Halfblood

A Ferrari hypercar with half the cylinders... we know the F80 is cutting edge, but can it bring the drama?

- WORDS JETHRO BOVINGDON PHOTOGRAPHY OLGUN KORDAL

Carbon fibre wheels roll to a stop in the pitlane at Misano. The Ferrari F80's fans are working at full pace to counter the fierce heat and the thermal load of a full day of fast laps and a couple of hours of loose driving for the camera. For now it's over. The first day of the launch for Ferrari's new godfather of the range. The F80 follows 288 GTO, F40, F50, Enzo and LaFerrari. A statement of intent for the future and a 1,183bhp flex that embodies everything Ferrari knows about making a supercar right here and now. Tonight? Pasta, limoncello, a million mosquito bites... and a significant amount of puzzlement.

I don't love it. There's respect. Awe, even. The F80 does some incredible things. I'm not sure that I've ever driven a road car that can overlap braking and turning with such steadfast composure. Nor one with such amazing responsiveness but utter calm to the steering. It's like the world has sped up, but the driver's inputs can slow down. Every millisecond fraught with action but somehow extended to provide complete clarity. The car feels superpowered but natural, hyper alert yet serenely controlled and the powertrain is demonically complex but responds with an intense, singular ferocity. It should be love. So what gives?

My fear is that I'm just prejudiced. Or getting old. As is well publicised, the F80 rejects the normally aspirated V12 that has been the heart of Ferrari's boss supercar since the once maligned but now rightly celebrated F50. (Ferrari is at pains to not use the 'hypercar' word, perhaps because it calls to mind cars as jewellery or flaky science experiments?) In its place there's a 3.0-litre, twin turbocharged 120° V6 engine mounted incredibly low in a chassis made up of a carbon tub and aluminium subframes. It's related to the 296 GTB engine but significantly changed and is in concept at least well aligned with the engine that has powered the 499P racecar to three consecutive Le Mans victories.