Why Was The Ferrari 812 GTS Discontinued?

The Ferrari 812 GTS has been dead for a minute now, having been officially discontinued back in the second quarter of 2024. The news of the car's demise came via financial paperwork coming out of Maranello for that period, although the writing had been on the wall for the V12 icon for years. The company actually stopped taking orders for the car in February 2022, but kept the factory lights on until 2024 to fulfill customer orders.

But why did Ferrari kill such a highly praised car? It all comes down to maximizing margins and maintaining its status as the most profitable luxury car brand. You see, the 812 platform has been around for about seven years now, which is practically a lifetime in the fast-moving automotive industry. Keeping an older model alive doesn't make much financial sense when you can release something new to reset the hype cycle. And that is exactly what Ferrari did.

Consequently, the 812 GTS was moved aside to make room for its successor, the Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider. The 12Cilindri made its debut in May 2024, around the exact same time 812 production officially ended. Basically, the 812 had to die so the new car could live.

To understand why this specific cancellation was significant, we have to look at what the 812 GTS actually represented. Before the 812 GTS' 2019 debut, Ferrari had not offered a series-production front-engine V12 convertible in 50 years, ever since the legendary 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider. Sure, there were limited-run special editions like the 550 Barchetta or the SA Aperta in between, but those were nearly impossible for a normal human to buy. The GTS was different because you could actually order one.

Under that long hood sat a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12. It's considered one of the best engines ever put in a Ferrari, cranking around 800 hp. It was just pure mechanical violence, which is exceedingly rare these days. It's worth mentioning that the 812 wasn't the only Ferrari that was discontinued, as the automaker also stopped production of the hybrid-powered SF90 Stradale.

The good news is that the replacement does not abandon the 812 GTS' old-school fundamentals. The 12Cilindri (Italian for "12 Cylinders") keeps the naturally aspirated V12 alive and even bumps the power up to 830 hp. However, the 812 GTS will always hold a special place for bringing the drop-top V12 experience back to the regular lineup after such a long hiatus. If you missed that boat, you are now at the mercy of the secondhand market. Prices are already looking pretty wild, and you can expect to pay more than $500,000 for a used 812 GTS nowadays if you can find one.