F BOMB

Ferrari's F80 has arrived.This near-1200bhp hybrid is a bold leap into the future, but does it deliver the seductive driving experience we expect of a Maranello special?

- RICHARD MEADEN

THE APEX SUPERCAR IS AT A crossroads. If you're Gordon Murray, you build the lightest, purest, most analogue car you can. If you're Bugatti, you build a grandiose behemoth of blinding speed and dazzling mechanical complexity. If you're Pagani, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini or Hennessey you build something that sits somewhere in between. And if you're Ferrari? Well, you build this, the ultra-contemporary F80.

The latest in Maranello's storied bloodline of special-series cars, the F80 can trace its ancestry back four decades to the delectable 288 GTO. In the F40, F50, Enzo and La Ferrari that followed, Ferrari created a dynasty of supercars charting the most significant automotive advancements of their day. From turbocharging and nascent aerodynamics, to lightweight composites, F1 technology transfer and hybrid powertrains, each chapter has been a stepping stone towards a bold future. One which has exerted an increasing influence over the series-production cars that followed.

The £3m (plus taxes) F80's headline stats are well known but worth repeating. Foremost amongst the key numbers is the twin-turbocharged, 120-degree F163CF V6 hybrid powertrain's combined output of 1183bhp (1200 PS); 888bhp from the V6, the rest from a trio of electric motors. The V6 achieves its epic, near 300bhp-per-litre output thanks to a 20 per cent higher compression ratio than the related unit in the 296 GTB. There's also the latest anti-knock control, which prevents damaging premature ignition of the fuel-air mixture. A pair of e-turbos - a first for Ferrari - offer the win-win of greater boost capacity with no penalty in terms of low-rev/low-boost response.