What is it like to take a seat behind the steering wheel of the brand new Ferrari F80? Some say it might be the best Ferrari ever made, Ferrari insists on calling it a supercar, but we might have to call it a hypercar nonetheless, mainly because of the rather steep MSRP of this new beast from Maranello, about $4,200,000, but that price is justified as this has to be a worthy heir to the legendary LaFerrari, the F80 is the latest offering in the illustrious lineage of the F40, F50, Enzo, and LaFerrari.
But that does come with nearly 1,200 hp, and what makes that even more impressive is the fact we’re talking about a 3-liter V6 Twin Turbo engine behind the two seats, an engine that has been derived from an actual Le Mans winner, the 499P, but as usual these days, there is an electric motor, that adds up to 80 hp into the mix and two more electric motors on the front axle.
And this clearly is an engine inspired by endurance racing, this V6 can rev to an impressive 9,200 rpm, that’s howling for sure, and get this, yes, this one comes with two turbochargers, but inside each of these turbos, there is another electric motor for instant response.
And finally, we get to see and hear some impressions from people who were actually allowed to drive this multi-million dollar hypercar from Ferrari, both on the Misano track and on the open road surrounding that circuit.
So let’s talk about how this 1,200 bhp Prancing Horse handles the track, because let’s face it, most of these cars will be used on the open road, where, again, most of the owners won’t even be able to come close to any of the limits this beast has.
The Ferrari F80 is tremendously fast, that’s a given, but it’s also relatively decent to handle, even if you ‘cook’ the corner a little, meaning you are just going a little too fast, the front still manages to get you in check and make it out of the corner without a very expensive wreck, and that’s mostly thanks to the ‘intelligence’ found in this masterpiece, and the oodles of power that’s available at any given moment, there is no justification to chritizise the Ferrari F80 when it comes to performance and acceleration.
Even if you ‘ride the curbs’, the F80 stays very firm on it’s track, the composure is amazing, and you hardly have to turn the steering wheel to make it through the corners, one remark that was given by those people fortunate enough to drive this new F80 was the paddles, usually they turn with the wheel, but on this car they stay fixed in place behind the steering wheel.
When you switch the Ferrari F80 into Qualifying mode, you feel like Leclerc in Monaco; that’s how much the behavior of the car changes under your right foot, but you do get a feeling that you can push the car even further the more you drive it, and that could get dangerous in a hurry with 1,183 bhp at your disposal, so is the F80 a car that keeps you trying for more? So, what happens if you take off your helmet and actually drive the Ferrari F80 on the open road? Things change considerably. If you didn’t fall in love completely from driving on the track, taking this beast onto the road will make you love it unconditionally.
The entire experience changes; the sounds and impressions you get from driving on the street make the Ferrari F80 extremely exciting to pilot around. She comes to life on the road, something you are intrigued about after driving on the track, it’s almost like you are driving two different cars, with the adjustable suspension, the Ferrari F80 remains completely flat in the corners, also virtually no ‘nose-dipping’ on deceleration, it’s just so capable with this independent suspension setup, the Ferrari engineers really nailed it with this car.
On the road you don’t get the feeling you are driving a massive car, it doesn’t feel too big on the streets, also the comfort is rather good, despite having nearly 1,200 horsepower available, and you are inside a top of the line supercar from Maranello, you can still have a conversation with your passenger, and you don’t have to be driving on perfectly flat road surfaces either, the suspension just copes so well, and while it might look like an endurance race car, you still get working airconditioning, Apple Car Play, and taken a road trip, staying behind the wheel for hours on end will not wear you out completely.
Let’s just take a look at how those e-turbos react when you’re in 4th gear at 1,200 rpm. You put your foot to the metal, and you are greeted with an instant, consistent, intensifying power delivery; it’s not an EV, but the sensation you get is very close indeed. As an added bonus, you have that amazing sound just behind your head of an ICE engine, also keep in mind that acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes just 2.15 seconds in the Ferrari F80, that is clearly EV performance, but with a howling engine behind you.
While you might prefer a V12 engine on the track, once you take the Ferrari F80 on the open road, you completely forget about that and you are very content with that twin-turbocharged V6 behind the seats. The F80 gets so much more alive on the open road compared to the track, the active suspension makes the ride unexpectedly comfortable, even on those ‘less than perfectly smooth’ sections of road, the suspension doesn’t smooth out everything like in a luxury car, you are still inside a high-performance supercar, but here is no harshness being felt, that is filtered out nicely.
The experience behind the wheel is just outrageous, you don’t want to be a passenger in the Ferrari F80, you want to be a driver, and that feeling is just what you want in a 4 million dollar hypercar from Maranello, and while they are building 799 units of this beast for customers, you’re just too late if you are reading this and haven’t got a signed order form, they are all sold out! Which is a pity, as the Ferrari F80 is truly a masterpiece, be it a race car for the road, or a road car with incredible track performance, the F80 is a true Prancing Horse, no doubt about that.
If you want to get a feeling of what it’s like sitting behind the wheel of the new Ferrari F80, feel free to take a look at the videos below, and enjoy the sensation of a 4 million dollar Prancing Horse from Maranello.
