being an authority in terms of independent Nordschleife numbers.

And with editor Christian Gebhardt behind the wheel, the V12 you lapped the infamous German circuit in 7:27.48. Note that the time is remarkably close to the factory chronograph number of the 812 Superfast - as the mag explains, the Fezza needed 7.24 for the task when factory driver Raffaele de Simone was behind the wheel.

And while the said editor is a brilliant driver with plenty of Ring experience, the relatively small difference between the two lap times is a testament to the car's maneuvrability.

Speaking of which, before anybody points out that cars like the 500 hp Porsche 911 GT3 are quicker round the Green Hell, we have to keep in mind the 812 SF is a Grand Tourer.

And for a machine whose main target is to take you across the continent at speed, the performance we have here is respectable.

Then there's the character of the car. As is it usually the case with rear-wheel drive Ferraris, the handling is a blend of chassis finesse and driver involvement (read: countersteering efforts are required).

In fact, the piece of footage below, which allows us to check out the Sport Auto lap, means we get to see how this Italian exotic should be handled on the track. The naturally aspirated music delivered by the 800 horsepower 6.5-liter V12 of the car is on the house...