The Ferrari 812 GTS will restyle your terrible hair with 789bhp

Ferrari couldn’t resist. It’s watched the likes of the Aston Martin DBS, Lamborghini Aventador and Bentley Continetal GT running away with the ‘ultra-quick, mega-pricey suntanmobile’ market and decided enough is enough. The 812 Superfast has lost its top. This, at long, long last, is the Ferrari 812 GTS.

Big buttresses, aren’t they? The humped rear deck hides a folding hard-top roof that whirrs electrically away in 14 seconds at up to 28mph, exposing the 812 GTS’s two occupants to the unholy fury of one of Ferrari’s finest-ever engines.

It’s a naturally aspirated, 6.5-litre V12, which can wake the dead from three counties away and then outrun the zombie hordes with a 789bhp, 530lb ft punch. It’s a monster.

Ferrari has traditionally let its open-top V8 cars do the heavy lifting when it comes to selling convertibles – it’s had the California, Portofino and Spider versions of the 458, 488 and now F8 Tributo on its books. There were short-lived roofless versions of the 550, 575 and the 599, but they were limited-edition rarities, less likely to see the sun than a ginger-haired Minecraft enthusiast.

There’s no word, meanwhile, that Ferrari is keeping the 812 GTS back for only the most dedicated Tifosi. This one’s for the people. The people with at least £300,000 to lob at a V12 cabrio that – despite gaining 75kg of chassis-stiffening flab – can see off 0-62mph in under 3.0sec, and run on to an 812 Superfast-equalling top speed of 211mph. On the way, it’ll hit a screaming 8,900rpm redline seven times and cover 0-124mph in 8.3 seconds. It’ll leave you deaf and mad then.

Find some corners and it’ll use technology as well as sheer volume to blow your mind, because the same whizzbangs from the 812 Superfast are here. The Side-Slip Angle Control, the manettino mode switch, even the variable steering weight that’s supposed to help you countersteer as you drift. None of it’s been binned for the supposedly less serious GTS. And the aerodynamics have had a thorough going over. Prices? From €336,000, apparently. Ouch.

Only one problem really. Where was this thing four months ago, when we still had a summer ahead of us?