V12
V12
Ferrari 812 Superfast sound
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5 more Ferrari 812 Superfast sounds and Drive mode are in the free app.
Unlock all sounds freeThe Ferrari 812 Superfast sounds like a smooth, rising howl that gets harder and brighter all the way to its 8,900 rpm limiter, because its 6.5-liter V12 is naturally aspirated and fires six times every revolution. The car in these clips wears an aftermarket Novitec exhaust, so it is louder and rawer than a stock 812, most noticeably at startup, idle and part throttle.
What to listen for
- Start: a loud flare as the V12 catches, then a high, busy fast idle that is noticeably more aggressive than a stock 812.
- Idle: a smooth, continuous beat with extra bass from the Novitec exhaust, but none of the lumpy burble of a cross-plane V8.
- Revs: the pitch climbing into a bright, metallic howl, then dropping away quickly once the throttle closes.
- Drive: the note restarting lower after each fast dual-clutch upshift and building again toward 8,900 rpm.
Why the 812 sounds like that
A V12 fires six cylinders per crank revolution, twice as many as a six-cylinder and half again as many as a V8. At 8,900 rpm that works out to 890 firing pulses per second (the firing frequency shown above). With the pulses packed that closely they blend into one continuous tone, so the 812 sounds like a howl rather than a series of beats or a bark.
Peak power of 789 hp arrives at 8,500 rpm, close to the limiter. That shapes the sound as much as the cylinder count: the engine pulls hardest and sounds most intense at the very top, instead of flattening out in the midrange the way many turbocharged engines do.
What the Novitec exhaust changes
The factory 812 uses exhaust valves to stay relatively civil at low speed and opens up under load. Novitec's system is less restrictive, and the difference shows mostly in the places where the stock car is tuned to be quiet: the cold start is sharper, the idle has more bass and edge, and cruising at part throttle no longer sounds hushed.
At full throttle near the limiter both setups are loud, so the change there is more about tone than volume. The aftermarket system tends to let more of the raw, metallic top end through, with less of the smoothing a road-legal factory exhaust is designed to add.
The 812 compared with other V12s
The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ also uses a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12, but it sounds harsher and more mechanical, and its single-clutch gearbox adds a crack to every hard shift. The 812 is smoother and more polished, with quick dual-clutch shifts that barely interrupt the note. Turbocharged V12s, by contrast, lose much of this top-end howl because the turbochargers absorb and soften the exhaust pulses.
Frequently asked questions
How much horsepower does the Ferrari 812 Superfast have?
Its 6.5-liter V12 makes 789 hp (800 PS) at 8,500 rpm and revs to 8,900 rpm.
Is the Ferrari 812 Superfast turbocharged?
No. The 812 Superfast uses a naturally aspirated V12, which is a big part of why it sounds so different from turbocharged V12 and V8 cars.
Is a Novitec exhaust louder than the stock 812 exhaust?
Generally yes, especially at startup, idle and part throttle, where the factory system is tuned to be quiet. At wide-open throttle both are loud, and the difference is more about tone than volume.
