At the beginning of May 2024, the Prancing Horse of Maranello will unleash the successor to the 812 Superfast. Internally referred to as F167 versus F152M for the outgoing series of twelve-cylinder grand tourers, the newcomer will obviously be offered in the form of a convertible.
A retractable hardtop convertible à la 812 GTS, that is. The one and only carparazzo Varryx spied the open-top version for the first time ever, with said prototype testing on the roads just outside Ferrari HQ.
Heavily camouflaged, the gran turismo spider is equipped with a completely different front bumper from the 812 series and completely different headlights to boot. Pictured on generic-looking wheels that won't be offered on the production model, the F167 GTS also appears to be slightly wider than the F152M GTS.
Speaking of retirement, Ferrari stopped taking orders for the 812 series in February 2022, nine months after the Italian automaker premiered the Competizione and Competizione A. The 8,500-rpm super tourers were revealed on May 5, 2021, with all of them already spoken for at the moment of their debut. Ferrari limited the Competizione and Competizione A to 999 and 599 units at €499,000 and €578,000 before options.
Despite being heavily camouflaged out back as well, the F167 GTS also flaunts redesigned taillights. While it's hard to see whether Ferrari went for a full-width taillight bar, the taillight clusters appear to be influenced by those of the Roma and – to a lesser degree – the 296 as well.
Photo: Varryx on YouTube
The sound it makes can only be described as free-breathing V12, and the spied prototype also shifts way quicker than a human being could, therefore confirming a dual-clutch transaxle rather than a manual. The 599 is the final V12-powered manual from the Prancing Horse, but the stick shift actually went away a little over a decade ago with the Ken Okuyama-designed California.
Rather than the Magna Powertrain-supplied 7DCL750 of the 812, the long-awaited successor is most likely rocking the 8DCL900. The eight-speed tranny was designed with both front- and mid-engine applications in mind. The 900 in 8DCL900 stands for 900 Nm of torque, meaning 664 pound-feet in old money. SF90 was the first series-production Fezza to use said transmission, which is shared with the 296 and Roma.
Regarding the big-boy V12 hiding under the prototype's hood, the rumor mill suggests a further evolution of the F140 we all know and love. The F140 launched more than two decades ago with a displacement of 6.0 liters in the Enzo. Subsequently enlarged to 6.3 for the FF, said engine leveled up to 6.5 liters in the 812.
Widely believed to be devoid of any electrical assistance, the F167's mighty V12 is understood to deliver in the ballpark of 850 metric ponies or 838 mechanical horsepower. Considering that Ferrari has taken the F140 to 840 ps (829 hp) in the Daytona SP3, the jump to 850 ps (838 hp) should be a walk in the park.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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