Ferraris with naturally aspirated V-12 engines will become a thing of the past soon. Maranello is reportedly going to send the legendary F140 V-12 into the history books in 2021 with the 812 GTO, the final iteration of the 812 Superfast. The 812 GTO will also be Ferrari's last V-12-powered grand tourer, ending a legacy that can be traced back to the late 1940s.

The 812 GTO has been in the rumor mill for more than a year now. A hardcore version of the 812 Superfast, a spiritual successor to the 599 GTO, and a tribute to the iconic 250 GTO, the 812 GTO has been spotted testing throughout 2020. Ferrari has since unveiled the Omologata one-off, also based on the 812 Superfast. Come 2021 and it seems that the 812 GTO is finally slated to go into production, with Autocar claiming, based on an "industry source," that it will break cover by the end of the year.

It should also sport s revised front section with new air intakes, a bespoke exhaust system and a race-inspired interior. Of course, the 6.5-liter V-12 will be tweaked to pump a bit more power. The 812 Superfast packs 789 horsepower, so the 812 GTO could generate at least 800 horses.

Ferrari's F140 V-12 engine will be retired after an impressive 20-year run

The 6.5-liter V-12 in the 812 Superfast is part of the F140 family, which Ferrari introduced back in 2002. The mill debuted in 6.0-liter form in Enzo flagship supercar, originally rated at 651 horsepower. In 2006, Ferrari used a revised version of this engine in the 599 GTB.

In 2010, the special 599 GTO was fitted with a variant rated at 661 horsepower. The V-12 was enlarged to 6.3 liters in 2011 and fitted into models like the FF, F12berlinetta, LaFerrari, F12tdf, and GTC4Lusso. The latest 6.5-liter iteration was introduced in 2017 in the 812 Superfast and it's also offered in the Monza SP1 and SP2.

Ferrari also used the F140 in a range of track-only supercars, starting with the FXX. The 6.3-liter version was also fitted in the FX Evoluzione, the FXX-K, and FXX-K Evo with a top rating of 848 horsepower. The 6.0-liter variant of the race-spec V-12 powered the 599XX and 599XX Evo.

The F140 engine was also used by Maserati in the MC12 supercar and had a lustrous racing career in the MC12 GT1.

The F140 replaced the F116/F133, produced from 1992 to 2011 and fitted in models like the 456, 550 Maranello, 612 Scaglietti, and 575 GTC.

The Ferrari 812 GTO will mark the end of a long era

As the company's final V-12-powered grand tourer, the 812 GTO will put an end to an era that harkens back to the late 1940s. It was followed by the America series in 1950 and the 250 lineage in 1952. During the 1960s, Ferrari introduced the 275, 330, and 365. Although the company stopped building two-seater V-12 GTs in 1973, it offered 2+2 grand tourers with a similar layout through models like the 365 GT4, 400, and 412. The 456 followed from 1992 to 2003. The front-engined, two-seat grand tourer configuration returned in 1996 with the 550, followed by the 575, 599, F12berlinetta, and the 812 Superfast we know today.