The Pista and the F8; A Fresh Perspective | FerrariChat

The Pista and the F8; A Fresh Perspective

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by FordGTDriver, Aug 22, 2019.

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  1. FordGTDriver

    FordGTDriver Formula Junior

    Jun 9, 2007
    423
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    I had the pleasure of attending the Pebble Beach Concourse on Sunday. To my immense delight, I found that Ferrari was celebrating its 90tn birthday with a jaw-dropping exhibit featuring of some of its most important cars; I can't remember a time that I've seen TWO 250 GTOs parked next to each other.

    Of particular interest to me was a lovely new Pista sitting right next to the new F8 (photo above). This gave me the opportunity to put some significant wear on my Gucci loafers as I walked back and forth between the cars, comparing them side-by-side. This was of particular personal interest because I recently made the decision to accept a Pista allocation rather than wait for an F8. I did not have the opportunity to see an F8 prior to pulling the trigger, and I was somewhat uneasy about whether I would later come to rue that decision. I've heard it said that the man with the experience will never be the victim of the man with an opinion. Never was that more true, at least for me, after spending a few minutes experiencing the two cars for myself, first hand. My conclusions were surprising to me, and I walked away immensely impressed and grateful that I stumbled upon the display on my way to see the vintage Bentleys and Bugattis on the lawn.

    I no longer see the F8 and the Pista as direct competitors, and I also see that my fears of cannibalization between the two cars were groundless. They are very, very different cars. I think that when viewed in person, they will immediately appeal to very different buyers. Ferrari knows what they are doing with these two cars; and if I previously had my doubts, I no longer do.

    The Tributo's design is pure V8 Ferrari, with fine, long lines and and a refined, conservative, elegance. I'm confident that the F8 will stand the test of time quite nicely and that 20 years from now, it will be seen as a gold star Ferrari design. In person, the car is more subtle and glamorous than it looks in pictures, if that makes any sense. The design of the nose is a home run, and it reminds me of what a Lamborghini would want to look like if it were ever allowed to mature past adolescence. The tail of the F8 is quite complex and very striking. It fits well with the rest of the car. I love the rear window detail. The design detail at the intake in the rear haunch is an improvement over the 488.

    The Pista, on the other hand, is outrageously feral, with wild surface detail and crazy aerodynamic tweaking. There is nothing subtle about the Pista, and it really doesn't look like any other car Ferrari has previously produced. (Okay, yes, it vaguely resembles the 488 upon which it is based). From the astounding S duct in the nose to the delightfully overdone duck spoiler at the rear, the Pista is all about the irrational exuberance of a track day where someone else is paying for the tires. Again, I think that if both cars were sitting on the dealer floor together, they would attract different buyers. The extrovert Pista looks like a track hoodlum, where the F8 looks like it would be perfectly at home with a frunk full of Vuitton luggage on the way to a weekend in Monaco (or Carmel, as the case may be).

    I know that there has been a lot of fuss about the Pista engine being identical to that of the F8. However, I feel pretty sure that the cars are going to be very different when it comes to real world driving. They will both, doubtless, be super fast. But unless I miss my guess, there will be a pronounced difference in the personality of the two cars. Engine management software has become as much art as it is science, and it makes a huge difference in how we experience an engine. Remember, you read it here first.

    My take away from the experience of seeing the cars together is that the F8 is a fantastic, beautiful step forward for Ferrari. I think that its going to make a lot of new owners very happy. What's not to love? It's great looking, and the performance envelope promises to be astounding. The wild and crazy Pista, on the other hand, may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it will never be accused of being tame...

    It's a great time to be a Ferrari lover :)

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  2. Lukeylikey

    Lukeylikey F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 3, 2012
    3,053
    UK
    Thanks for the write up - very nicely done and fun to read. Seems to be a lot of love for the F8 on fchat at the moment. When I saw it I didn’t have too much time and it was in blue. It looked good but not as ‘wow’ as when I first saw the Pista. Since then the gap between them in my mind has begun to narrow a bit and I think your thoughts are spot on.
     
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  3. FordGTDriver

    FordGTDriver Formula Junior

    Jun 9, 2007
    423
    Any of the fine examples of footwear you featured above would have fit in quite nicely at Pebble...there were some truly - ahem- "daring" fashion choices being made, and mostly by the men :)
     
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  4. Outrun

    Outrun Karting

    Nice write up. I agree that the target market for the F8 and the Pista is different, or at least the target use for them is. I expect we will see an F8 Speciale/pista or whatever they call it down the line as they can't help but cash in on the buoyant market for low volume, high cost specials.

    When it comes to the 250 GTO, you want to get yourself over the Pond to the Goodwood Revival where not only do we have at least 5 appear each year, they are properly raced as intended. And yes, there have been accidents....

    The famous one is number plate 250 GTO which is the Nick Mason (of Pink Flloyd) car. He's always there with it and it's raced by all sorts of personalities such as Damon Hill etc

    Here is the video from 2012 where 15 of them showed up!

     
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  5. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
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    Aug 22, 2002
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    from your pic i see the same car!
     
  6. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
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    Aug 22, 2002
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    what are the target markets? how are they different?
     
  7. Coincid

    Coincid F1 Rookie

    Dec 9, 2014
    3,577
    Canada
    The Pista is designed to be more track focused while the F8 is configured to be less raw and optimnized for the road. I opted for the F8 only because I was denied an allocation for a Pista.My priorities and preferences are more aligned to the Pista. Hopefully the F8 will not disappoint.
     
  8. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
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    Aug 22, 2002
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    ok so same as speciale to 488, scud to 458, CS to 430. except with pista and f8, they look the same.
     
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  9. Eilig

    Eilig F1 Rookie
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    Aug 31, 2001
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    Cavallo
    I have to agree with ttforcefed - Ferrari's current design department/philosophy is plagued by redundancy. I see way more visually differentiable variances in said footwear examples than I do between Pista/F8, et al.
     
  10. BarryK

    BarryK Formula 3

    Dec 17, 2016
    1,160
    Europe
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    Barry K
    When I get invited to the F8 spider launch in 2 weeks while I am still at least 6-9 months away from receiving the Pista spider ordered a year ago, that redundancy is just that much more noticeable :(

    Part of the fun of owning a new F car is that it is still new and looks new when you get you hands on it. Not already yesterday's news.
     
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  11. raclaims

    raclaims Formula Junior

    Jun 6, 2007
    493
    Northern NJ
    Well considering I never warmed to the 488 design yet LOVE the pista I'm sure I'll love the F8 Speciale Pista Scud Challenge Stradale
     
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  12. Eilig

    Eilig F1 Rookie
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    Cavallo
    So true.
     
  13. Coincid

    Coincid F1 Rookie

    Dec 9, 2014
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    While the Ferrari design aesthetic can be described as incremental, evolutionary adaptations of previous models, the front and rear of the Pista are significantly redesigned compared to the 488, and is markedly different than the F8.
     
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  14. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
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    Aug 22, 2002
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    i dont see it. wld you say more so than a 360 vs 430 and 458 vs 488? to be pista and f8 look more alike than previous combos i mentioned.
     
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  15. LVP488

    LVP488 F1 Rookie

    Jan 21, 2017
    4,839
    France
    The exercice has been more difficult this time because the 488, Pista and F8 share the exact same shell (which before was only the case between the regular and special versions, there were body differences between the 360 and F430, and between the 458 and 488).
     
  16. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
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    Jun 11, 2013
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    Perfectly stated.
     
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  17. Coincid

    Coincid F1 Rookie

    Dec 9, 2014
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    Canada
    1. 360 -430 - Very similar
    2.458- 488- similiar but less so than no.1
    3.488- Pista and F8- side views of all 3 are more similar than no. 1 & 2. Front and back greater differences from each other than no.1 & 2.
     
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  18. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
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    Aug 22, 2002
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    in 3 years 200K is going to buy so much car its insane...
     
  19. sampelligrino

    sampelligrino Formula 3

    Apr 16, 2017
    1,129
    dont know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.... lol
     
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  20. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
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  21. sampelligrino

    sampelligrino Formula 3

    Apr 16, 2017
    1,129
    what that might entail has me only slightly concerned for the economy/my portfolio as a bigger priority, but sure there are more than a handful of cars I'd love to add @ 200k vs current pricing
     
  22. kane00

    kane00 Formula Junior
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    Aug 4, 2005
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    Keith
    Public company. They have to sell chassis’s. Share holders matter. They will package the same thing as many ways as they can. New world order.
     
  23. PhilNotHill

    PhilNotHill Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jul 3, 2006
    27,855
    Aspen CO 81611
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    FelipeNotMassa
    I would be Pista Offa.

    Actually l just like saying Pista Offa. :)
     
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  24. 96redLT4

    96redLT4 Formula Junior

    Feb 20, 2009
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    Jim
    That was a really well thought out and penned review FordGTDriver!. Thanks for the insight.

    Jim
     
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