Jay Leno is mostly known as a classic car guy. He owns everything from early carriages on four wheels to 1990s supercars, but he's into modern cars too. Yes, he isn't really buying a lot of modern vehicles, but the important ones eventually drop by his garage. In the latest episode of his YouTube series, Leno takes the 2021 Ferrari 812 GTS for a spin.
Known as one of the last front-engined Ferraris with a naturally aspirated V12, the 812 GTS is the drop-top version of the Superfast. It's just as powerful and quick and it looks just as dramatic, but it comes with infinite headroom thanks to a folding hard-top.
The first thing that Leno notices is that the metallic grey paint works well with the 812's muscular and sometimes even angular design cues. I find red Ferraris to be a bit overwhelming, so this grey drop-top is a nice change of pace, especially with that brown leather interior.
Leno seems to be impressed by what this supercar can do. He calls it "very seductive" as soon as he gets inside the cabin and praises how comfortable it is. He even goes as far as to say that the 812 offers "Bentley and Rolls-Royce levels of comfort."
He also enjoys the fact that it's an overstated car in an understated color, as unassuming as a "guy in a tuxedo suddenly bursting into song and dance."Leno praises the transmission and likes how the V12 is loud enough to make you aware but without being too annoying.
Of course, he can't refrain from comparing it to a car from the company's past. In this case, he thinks that the 812 is a nice tribute to the Daytona. The latter term is used to describe a series of front-engined, V12-powered Ferrari produced from 1968 to 1973, including the 365 GTB/4.
Introduced as a replacement for the 275 GTB, it was superseded by the mid-engined 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer. The Daytona was Ferrari's last front-engined, V12 two-seater until the 550 Maranello debuted in 1996.
The 812 Superfast itself has been around for four years as of 2021. Ferrari recently unveiled the more track-oriented Competizione model with 819 horsepower (30 horses more than the GTS), which may be the last Prancing Horse with a naturally aspirated V12. But until it becomes official, let's have a look at Jay Leno enjoying the Italian drop-top.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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