THERE COULD BE ONE REASON WHY FERRARI has replaced the 488 GTB after just four years in production, and that reason could be the McLaren 720S, the GTB’s versatile, 700bhp-plus, British rival. It’s more likely, though, that there are a number of reasons. Maybe there’s a hybrid model on the way (aside from the SF90 Stradale) and the 710bhp F8 Tributo is holding the fort until it arrives; it seems an unusual step for Ferrari to make a third car on the same platform in such a short space of time, and this one has its roots in the 458 Italia that launched only a decade ago.
Yet whether it’s knee-jerk or stopgap or was in the plan all along, there’s no question the F8 Tributo is a great looking car – the best off this platform for me. Better than that, the F8 takes the 488 Pista’s 710bhp engine (well, most of it) but not its steely dynamic resolve, adding Ferrari’s latest electronics to make it more deployable and exploitable. Where better to experience this in action than Fiorano? Turns out the answer is actually, unexpectedly, the Tuscan hills. But the track is where we start our test drive.
‘We wanted to combine Pista performance with 488 GTB useability,’ development driver Fabrizio Toschi says as we leave the pit area. To this end the F8 uses GTB springs and anti-roll bars, but has recalibrated adaptive damper control to deliver some of the Pista’s cornering crispness. And to help manage powerslides, there is version 6.1 of Ferrari’s Side Slip Control and a version of the Pista’s Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer, dubbed FDE+ in the F8 because it offers support in both Race and CT Off drive modes.
Bu hikaye Evo dergisinin November 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Evo dergisinin November 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
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