Ferrari F80

Do texting teens drive worse the larger & more expensive the SUV they have been bought - do soccer moms (yummy mummies in the UK) drive worse as their ever larger SUV cocoons them ever further from others - we all know the answers !

 

Ferrari F80 in Giallo Triplo Strato at Motor Valley Fest 2025 in Modena, Italy - June 8th, 2025.

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I wonder what is the engine liveblityty compared to standard 296
if you wwant sound you have SP3 or SUV, F80 is car for retired racing drivers, so it's must be fast and not necessary good looking, good sounding

 

In November 2014, at the age of 39, Chris Harris tested the LaFerrari at the Fiorano track applying to it his drifting skills while commenting, "...Front axle grit is magnificent; it just makes you have to manage it on the exit and just keep it piling on the numbers..."
In July 2025, at the age of 50, Chris Harris tested the F80 at the Misano track, again applying all his drifting skills while also commenting, "...I upshift to third and I use the front axle to drag me out, and if I feel any slip from the back of the car, which I do here, I just keep it pinned and the front axle pulls me out. It's like a sort of hand of god traction control…"
Although some months ago, Chris Harris said, "...I think I've never driven one of these cars that's got front axle electric power that is that really good..." it seems to me, however, that The F80 definitely changed his mind.

The LaFerrari and F80 have very different powertrains but Chris Harris' drifting skills make the two cars look very similar out of the curves.


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Another nice effort Mario, thank you. I would imagine oversteering cars would look fairly similar, especially when piloted by the same man. He has his own style. What I've always appreciated about Chris Harris' reviews is the perspective. He finds a balance between objective and subjective that I find relevant to my own opinion. So this is just me, but you could say his reviews speak to me. I don't think I'm alone in that. I sometimes go back and rewatch his reviews, and with the benefit of time, I can see he usually gets it right. I am sure Ferrari has learned a ton since they first released the SF90, they can test and test and test, and they do, but theres always more to learn, for all of us, and I am sure they learn even more when the cars are out on the road in the hands of people like Harris and then in the hands of the owners: what we like, what we don't, etc...

PS looking at the post from @marko.urbac , #2477, the last picture, it almost looks like that could be Chris Harris standing there outside the ropes... holding what could be a cold beer....

PS2- I think F80 looks particularly good in Giallo Triplo Strato.....

 

No, it was not him... just a random Italian guy talking to the Ferrari representative.

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Jerry, I completely agree, as I've always greatly appreciated Chris Harris' direct, honest, and often humorous car reviews. His reviews always focus on the driving experience and performance, and he's known for not being afraid to criticize, regardless of the brand's reputation, and point out flaws. I hope he continues that way.

 

W1 , Valkyrie, AMG1

 

Given a straight choice between the two, how many people would, as a car to actually drive, take the F80 over the SP3?

 

SP3 in a heartbeat

 

All due respect to what GM are doing with the Corvette. It is a juiced up Corvette not a purpose built hypercar that pushing the envelope of race bread technology for the next decade. It is not the same, and we all know it... its like trying to get into a club just because you have money for entry.... if you are not of the guestlist just move on to the next club.

 

F80 over SP3

 

Wow! I just fell in love with the F80 project even more! Thanks for sharing.

 

To be fair Michelin is a stunning company either.
Great cooperation with Ferrari on this project it seems..

 

LaF over both .

 

I hope some future F80 owners repaints the black panel between the headlights to match its new color to the cars main body color. I'd love to see the results, as I think this modification alone would fix most of the F80s styling issues. Apart form that, the F80 looks so freaking cool from the side and its rear, and I am super pleased to hear that Ferrari will change the start/stop button for the production cars. I am impressed with the technology, but I still wonder if it is enough to defend the asking price compared to what competitors can offer today.

 

Can I have suspension, chassis etc from F80 with the V12, interior and smoothed out lines of the SP3?

I dream about having a beautiful mid-engine V12 sometimes.

But seriously, I would be all over the F80.

 

I am just relaying mine as well as many instructors experiences. There are exceptions to the rule of course...like me. But the vast majority of the time it has held true. The absolute worst guys are the newest 911 turbo guys and that has held true since I started teaching in the early '90s. They are terrible and their egos are so big that they are unteachable. If I draw one of these guys I always feel like I should bring a bible and rosary along! Most modern Ferraris are used as women use a Prada purse. When I ran an FCA region I couldn't bribe these characters to go near a track. They were terrified of embarrassing themselves, putting miles on their cars and any other list of excuses. Valet stand....... that's another story. The PPE series (Posing, Parking and Eating) is about what the vast majority of Ferrari owners seem to do best. Not a knock..... just experience. As far as the F80 goes, if one shows up at a track day and I get to work with the guy, it would be great if he wasn't a total newbe with 1200hp. But I still believe the only lane any of these will take up is pole position at the valet....... if they even come out.

I will tell you if in the unlikely event that I end up with one, this is what I will be doing... Some of my best memories were with the F40 at the track

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When I was in Ferrari Challenge, if you wanted to be great, you would have a coach who would help you improve. They would help you using video and data post every testing session and lap session. As well as input on track via radio, etc. When winning is decided by tenths/second for qualifying times, etc, you have a coach if you are remotely serious.

 

Screenshot taken from:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a65363312/ferrari-f80-review/

I have a question for future owners of the F80, that might know better than the press.

This boost optimisation thing, is that something that is permanently on when car is in Perf/Qual mode, like the way the driver has no control over the rear wing function, or it can be manually turned ON/OFF?

What if the car is on the Autobahn, chasing lap times is not useful there, and maximum boost is preferred.

Also what about the electric motors at high speed, are all 3 active above lets say 250km/h?



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I always use coaching for better experiences. There are always things to learn and things to share

 

Returning to this oval cylinder topic discussed in page 89.

I think even the 40% reduction in engine length is optimistic. Here is my reasoning:
1) The comparison picture displays ~ 95 cc size for oval piston and ~ 98 cc for round piston. So the compared oval piston engine has actually about 3% smaller displacement.
2) Oval piston engine requires thicker cylinder side walls than round piston for rigidity and thermal reasons.
3) It is hard to make pistons optimally oval like in the provided picture. Honda had to make pistons elliptical in their NR500 and NR750 bikes to prevent piston ring sealing issues. Ferrari would be likely to face the same issues and also be forced to use elliptical pistons instead of oval.

All above points combined, I think we are closer to 30% reduction in engine length than 40%.

 

this, don't think i've ever done a track day without one session