Ferrari F8 Tributo
I set myself a few goals for 2020. Little did anyone know that a global pandemic would change our daily lives drastically and that 2020 would become a very special year to say the least. Nonetheless, one goal I set myself was to drive at least one supercar, and when I received an invitation by my local Ferrari dealer to be a part of the Ferrari F8 Tributo test drives, I didn’t hesitate for long.
On a sunny monday morning I found myself surrounded by a good amount of F8 Tributos and some Italian instructors who were all very eager to get going. After a quick briefing and some chatting about, we all got into our cars and headed for the one hour test drive.
When experiencing a Ferrari, every single part of the experience is unique and fundamentally different to any “normal” car, so let’s just start the whole experience from the beginning. When getting into the car, you’re instantly greeted by the penetrating smell of premium Italian leather. The seats you sit in are extremely hard and the seating position is a bit weird in the beginning. You sit quite upright and close to the wheel. Next up is starting the car. Naturally you know how it feels to push a starter button on any car, but on a Ferrari this already is an experience on its own. The button has to be pressed long and hard and you notice some serious resistance. Next thing you hear is the starter motors squeaking and the V8 coming alive behind you. The first few seconds the noise in the cabin is deafening and the vibrations are all over the place, but as soon as the valves close, the humming fades in the background and you can focus on the controls in front of you. It’s go time. Very slowly you follow the other cars out of the parking lot and you’re on our way. Visibility is surprisingly good and immediately you notice that the steering is extremely heavy compared to a normal car. The leather and the shape make it a joy to grip and the weight makes you feel connected to the road in a way no other car does. The pedals too, feel very heavy, as they have a lot more resistance than you would find on a normal car. And the most mind boggling thing obviously is the engine. Honestly. You only use about 10% of the pedal and the car already goes quicker than some hot hatchbacks.
Here we are. Out of some small towns and ready to open up the car just a bit. Put it into manual and drop it down some gears. Every single downshift is ridiculously fast and the gears get banged in so quick that you feel it. Third gear, pedal down just a tad and you’re already massively over the speed limit. The massive surge of torque and the lack of lag make you realize very quickly that it is impossible to use the car’s full potential for more than a second. Therefore, let’s try some cornering. Any input is instantly converted to output and you feel every single bump and change of the road surface through the wheel. The car even gives so much feedback that you have to hold it in place sometimes as it just follows every nudge and curvature of the road. Soon, you start getting a feel for the car but the way it pulls still won’t make sense in your head. The noise behind you is orchestrated by the right pedal and the paddles behind the wheels. The steering, the forces and the concentration needed are physically and mentally exhausting and the fear of crashing doesn’t really help.
The roads open up again and you finally feel comfortable enough to floor it. One second you floor the throttle pedal, the next one you floor the breaks because Christ on a bike it goes unlike anything else! At this point you really wonder who is capable of driving such a car at its limits and you don’t want anything more in life than to be able to do the same.
And it’s at that point, where you finally understand when people say that Ferrari’s are unique in their own way.
