Ferrari 812 Rental in Dubai

There is a sound a 6.5-litre Ferrari V12 makes near the top of its rev range that almost nothing else on sale still does, and the 812 is where you go to hear it. We hand the car over at your hotel, villa or DXB arrivals at no extra charge, so the day starts with the engine, not a counter. If you want to rent the Ferrari 812 in Dubai because you want the loudest, most old-school Ferrari soundtrack, this is the right car and the rest are compromises. The 812 is a front-engine grand tourer with a monster of a motor up front. That single fact decides almost everything about who should book it, which is what this page is for.

The V12 is the whole reason

The 812's engine is naturally aspirated, which means no turbos sitting between your foot and the noise. Power and sound build the harder and higher you rev, all the way to a screaming top end, instead of arriving in one turbocharged shove. That's the experience you're paying for, and it's getting rarer every year. The 812 Superfast makes around 789 horsepower from that 6.5-litre V12, and it's mounted at the front rather than behind your shoulders.

What that front-engine layout gives you is a different character from a mid-engine supercar. The 812 feels long, planted and deeply fast in a straight line, more cruiser-with-a-temper than scalpel. On a clear stretch of Sheikh Zayed Road or the open run toward Abu Dhabi, that suits Dubai well. You sit ahead of most of the drama, the nose stretches out in front of you, and the V12 does its talking through the windscreen and the exhaust.

812 or one of the mid-engine cars

This is the decision most people booking an exotic for the day get wrong, so take a side here. If you want a small, agile, point-and-dart car that feels alive in tight corners, the mid-engine V8s are the better tool. The F8 and the hybrid 296 are lighter on their feet, easier to place, and quicker to change direction. They're the pick for someone chasing nimbleness.

The 812 is not that car, and trying to use it that way misses the point. It's bigger, heavier and front-engined, built around noise, theatre and brutal straight-line pace rather than agility. You book it precisely because it's the big V12 and the others aren't. If the soundtrack and the sense of occasion matter more to you than carving a mountain road, the 812 wins. If you'd rather have the more playful, more tossable car, save the money and take the F8 or 296.

The newer 12Cilindri, honestly

The 812 has been replaced by the 12Cilindri, Ferrari's newer front-V12 GT, so it's worth saying where each stands. The 12Cilindri is the current car, more modern inside and sharper to look at, and if having the latest model matters to you, that's the one to ask for. But the 812 keeps the same family of naturally aspirated V12, the same core appeal, and as the outgoing model it's the more attainable way into that engine. Being an older, run-out car, the 812 is also a treat we keep in small numbers, so availability moves around. We're straight about which is free on your dates rather than promising the one we don't have.

Two seats and a small boot

The 812 is a strict two-seater, so cross it off if you're a group. For two people it's more usable than a mid-engine exotic, but only just. There's a real boot behind the cabin, enough for a couple of soft weekend bags or a set of golf clubs, and the Superfast coupe adds some space behind the seats. A pair heading to a hotel for a few nights will manage if they pack soft and light. Two large hard suitcases from the airport, no. For that leg we'd point you at something else and bring the 812 for the days you actually want to drive it.

If you're choosing the GTS, that's the open-top version with a retractable hard top, which is the move for an early morning or an evening when you want the V12 unfiltered overhead. In the middle of a July afternoon, leave it shut and let the air conditioning work, because open-top motoring in 45-degree heat stops being fun quickly.

Where the performance is legal, and pickup

A car with this much power in a city this full of speed cameras needs a plain warning. The 812's real pace lives mostly in your imagination on Dubai's public roads, and that's fine, because the engine note, the response and the presence carry the experience at perfectly legal speeds. Sheikh Zayed Road at a sensible cruise, the open road toward Abu Dhabi, the quieter sweeps out past Al Qudra: that's the natural habitat. The full performance belongs on a track day, not a public road. Watch the nose, too, since a low front-engine Ferrari scrapes on steep ramps and speed bumps if you don't take them slowly and at an angle.

When you book, we deliver the car wherever suits you, walk you through the drive modes and the boot and roof if it's the GTS, and collect it afterward. The Salik tag is fitted and insurance is included, so there's nothing to arrange before you set off. Any tolls or camera fines during your rental are passed on to you at cost, so drive it like the camera is always watching, because in Dubai it usually is.