NETJETS US VOLUME 10 2019

ehind the wheel
The Ferrari F8 Tributo graces
the track at the Varano circuit,
near Parma, Italy
(0-62 mph) arrives in 2.9 seconds, 200 km/h
(0-124 mph) in 7.8, and were Varano big
enough we’d be hitting 340 km/h (211 mph)
not long thereafter. The figures are a step up
on its outgoing relative, the 488 GTB. In
fact, the paternity test points to the soupedup
488 Pista. It’s got the latter’s engine, using
race-derived lightweight components with
slightly adapted camshafts and valve timing,
and more refinement in areas such as ride,
transmission, and sound insulation. Throttle
response is instant, there’s a total absence of
turbo lag, and there’s ballistic torque right
across the 8,000 rpm range. Moreover, it’s
easy to drive and gleefully rewarding.
Handling and control are intuitive and
aided by the latest version of Ferrari’s Side
Slip Angle software and enhanced dynamics
(FDE+), which can be activated on the
shrunken steering wheel’s manettino dial,
giving drivers more confidence on the limit.
For Silicon Valley types, this’ll be their spirit
animal. In this car, code equals lap time.
The styling is a gentle continuation of
what we’ve seen from Ferrari this decade,
with aerodynamics trumping elegance, but it
is aggressively beautiful. The ninja-star wheels
and quad taillights are carryovers from the
1980s, and the clear polycarbonate louvred
engine cover, designed to extract hot air, is a
direct nod to the epochal F40. Roll up your
sleeves and imagine you’re in Miami Vice.
Ferrari has stretched Darwin’s Theory of
Evolution to the extreme. Magnum PI’s 308
was the Berlinetta bloodline’s starting point,
the prehistoric 255 bhp primate. Evolution
finishes with this, the Tributo, standing tall
after 40 years of generational progress. The
328, 348, F355, 360, F430, 458, and 488;
every five years or so, a new and improved
offspring emerges. The furniture hasn’t
moved – two seats propelled by a mid-rearmounted
V8 – yet the performance feels like
millennia of advancement.
The jurors of the International Engine
of the Year Awards not only bestowed
the F8 Tributo’s F154 powerplant bestin-show
honours but announced it as the
finest engine of the last 20 years. But there’s
possibly another reason to the Tributo
moniker: This is Ferrari’s V8 swansong.
It appears that Maranello isn’t impervious
to external pressures. Horsepower is going
up, but displacement is going down. Hybrid
technology is being used to great effect on its
hypercars, and an all-electric prancing horse
seems inevitable one day. Right now, Ferrari
is in the advanced stages of signing off an
all-new 2.9l twin-turbo V6, with hybrid
tech pushing bhp into the mid-700s. It’ll be
lighter, it’ll be cleaner, and less taxable, but
will it have the character?
We must, therefore, cherish the F8
Tributo. No other $250,000 supercar is this
well engineered or this thrilling to drive on
the edge. Yet despite all its innovative parts
and lines of code, it’s old school. It really is
a fitting tribute to everything that’s gone
before, and Ferrari is right to be proud.
Owners should be, too. ferrari.com
Ferrari has stretched Darwin’s theory
of evolution to the extreme
© FERRARI
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