F8 Ferrari F8 Tributo Review

I received an Invite from Ferrari of Toronto to drive the new F8 Tributo. On a sunny Saturday afternoon I made my way to the showroom where I’m greeted by Louie. He turns out to be a real car guy that knows his stuff, friendly and good vibes.

Walking up to the F8, the first thing that hits you is how visually striking it is. There was a 488 GTB in the showroom that I spent some time looking at while I was waiting for the paperwork to be done and the car to be pulled out, the F8 is instantly more striking and modern. It has more presence. Design language also looks more coherent, the boxy shapes on the 488 bumper never looked right in my opinion with the swooping curves used elsewhere. The S duct hood adds drama and presence to the front end that matches what is going on elsewhere in the car.

The car in question was finished in classic rosso corsa with a blacked out roof. I opened to door and made my way into the optional carbon seats which were well supported and felt comfortable the whole time I was in them. The cabin is a very nice place to be and everything feels very high quality and special. This car had all of the carbon accoutrements and was well equipped with alcantara accents amongst the rosso stitching and nero leather. The yellow tach is large and well detailed. I’m glad they held out on this generation before moving to screens, to me physical dials feel more timeless and special.

You sit low in the car with a high scuttle. Rear visibility is small but side mirrors are nice and large and give good visibility. The car felt easy and effortless to maneuver out of the tight parking area and onto a busy street.

On the road and in race mode, the first things I noticed was how well damped the car is. The F8 felt very smooth and easily tackles road imperfections. Steering was light but very precise; I never felt lacking in confidence.

With a few stretches of road cleared up I had a chance to open her up and run through some gears. The way this car picks up pace is incredible, you literally feel your organs getting pulled back. You can get to crazy speeds not only in a short amount of time, but in a short amount of space as well. The car feels like it’s doing a mini launch control between gears, when you’re giving it the beans and change-up it feels like you’re just flooring it from a stop. The brakes felt good, with good modulation and not bitey. I gunned it on a side street and had to throw out the anchors shortly thereafter for a hidden speed bump and had no issues giving the exact amount of braking I needed to get the car where I wanted it to be.

It doesn’t take long to get confidence in the F8. The steering is accurate and the way the car pulls is addictive. It feels planted. The car goads you to go faster and fling it into corners.

Ferrari has done well to make the engine feel NA. Often turbo sportscars that gave you so much low down torque that it doesn’t really feel like there is a point to revving out the engine, you have so much torque you can just change gears whenever. This pulls hard to the redline and makes you want to keep going. Throttle response is not as sharp as the best NA motors but for a turbo it is top notch.

Ferrari engineered a “hot tube” over the driver’s shoulder to pipe engine noise into the cabin to give the driver more noise that was taken away from the GPF and turbos. You can definitely tell it is a turbo with the accompanying sounds that go with it. Overall the sound was good and you can hear the V8 noise well and I’m happy to report none of the contrived over-engineered burbles and pops any time you lift the throttle. Not comparable to the best in NA engines but I don’t think there is any expectation as such.

I pulled into the dealership after the drive, having spent about 45 mins behind the wheel. Overall I felt like the F8 is a hugely capable machine. It is very easy to get comfortable with and feels easy to use. It is very easy to drive very fast and feel comfortable doing so. I think the F8 is the best looking version of the 458 platform and feels very special to be in. It is a supremely well engineered and built machine that would make even the most discerning enthusiast happy.

Special thanks to Ferrari of Toronto and Louie for the drive. It was a pleasure to take the F8 out, they are friendly, knowledgeable and I would highly recommend anyone in the market in Toronto to get in touch.

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I did a F8 vs F430 comparison write-up that can be found here:
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ferrari-f430-vs-f8-tributo-comparison-test.627292/

 

Hmmm dream spec would probably be an F8 Spider in Rosso Fiorano with nero alcantara interior and sports seats

But have a EVO RWD Spyder on order so should probably get that first

 

Single clutch is part of the reason I like my F430 so much, the shifts have feel and character compared to modern dual clutch!