Ferrari F8 Tributo touches down in Oz

The new Ferrari F8 Tributo made its Australian debut during a lavish event in Sydney this week, when local pricing was also announced.

Priced from $484,888 (plus on-road costs), the new mid-mounted V8 supercar replaces the 488 GTB in the Italian sports car maker's range.

The Ferrari F8 Tributo arrives with the most powerful V8 ever bolted into a production Ferrari, with 530kW (720hp) matching the McLaren 720S in the all-important horsepower race.

Speaking with carsales.com.au at the national unveiling which included a left-hand drive display model, Ferrari Australia chief Herbert Appleroth said the F8 Tributo loomed as one of Ferrari’s most important vehicles.

“Downstairs there are 44 years’ of V8 sports car history in Australia. And for 44 years, those different models have been the most popular models,” he said.

“The F8 Tributo is a very big part of that. But as you would have seen in other markets, the move and investment in GT is increasing and we’re wanting to bring more and more people in that GT space to Ferrari.

“Of course the F8 Tributo is going to be popular, but all our cars are popular.”

The retirement of the 488 GTB is considered slightly premature against Ferrari norms, given it was only released in 2015. However, Appleroth said faster model changes aimed to keep Ferrari ahead of competitors in the supercar segment.

“I don’t really speculate about product, future product and product lifecycles, but it’s true that lifecycles are getting shorter and shorter,” he said.

“We need to stay at the front of the pack and aren’t we lucky? It means we’ve always got something to talk about with clients, no matter where they are in life or with life changes.”

Ferrari claims its twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8 produces about the same power as its current king of the hill, the mighty 488 Pista, running to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds despite retaining its rear-drive layout.

Ferrari insists it will sprint from zero to 200km/h in just 7.8 seconds – so it makes the 100km/h to 200km/h ‘overtake’ in a mind-blowing 4.9 seconds on the way to a top speed of 340km/h.

Moving to the upgraded powertrain gives the F8 Tributo a 50hp boost over the standard 488, while its torque peak is 770Nm at 3250rpm.

The F8 Tributo boasts a weight reduction of 40kg to 1330kg and Ferrari claims it’s also 10 per cent slipperier through the air. That makes the aluminium-based Ferrari about 50kg heavier than the carbon-based 720S.

There are some moderate but hardly wholesale changes to the styling of the car, which an evolution of the 488, which in turn was a development of the 458.

The F8 Tributo scores the S-duct at the front-end, which was an aero upgrade on the 488 Pista, and also the same rear-end with air intakes moved down on the wider spoiler, and lay-down radiators up front.

The headlights are more modern in their technology and their ideas, slimming down with LED technology to allow for bigger brake-cooling intakes and improved airflow through the front wheel-arches.

The interior has also been upgraded, though it retains the driver-focused cockpit feel. The dash, door skins and transmission tunnel have all been redesigned and the infotainment system has had a much-needed upgrade in intuitiveness. The passenger scores a new 7.0-inch touch-screen to play with, too.

The first Australian customer deliveries of the F8 Tributo will take place in the first quarter of next year.

Ferrari Far and Middle East chief executive Dieter Knechtel said vehicles ordered today would hopefully arrive in the country before the end of 2020.