2019 Ferrari F8 Tributo Review

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The big reason to upgrade from your 488 GTB is the Pista engine, and the Tributo name is described as a tribute to this multiple International Engine of the Year winner. It’s still a 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8, but it upgrades to all the Pista’s lighter, faster-spinning internal components including titanium con-rods and titanium-aluminium turbine wheels for the turbochargers. As a result, power is boosted by 49bhp to an incredible 710bhp. Zero to 62mph is obliterated in 2.9 seconds, and the F8 can reach 213mph too. Not only that, but the engine alone accounts for 18kg of the F8’s weight loss of 40kg over the 488 GTB.

The rest of what’s under the skin is pretty much as per the GTB, meaning a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox with super-fast shifts, rear-wheel drive, adaptive suspension (press a button for more comfort) and carbon-ceramic brakes that stop the Tributo in the blink of an eye.

There is, however, a new 6.1 version of Ferrari’s Side Slip Angle Control and Dynamic Enhancer – it’s like a very advanced stability control system that lets the driver powerslide the Ferrari when it’s sure they’re in control, and intervenes when they’re not. It’s subtle and works brilliantly.

What about the design?

All the body panels are new save for the roof and doors, and while it’s still very much like a 488 from the front, spotters will notice the new slimmer headlights, lighter bumpers, and the aerodynamic S-duct (it looks like a sticking out tongue) in the centre of the bumper, which feeds air through the vented bonnet.

Updates to the rear end are much more obvious, and include the slatted plastic rear window (a cool nod to the F40 supercar of the 1980s, though it does blur following traffic a little) and quad rear lights (a nod to the 288 GTO supercar that preceded the F40).

The interior is overhauled if very familiar, with a central rev counter flanked by digital read-outs for the infotainment (to the right) and vital driving data (to the left). The big difference is a slightly smaller steering wheel. Functions that you’d normally expect to find on stalks (like indicators and wipers) are still housed on the wheel itself, but they’re now easier to operate.

How does the F8 Tributo drive?

It’s fabulous. Of course the driving experience is dominated by the engine, which not only provides searingly rapid acceleration and is muscular from very low revs as you’d expect of a turbocharged V8, but it also suffers from no turbo lag, responds instantaneously to throttle inputs and has a rising, linear power delivery like the best of the pre-turbo engines. Combine that with unbelievably punchy gear shifts and there’s simply no let up in the performance.

The F8 isn’t as ferociously fast as the Pista, perhaps because a Pista is 50kg lighter again, and perhaps because its gear shifts are even punchier. But there’s no question this is a ridiculously quick machine.

Even more astonishing is that the F8 doesn’t feel overwhelmed by its engine. Partly that’s because the chassis is so supple, allowing it to breathe with the road rather than bounce over it – it helps the rear end find traction and the front tyres dig into the surface under braking.

It all helps calm the F8 down, leaving you to concentrate on a front end that feels darty without being nervously so, and a rear that finds surprisingly good traction but is always ready to showboat and powerslide. This is a beautifully balanced car that somehow makes 710bhp feel sensible on the road and puts its driver right at the core of the action.

In a nutshell

The F8 Tributo doesn’t mark a giant step over the 488 GTB, but then that car was already mind-blowingly accomplished. Instead, the F8 gives the ingredients a little polish, then chucks all of the Pista’s extra performance at it. Considering the F8 costs only around £6k more than the discontinued GTB (mere pennies in this rarefied segment!) and the Pista remains a further £50k out of reach, then the F8 seems a great deal to us. Search and finance your next used Ferrari with ChooseMyCar.

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Closely related to the Aston Martin DBS, is the Aston Martin DB11 AMR, and has a from new entry price of just £174,995. Also, the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante is the convertible version of their range-topping DBS, and with a lightweight carbon fibre body, it can do a nifty 0-62mph in a benchmark 3.6 seconds.

If you’re on the lookout for an alternative Ferrari, then we have reviewed the Ferrari 488 Pista, which is a more powerful, lighter, sharper version of the 448 GTB.

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