Ferrari F8 Tributo

So much about this fabulous machine is guaranteed to elicit the furious smacking of gobs that it’s hard to know where to start. However, given that an esteemed colleague recently branded Ferrari’s F8 Tributo ‘too fast for the road’, speed seems as good a place as any…

Bald statistics rarely paint a particularly well-rounded picture, but If I mention 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds, 0-125 mph in 7.8 seconds and a ramming speed of 213 mph, you’ll probably get the gist. The figure that seriously impresses, though, is 35 to 60 mph in 1.0 second. That’s ONE second.

Paradoxically, given that the wrong side of the road is the one environment wherein we all like to spend as little time as possible, the F8’s astonishing traffic eradication abilities actually make its otherworldly speed something of a safety feature. The only time you’ll be spending any perceptible period of time at all out on that limb is when, once acclimatised, you stop thinking ‘when?’ and begin to contemplate ‘how many..?’

Small wonder then, that the tribute mentioned in the car’s name is actually being paid to the engine; a 3.9 litre, twin-turbocharged V8, variants of which have been cleaning up at the International Engine of the Year awards since 2016. In this beautifully presented, carbon fibre-cloaked iteration, it’s good for 710 bhp, 568 lb ft of torque from only 3250 rpm, and the remarkably turbo lag-free capacity to simply inhale the road ahead with an utterly relentless urgency that could only be more addictive if the noises-off accompanying this outrageous vim were just a tad more appealing.

Aurally, it can’t hold a candle to the howl and snap of the company’s magnificent V12 -a din so glorious it sets the hairs on the nape of the neck trooping the colour with every throttle application of intent, or even the blare of its conventional aspirated V8 sibling powering the 458. But that doesn’t make this sadly snarl-free engine any less admirable as a magnificent piece of engineering.

The whole is open to the public gaze under an F40-inspired lightweight Lexan rear screen which somewhat distorts rapidly receding vehicles. Happily, the view provided by the door mirrors over the F8’s deliciously sinuous flanks is so good that you quickly give up trying to peer through one of the slim ventilation slots cut into said screen.

The F8 is as sharp suited as you’d expect a Ferrari to be, whilst still sporting every aerodynamicist’s trick in the book. At the bows, the most powerful paean to the gods of air management takes the form of an S-duct which inhales air from under the number plate (and one can’t help thinking that, unlike diminutive Italian offerings, that big Brit number plate inhibits intake a tad) and then ejects it over the surface of the bonnet to aid downforce. And I particularly relish the intakes that offer an extension to the nosecone’s headlamp punctuation, channelling cooling air to the brakes…

Astern, its underside nibbled by trademark quadruple round lights that never looked better than on a 365 GTB/4, the spoiler has been painstakingly honed to provide serious dollops of downforce. But I can’t help wishing the top lip had been cut more or less flat in the manner of an F355 and the 308 before it, just to give the rump a dash more squat…

The interminable faff of four-point harnessing fitted to this car for extensive track work aside, the cockpit is a glorious place to be. The unfussy seats are cosseting and supportive in equal measure, and every element, every detail, is a delight to the senses.

Oh, hang on… Except, that is, the gently lazy graphics of the optional back-seat driver’s panel slotted into the dash, by which your passenger may monitor your excesses of revs, speed and so forth. I’d forgo it until a better font match with the main instrumentation is hatched.

Ferrari’s steering wheel has become something of a masterclass in ergonomics and switchgear accommodation, especially since the indicator buttons adopted a more tangible click on operation, and the exasperating wiper button was replaced by a thumb wheel.

A large rev counter still dominates the driver’s instrument binnacle, and left and right side screens may be endlessly reconfigured to taste. I quickly settled for a digital speedo on the right and a tyre temperature monitor on the left -essential to avoid unsolicited visits to the shrubbery on damp autumn days.

Interestingly, the front nearside tyre warms faster, and gets hotter than its neighbour across the bows, due, apparently, to the proximity of a radiator which, in turn, is also hotter than its neighbour…

Driving the F8 is, predictably, an utter joy. We’ve already dealt with the throttle, but I should add the paddle shift is an absolute sensory delight to use; the gearbox demonstrating lightning-fast reactions to every input, even in the mildest, ‘sport’ mode available via the helm-mounted manettino switch. Better yet, dual clutch transmission ensures that, no matter how fast the gear change, the only jerks in evidence are other, I-was-here-first road users determined to close gaps on you when you’re overtaking. Only in Britain.

The steering is lighter than you might imagine, but full of feel, fast and wonderfully pointy. Even with the ‘bumpy road’ setting dialled into the suspension this equates to fabulously prompt turn-in with no hint of understeer, followed by a delicious sense of balance and tip-toe poise as you squeeze the long-travel throttle to ever-increasing depths to discover just how fast the car will allow you to power out of a familiar corner before even a hint of electronic nannying comes into play.

The answer -the machine being far braver than me- is pretty much as fast as you like. The F8 is equipped with the latest version of Ferrari’s Side Slip Angle Control and Dynamic Enhancer, which basically allows you to slide the Tributo around whilst subtly meddling about in the background to keep everything smooth and tidy.

Trouble is, the levels of traction and grip on offer are so high that pushing the F8’s envelope to the point where said electronics come into play is -the occasional crafty hairpin aside- undoubtedly best reserved for a track day.

None of which detracts one iota from the unalloyed joy of time spent with the F8, especially since Ferrari has thoroughly mastered the art of producing machines that are every bit as happy to potter as they are to plunder.

I can’t remember the last time my driving was so flattered by a car, and particularly not at the astonishing A road speeds the F8 is capable of sustaining. There’s a gloriously absorbing, feedback-laden fluidity to progress that is, frankly, utterly addictive. Alas, I fear we in the UK will not see its like again…

Decrying a car such as too fast for the road surely smacks of pronouncing your superyacht too luxurious to put to sea.