Photo: superrenderscars via Instagram
The advantages of having the engine sit behind the cabin are so obvious, one might even wonder why they don't make all cars in this configuration. Well, the reasons are many, but consider this too: would spotting a mid-engine Ferrari still be the highlight of your day if you had already seen thousands of similar Fords, Chevrolets, and Toyotas?
The mid-engine setup is the sign you're looking at a serious sports car, one where every minute improvement counts if it leads to better performance in the end. Having the large and heavy powertrain sit between the two axles and as low down as possible offers the engineers a host of new possibilities.
First of all, not having the engine in the front means there are fewer aerodynamic constraints, leading to a better drag coefficient. Second, it allows for more efficient weight management, leading to that coveted 50:50 weight distribution. That means the car will have mostly a neutral behavior in corners, avoiding understeer just as much as oversteer, which is what you want to do when trying to go fast.
While, in theory, all Ferraris can be classified as supercars (who even knows what a supercar is?), they're not all designed to fulfill the same purpose. A 488 Pista will tear up a track with its nimbleness and quick acceleration, while the SF90 Stradale will do whatever it wants thanks to its almighty hybrid powertrain.
Somewhere in-between - or to the side - sits the company's line of GTs, vehicles designed for high-speed cruising in comfort and style. Here, you have the Roma, the Portofino, the GTC4Lusso, and the top of the tree V12-powered 812 Superfast. They all target different customers (the Roma is the most affordable Ferrari, the Portofino is a convertible, the GTC4Lusso offers all-wheel-drive, and the 812 puts on a plate the classic Ferrari experience thanks to its naturally aspirated high-revving V12 engine), yet they follow the same front-mid-engine configuration.
Making a mid-engine 812 Superfast (here portrayed in the recently announced "Versione Speciale" trim) makes absolutely no sense, but it does show how seamlessly the car's design could adapt to the new configuration and how desirable the car would still be. Sure, the front would have to be revised a little more - no need for that much air now, plus it could be lowered a bit - but other than that, the mid-engine 812 seems ready to meet its undoubtedly many potential customers.
First of all, not having the engine in the front means there are fewer aerodynamic constraints, leading to a better drag coefficient. Second, it allows for more efficient weight management, leading to that coveted 50:50 weight distribution. That means the car will have mostly a neutral behavior in corners, avoiding understeer just as much as oversteer, which is what you want to do when trying to go fast.
While, in theory, all Ferraris can be classified as supercars (who even knows what a supercar is?), they're not all designed to fulfill the same purpose. A 488 Pista will tear up a track with its nimbleness and quick acceleration, while the SF90 Stradale will do whatever it wants thanks to its almighty hybrid powertrain.
Somewhere in-between - or to the side - sits the company's line of GTs, vehicles designed for high-speed cruising in comfort and style. Here, you have the Roma, the Portofino, the GTC4Lusso, and the top of the tree V12-powered 812 Superfast. They all target different customers (the Roma is the most affordable Ferrari, the Portofino is a convertible, the GTC4Lusso offers all-wheel-drive, and the 812 puts on a plate the classic Ferrari experience thanks to its naturally aspirated high-revving V12 engine), yet they follow the same front-mid-engine configuration.
Making a mid-engine 812 Superfast (here portrayed in the recently announced "Versione Speciale" trim) makes absolutely no sense, but it does show how seamlessly the car's design could adapt to the new configuration and how desirable the car would still be. Sure, the front would have to be revised a little more - no need for that much air now, plus it could be lowered a bit - but other than that, the mid-engine 812 seems ready to meet its undoubtedly many potential customers.
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