Ferrari F80

https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/ferrari-f80-metaform


THE SHAPE OF INSPIRATION, MADE TANGIBLE

At Ferrari Centro Stile, every design begins with a spark – an intuitive leap from concept to creation. The Metaform embodies this transformative moment.

Exclusively crafted for our select few Ferrari F80 clients, Metaform is more than a sculpture. It is the crystallisation of meta-design – where pure abstraction begins its journey into physical automotive excellence.

Geometric, taut, yet organically expressive, Metaform captures the avant-garde spirit that defines the F80. For the first time, we share this pivotal creative phase with you.

This is not just a gift. It is the inception of the F80’s design story, and it’s yours to hold in your hands.

If you have not yet received your Metaform, please feel free to contact your Official Ferrari Dealer for more information.

 

Ferrari support in Singapore for the F80 experience >

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- Lo Maranello

 

So you are staying in a town near Maranello and THIS comes rolling past >

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- Stuart Baird

 

Notice there are NO VERTICAL LINES that ruin the flow!

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This side picture is quite similar to the B-21 Raider, the new stealth military aircraft. Also very similar to the B-2, its predecessor. The top-down view reminds me quite a bit of the next generation fighter aircraft that have blended wings/bodies, such as the F-47 and the F/A-XX program. Interestingly, all of these aircraft have engines that are hidden purposely as stealth features.You can't see the inlets and exhausts; in effect the plane has subsumed the engines.

[TL;DR: The below is my thought about why the F80 is the 1st generation of a completely new world of high performance automobiles. I appreciate any credit if reposting (assuming you like it!), as I am writing up a longer paper.

This reminds me of the situation with the F-80...where the story is about the whole car, no longer the engine. I believe this is the new generation of high-performance vehicles we have just entered with the F80...it's about the whole vehicle, not the engine. The whole vehicle shines in the driving experience, not mainly the engine. This will set the high performance definition.

I believe there will be much change coming that will make higher levels of performance and safer and easier driving with new features. Love it or are scared by it, we are now witnessing the emergence of an "AI co-pilot." These are thoughts of mine alone, inferred from interviews, patents, and articles from not just Ferrari but also Porsche, Rimac, McLaren, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg, and Bugatti. The philosophy here is additive to your driving enjoyment. It is not meant to replace your driving enjoyment... (a la self-driving Tesla, etc.).

One important note is that Ferrari's CEO has years of operating expertise in the automotive semiconductor and systems industry. That's analogous to an Nvidia exec for AI GPUs/servers. That is the perfect operating background for a CEO that loves cars for this new car generation.

Here are some of the existing, factual points as to what this AI co-pilot is emerging from on the Ferrari side.

1) Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer 2.0 (FDE 2.0): It's already active in the SF90 and 296. It selectively brakes individual wheels and varies torque for drift control. The control logic reads driver intent in real time using multiple sensor inputs.Inputs like throttle position, steering angle, suspension load, tire slip, yaw rate, etc.

2) Predictive Control Evolution – Ferrari’s engineers have discussed next-gen software that learns driver style to fine-tune power delivery. References appear in Maranello’s filings for “driver-adaptive control algorithms” (EU Patent EP4220186A1, 2023). You can see a very basic version in Boost Optimization in the F80.

The F80 already has the first generation of a predictive model. With 1 millisecond sampling and 10 ms latency. In future models, it will forecast the next 40-60 ms of grip and driver input. Turns/apexes will be much quicker and safer, as very accurate torque will be predicted for each wheel and motor. Effectively, passive traction control is replaced. We will get high usable power earlier in the turn.Lap times on all track types and turns on all road types are going to be faster and safer.

3) Market direction – Porsche, Rimac, and McLaren are all developing AI-assisted torque and chassis systems (e.g., Rimac Nevera’s Driver Coach mode). Ferrari tends to follow similar tech trajectories, filtered through its purist philosophy.

So when I am using the term AI co-pilot, it describes the logical continuation of Ferrari’s FDE 2.0 and Side Slip Control systems: an adaptive layer that learns the driver’s inputs and dynamically tunes torque, brake bias, and aero surfaces in real time.

So we are at a huge continental shift. The driver interpreted, whole vehicle concept as opposed to the driver commanded, engine focused concept. Transition has already happened in military craft and now high perf cars.

Ferrari Technological Generations (Analog → Digital)

Gen 1 – Analog (F40, F50)
ICE
No computer assistance
Driver fully in control
Fighter analogy: WWII piston fighters (Spitfire, P-51)

Gen 2 – Early Digital Assist (Enzo)
ICE V12 with basic ECU and traction logic
Slight digital trim, still mechanical feel
Fighter analogy: early jets (F-86 Sabre)

Gen 3 – Hybrid Genesis (LaFerrari)
V12 + HY-KERS hybrid system
Energy recovery but driver dominant
Fighter analogy: 3rd-gen jets (Mirage III)

Gen 4 – Integrated Hybrid (SF90, SF90 XX)
V8 + 3 electric motors
Full-time digital control of torque and aero
Computer interprets driver commands
Fighter analogy: 5th-gen (F-22 Raptor)

Gen 5 – Predictive Hybrid Architecture (F80)
V6 + 3 electric motors
Predictive AI torque control
Unified software chassis
Car interprets driver intent rather than direct command
Fighter analogy: 6th-gen (F-47, F/AXX,)

The next question is where is the SP3? It is a computer-assisted analog car. Kind of Gen 3.5. It's digitally stabilized, so it's not analog. It looks and sounds that way. The nostalgic collecting love it; forward-looking collecting loves the F-80. If someone loves modern fighter aircraft, they will love the F80. The SP3 could never be the new halo car.It's performance has already been leaped over by competitors and existing Ferrari vehicles. You can't have your halo car kick off a decade where it's not the top. The F80 is.

 

Very informative thinking there regarding the evolution of the Ferrari generations and what they bring to the party. The 296 didn't get an honorable mention; would you consider it technically an equal of the SF90 that preceded it or superior? The early knock on the SF90 was that it gave you extra power when you weren't particularly looking for more power when cornering...

 

For Ferrari's future models, particularly in their hybrid lineup, there will be an almost entirely electrified Gen 6, where the combustion engine will likely become a secondary, or even tertiary, contributor to performance. We'll also likely have steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire, and throttle-by-wire. The final step towards these cars becoming like a flightless electric plane will come with the introduction of an autopilot.

 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic satin grey F80 configuration https://www.instagram.com/p/DPWGgtxDMWk/
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@gzachary : Morning mate, hope you are well. I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis! I would have put the Su-57 akin to the F80 myself.

@MDEL : You are overreacting. Ferrari does not have any plans for autonomous vehicles.

 

I do agree witth you about no plans for autonomous vehicles.

I think it will be driver assistance as opposed to driver replacement. Otherwise, where does driver experience come from.

 

After seeing a Maserati MC20 transformed for autonomous racing, anything seems possible. IMO, customer wallets size that's what will determine whether a future Ferrari with autonomous driving will be a reality. If the currently postponed Elettrica will be born , I imagine that its natural potential customers can only be Tesla fans who are already accustomed to and familiar with the "pleasures" of autonomous driving and therefore won't dispense them.

 

All this is conjecture. Autonomous driving/racing has potential for driver training though, showing the racing lines etc.

 

The first hour or so of Capital Markets Day was simply a marketing and preparation exercise about the Elettrica's virtues. It featured interventions first by Chairman John Elkam, then by CEO Benedetto Vigna, and finally by Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrico Galliera, who is that super salesman in a very handsome Italian suit we all wish we had in our company to sell fridges to the Eskimos.

After this lengthy introduction, Chief Research & Development Officer Ernesto Lasalandra appeared with more concrete details about the Elettrica and other future models, which I'll save for another post. Concerning a Ferrari with autonomous driving we know what Benedetto Vigna has been stating for a long time but it appears that what was true yesterday may no longer be true today in a company whose main goal is to generate maximum profits for the share holders.. The picture below shows one of the charts presented by Mr. Lasalandra, which needs no explanation.




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