Car UK May 2019

(Jacob Rumans) #1
Freed of the cloyingly
strict GT3 rulebook,
the P80/C can run
entirely unrestricted

From left, Michael Leiters, Enrico Galliera and Louis Camillieri

The hybrid cometh
Ferrari’s first hybrid since
the LaFerrari is imminent.
In March, Maranello
debuted the F8 Tributo,
successor to the 488
GTB and Ferrari’s last
non-hybrid V8 supercar.
‘It’s unfair to say the
F8 Tributo will be the
last non-hybrid V
Ferrari supercar,’ says
Enrico Galliera, Ferrari’s
chief marketing and
commercial officer. ‘But
it’s correct to say that the
next [V8 supercar] will
probably be hybrid. This
will come very soon – a
couple of months from
now.’

Full electric?
Not just yet...
Despite the proliferation
of EV hypercars, Ferrari’s
in no hurry to ditch
petrol. ‘This technology
is not mature enough to
talk about a Ferrari with
only electric power,’ says
technology officer Michael
Leiters. ‘With Ferrari we
are talking about sound
and weight – these are
key. For these reasons an
all-electric car does not
fit with us right now. We
work to create emotions.
If you have to enhance
the sound, that is one
thing; but creating it from
scratch is something else.’

China: the challenges
and the opportunities
‘In contrast with other
manufacturers, we have
always tried to grow
organically in China,’
says Galliera. ‘We are
not experiencing any
drop in demand, and we
have a strong portfolio
of people willing to wait
for a Ferrari. For the
future we are developing
the V6 engine, which
has benefits in terms of
duties exemption [3.
litres is a key tax threshold
in China] and also
electrification – this will
give us the possibility to
create a new approach.’

Ferrari’s fightback plan

Battling rivals on all fronts, Maranello is under pressure. Here’s how it’s rising to the challenge

1 2 3

freed of the cloyingly strict rulebook that shapes modern GT
racers – the P80/C can run entirely unrestricted. Its race-bred
twin-turbo V8 goes without air restrictors of any kind, while
its aerodynamics have been sculpted without compromise;
hence the vast front splitter on the catamaran-style nose,
and the monstrous rear diffuser and full-width rear wing in
carbonfibre. Painstakingly optimised by the project’s aero engi-
neers, the body’s downforce works with the full, track-hugging
under-body aero of the 488 GT3 base car. The end result is reck-
oned to be five per cent more efficient than the racer – handy
should the P80/C ever find itself battling a 488 GT3 on the most
outlandishly exotic of trackdays...
Irrelevant? Of course. Meaningless? Far from it. As it
recovers from Sergio Marchionne’s sudden passing and a fresh
onslaught from rivals new (and predominantly EV) and old
(Aston Martin, McLaren and a resurgent Lamborghini), the
P80/C is proof that Maranello’s magic touch is alive, well and
uniquely powerful.
Who else could turn out a poster-ready instant classic
inspired by a peerless back catalogue, built upon the
foundations of a cutting-edge racer and realised by an
engineering team blooded at the sharp end of Formula 1?

P80/C comes
with show rims
and a set of
track-ready 18s

12 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MAY 2019

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