Earlier this year we funded a Ferrari 812 Competizione for a new client of ours. A collector, someone who knew exactly what they were buying and wanted the finance built with the same care that went into the car. We won't share the details of the deal. What we can share is how we think about Ferrari 812 Competizione finance, because a car like this doesn't sit neatly inside the way most car finance is written.
The 812 Competizione, the latest of Ferrari's special-series V12 berlinettas
The 812 Competizione is the most extreme version of Ferrari's front-engined V12 berlinetta, and the latest in a line of special-series V12s that runs through the 599 GTO and the F12tdf. Ferrari built 999 coupes, alongside 599 of the open-top Competizione A, and offered them to established Ferrari clients rather than taking open orders. Its 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 produces 830 cv (819 bhp) and revs to 9,500 rpm.
For our purposes, though, the numbers that matter are the ones on the car itself. Its specification, its mileage, its history and how it has been looked after all shape the finance conversation, and they matter to a funder just as much as they do to a buyer.
The 812 Competizione's limited edition plaque
Most car finance is built around cars that are made in volume. Lenders price them using broad used-value models, and for the majority of cars on the road that works perfectly well. A limited-run Ferrari is a different proposition. No two 812 Competiziones are quite the same, and a mainstream lender looking at it as just another used Ferrari can end up with a structure that doesn't reflect the car in front of them.
The specialist funders on our panel look at the car itself. That is often the difference between a structure that fits the car and one that works against it, and it's why every Ferrari finance conversation we have starts with the car, not with a rate.
812 Competizione detailing on the dashboard
Plenty of the clients we work with at this level could pay cash. Many choose not to. Keeping capital free for the next acquisition, a business opportunity or simply peace of mind is often worth more to them than owning the car outright on day one. Others would rather keep a spread of cars without tying everything up in one place.
Where a client buys through a business, the treatment can differ from a personal purchase, and we always point people to their own accountant or tax adviser for that side of things. Our job is making sure the structure fits the way they want to own the car.
The 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12
Most of the supercar finance we arrange is hire purchase with a Final Payment (Balloon), and it suits a car like the 812 Competizione well. The monthly payments cover part of the balance, the Final Payment (Balloon) sits at the end, and the car is yours once it's paid. How that final payment is set depends on the term, the expected mileage and the car itself, and on a low-mileage collector's car those details carry real weight. Lease Purchase works on a similar basis and can suit some business buyers.
We set the term around how long the client expects to keep the car, and talk through the options at the end, whether that's settling, refinancing or moving into the next car, at the start rather than in the final month. If you want the detail on each structure, we walk through it in how supercar finance actually works.
Ferrari 812 Competizione
Clients buying an 812 Competizione rarely own just one car. If there's a car in the garage that's owned outright, equity release can unlock part of its value to fund the deposit on the next one, without selling it and without touching cash. If an existing agreement no longer suits, refinancing can bring it into line with everything else.
Looking at the whole garage, rather than just the next car, is often where the right structure comes from. It's the same approach we took when a long-standing client released equity to acquire an F12tdf, the 812 Competizione's direct predecessor.
Ferrari 812 Competizione
Before we put a structure in front of a client, we want to understand two things properly: the car and the way it will be owned. On the car side, that means its specification, mileage, service history and provenance, along with anything that sets it apart from the other 998, such as a special paint colour or a particularly strong options list. These are the details a specialist funder will want to see, so we gather them early.
On the ownership side, we ask how long the client expects to keep it, roughly how many miles it will cover each year, whether it's being bought personally or through a business, and whether the deposit is coming from cash or from equity released elsewhere in the garage. Cars like this also tend to come up at short notice and move quickly, so we make sure the paperwork is ready before it's needed. Get those answers right at the start and the structure almost builds itself.
Inside the 812 Competizione
We're a broker, not a lender, and we work with a panel of specialist funders who understand cars at this level. On a Ferrari 812 Competizione, that means placing the deal with a funder who knows the car, can move at the pace the purchase needs and is comfortable with the structure the client wants. We explain more in why a specialist car finance broker gets you a better deal than going direct.
For us, funding the car is the start of the relationship, not the end of it. That has proved true with this client, and it's the way we'd want every one of these deals to go.