11 MILES
ugust bank holiday Monday,
and CAR is at the Fiorano test
track, a day before Ferrari
officially wakes from its
summer slumber. Employees
in red overalls might be
oddly absent from nearby
streets, so too the V8 and V12
soundtrack to daily life, but surreal normality is resumed with
a fleet of F8 Tributos lined up outside Enzo Ferrari’s old house
next to the circuit. It’s Ferrari’s latest mid-engined V8.
Soon, we’ll drive south from Fiorano towards Florence then
cut inland to loop the old 41-mile Mugello road circuit. First, a
couple of familiarisation laps of Fiorano with test driver Fabrizio
Toschi. I climb in the passenger seat, engine rumbling deeply,
extra eye contact and nodding to compensate for helmets and
muffled hearing, then the F8’s full fury is unleashed in a storm
of noise, acceleration, braking and lateral g.
This much you’d predict, but the F8 Tributo is an unexpected
Ferrari. Ever since the 360 Modena, Ferrari’s mid-engined V8s
have followed a formula: a new model arrives and hangs around
a few years before bowing out with a track-focused special.
Then Ferrari evolves the platform (a ‘modificato’) and repeats,
after which the process usually starts afresh.
Before the F8 Tributo, we could set our watches by that
product plan: all-new 458 Italia begat 458 Speciale, then
‘modificato’ 488 GTB sired 488 Pista. But instead of an all-new
model following the Pista, now the F8 Tributo spins a third
‘entry-level’ V8 off the platform first introduced with the 458,
and replaces the GTB. It essentially mates the Pista’s engine
with the GTB’s chassis, and splits the difference in terms of lap
times, downforce and weight.
The 3.9-litre turbo V8 produces 710bhp (49bhp up on a GTB)
and is 18kg lighter, with 50 per cent new parts including tita-
nium con-rods, Inconel manifolds and titanium-aluminium
turbine wheels. As per Pista. The chassis and brakes essentially
carry over from GTB (though the Pista got only stiffer springs)
but there’s an evolution of Ferrari’s Side Slip Angle Control and
Dynamic Enhancer that allows you to go full drift-god while
electronics flatter your driving, like a great PA flatters a hapless
boss. Aero upgrades boost downforce by 10 per cent over a GTB,
while still falling 10 per cent short of a Pista. At 1330kg dry
with lightweight options (including carbon rims and a smaller
battery), an F8 is 40kg lighter than a GTB, or 50kg heavier than
a Pista. The tribute bit? Ferrari says it’s honouring its own turbo
V8 – well done us!
You’ll pay £203,476: that’s around £6k over a GTB, but £50k
cheaper than a Pista.We whip round the circuit, me going full rag-doll as Toschi
lets all 710bhp flood out, teases the car expertly sideways, and
stands on carbon-ceramic brakes that crush speed. But there’s
respite and conversation too, as Toschi explains the F8’s 1min
22.5sec lap is half a second better than a GTB’s, although a
second down on the Pista’s because of extra weight, less down-
force, plus slightly softer springs and aggressive tyres. Thing
is, the F8 is available with the Pista’s more aggressive Michelin
Cup 2s, which we’re running on track, if not the road. On Cups
Toschi guesses the gap would fall 0.5sec or so. That’s an expen-
sive half a second, Pista owners.
Toschi pits; my turn. Performance comes instantly and
ferociously in the F8, with acceleration given vast elasticity by
gearshifts that fuse digital speed with analogue punch, though
the lowered rev limit of turbo-era cars and this motor’s extra ⊲Shift light goes
blue, it’s right
paddle for youEchoes of F40
in slatted Lexan
rear screen. Quad
lights 288 GTO/
F40/F355. Thong
graphic officially
‘wine glass’ motifA
Time for a breather before we leave,
and a quick look over interior. Feels
familiar, but the dash, door cards
and centre tunnel are all redesigned.
I’m more excited about the smaller
steering wheel with friendlier buttons.PICK- UP: 0 MILES
Tributo is ultra-agile, doesn’t really
understeer, and wants to oversteer.
If you’re not sliding a bit, you’re not
going fast enough.
First drives 300-mile test