Finally tested F8 on a track!

Cartwright?

 

First, I’d like to thank Hendry for his quick review. I’ll admit that from a track standpoint I’d also be hard pressed to tell the difference. As to the sound level in the F8, one of the biggest things I enjoy about my Spider compared to my coupe is that I can lower the rear window to hear the exhaust. Night and day. So, if they found a way to enhance the natural sound in the cabin of the coupe, bravo!!!

I do have a question to the guys that have driven the F8. I believe I was the first one to post the 8000 rpm red line issue in the 488. It became a huge thread with lots of interest. Neither of my 488’s reved to 8000 rpm, which I still find totally weird. Every other performance car I’ve owned, the engine revs past the published red line. So... does the F8 rev to its 8000 rpm red line?

 

I am a male lesbian. Anybody got a problem with that?

 

I am in line for a F8 COUPE ALLOCATION......expect a December allocation. Deciding on switching to an F8 spider. Anyone guess what demand is for the spider. I don’t mind waiting an extra 8 months but longer than that might push me back to the coupe.

 

My dealer said about 12 months

 

So without the benefit of driving the F8, you have already come to the conclusion" I'll admit that from a track standpoint I'd also be hard pressed to tell the difference." I must be living in bizzaro world.

 

Spider Production has just been pushed back to late 2020/ early 2021 for europe - where new models always arriving first. So expect spiders on the streets around summer 21.

 

Going by all the delays on all the models i dare say the F8 will get a longer than expected run.

 

The F8 without the carbon wheels is 50 lbs lighter than the 488 and has 50 more hp how can it not perform better? I drove the F8 but have never driven the 488 so I can’t say from personal experience.

 

F8 with the optional cup 2 tires is only a half a second behind the Pista at Fiorano test track.

 

I've owned a 488 and currently own a Pista. It is very easy to tell the differences straight away. Maybe ask the other 2 members who have driven the F8 what it was why they could not tell any difference other than a change in interior sound. I can't answer for them other than to say 488 was a fast car as is Pista but the power of both is rarely fully accessible so it comes down to the feel, driving behavior and chassis characteristics that makes it easier to determine the differences. Btw half a second lap time difference is also meaningless to me...

I also think you need to keep in mind that 488 and F8 are essentially both set up to fulfill the same duties so as 488 was already a very fast well sorted and highly capable car it may be harder to feel the improvements than some evidently prefer to think. Again I'd go back to those members here who have driven the 488 and F8 and probe them for the answers.

 

1 second on a track is a lot and with the optional cup tires the F8 is a second faster than the 488 at Ferrari’s track.

 

Not sure why such emphasis on track times when 99.9999% of you guys will be shooting for lap times anyway? Then there is the other aspect of different day different driver etc. Put the two cars up on same day and same driver and then it may make some sense from that perspective but again I refer to my previous comment - as in will it really matter to 99.999% anyway?

Seems most of the frustration going on amongst certain potential F8 buyers is they aren't getting to hear what they want to hear from those who have driven both. No point blaming me for that.

 

The aerodynamics are also better on the F8 (10% better aerodynamic efficiency) than the 488, and the F8 has a new version of side slip control.

I guess those things don’t matter either?

 

Never said that or that they weren't improvements or advancements. Now whether most buyers would ever be able to feel them is another story (it would so far appear).....but I'm sure it will be a fast car and a nice car to drive and own!

If it helps I do like F8 and would consider one if I hadn't been able to get the Pista. Heck after seeing SF90 F8 is a ******* supermodel.....no question about that one! However, in saying that and, after the serious beating I took on 488, if faced with today's choices I would now be seriously considering other brands or options. Depreciation is clearly no longer one of Ferrari's strong suits and other Brands are now on equal or stronger footing in terms of visual impact, performance and driver engagement - which is essentially a lot what these types of cars are all about. So, to pay so much for a car with the types of shortfalls being reported - including an inevitable beating which will no doubt be in store - is no longer an attractive proposition to me as perhaps it may have used to have been (prior to my gaining a bit of first hand experience on the 488).

That all said, there is no right or wrong where choice is concerned as it comes down to what one wants and expects for the dollars spent and the likely retrieval come sell time, which can often occur faster than anticipated.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Rumor is LB unveil in 2020 and production after the summer break. See what happens....

 

I can imagine LB to be beautiful but electric. For me that's the end for the Ferrari. I have a 488 GTB . The hit will be big to go to the F8 and I wont make that call until I FEEL AND DRIVE THE F8. If it was like good old days I would have already traded the 488 GTB for a F8. We have another issue here in Australia., We are in talks with free trade with Europe. One of the stumbling points from Germany is that we have a luxury tax of 33% which has a big effect on car sales. They are demanding that we drop it for free trade. If that happens and how its implemented all exotics even the Ferrari will go down in value another 30 plus percent.

 

After waiting so long to see BB only to be left completely floored on all fronts I can only hope Ferrari has put a major rocket up their design team to ensure LB doesn't look anything like it. Even so, looks and subjectivity aside, the whole idea of a hybrid and/or full electric sports car is extremely unappealing to me. That type of drive-train and the complexities which come with it is IMO more suited to a multipurpose type passenger vehicle where running costs may become of some importance and repair workshops are within easy access 24/7/365.

Insofar as free trade and the LCT goes I can't image the govt will ever do away with that and if anything will only seek to further increase it somehow like they recently did in VIC. The govt has become so drunk on taxing the motorist they would be no longer able to survive without it. So no I certainly wouldn't be awaiting for a miracle of that nature least of all putting my life on hold for it.

Btw listening to that last vid the sound inside was not that loud. It seems that unless its at WOT it sounds very very quiet inside. Going by that vid the 488 sounds louder inside unless these guys have a mic problem in the F8. One can only hope...

 

wow seems really playful and easy to slide around a bit with which I like a lot. I also like the sound it makes inside the cabin.

 

I agree with you, no interest in a hybrid. I’m curious to see how long they build the F8 once LB comes online. I was looking at 488s when I was offered an F8 allocation so I went with that and spec’d my own car. Else I’m not sure I’d do the move up either.

 

For those who are current 488 owners and would like to upgrade to a F8 or Pista, the economics of doing so will be a significant factor. Trading in the 488 for a reasonably spec'd F8 will involve a payment differential in the range of $125000. Going to the Pista, will be disproportionally much higher since it involves an above MSRP cost. That transaction will set the buyer back a minimum of $250K or more. These figures are exclusive of tax implications. Clearly, the upgrade to the new models adheres to the law of diminishing returns. Is it worth doing? For many, it will.

 

That price walk decision is dependent on many factors, but most of all, the marginal value of a dollar to the individual. When I sit back and reflect on the $260,000ish price walk between my former F12 and my current 812, at first I feel like I lost my mind, and then I walk out to the garage, jump in it, head for the two lane country roads, and it makes perfect sense.

 

If one can afford it, and if the purchase brings pleasure and enhances one's enjoyment of life, then why not.