Ferrari’s most powerful road car

The aerodynamic features at the front of the car, including a triplane front wing and S-Duct, produce close to half of that total downforce, while the underfloor, active rear wing and powerful rear diffuser account for the rest. The occupants adopt heavily reclined seating positions to raise their feet and clear space underneath for aerodynamic features in the car’s floor.

No Ferrari road car has gone to such lengths in its search for downforce (interestingly, McLaren also quotes a 1000kg downforce figure for its new hypercar, the W1). What’s more, the active suspension has been designed to optimise downforce by keeping the body as low and flat as possible – reducing roll in corners and trimming pitch and dive when accelerating and braking – to really charge the underfloor.

The suspension is similar to that used by the Purosangue. Powered by 48-volt electric motors, the damper units are active, putting force back into the road through the wheels rather than just absorbing it. This does away with the need for anti-roll bars of any sort. These are mounted inboard and there are 3D-printed double wishbones all round. The objective here is to create a very flat and stable aerodynamic platform on a circuit while also dealing with bumps on a road surface to make the F80 more than tolerable in normal use.

There’s racing technology in the hybrid system too – you’ll be as fascinated as I was to learn the ‘rotor adopts Halbach array technology to maximise magnetic flux density’. I wouldn’t be without it. The battery is modest in size, just 2.3 kWh, meaning the F80 has no electric-only range. Meanwhile, each of the turbochargers features a motor of its own to reduce response times – a first for Ferrari.

So determined was Ferrari in its pursuit of aerodynamic performance that the cockpit is narrower than ever, leaving room for air to flow around it. The interior is heavily configured around the driver, with the passenger sitting a little further back in a fixed seat. Ferrari calls it ‘1+’ seating. Even the engine and gearbox are mounted at a slight angle to create space for the aerodynamic underfloor.

The brakes are next-generation carbon items from Brembo; the tyres either Pilot Sport Cup 2s, or Cup 2Rs for the track, from Michelin. The gearbox is an eight-speed dual-clutch. Ferrari quotes a 0-62mph time of 2.15 seconds and a 218mph top speed.

In its lightest possible specification – all lightweight options and no fluids – the F80 weighs 1525kg. That’s some 126kg heavier than the McLaren W1. In many ways the overlap in power, performance and technology between the two cars is striking: both use hybrid powertrains to produce in the region of 1200bhp, both have active aerodynamics and core structures and cabins optimised for downforce, and both use lightweight materials extensively. But there are meaningful differences, such as the number of cylinders (the W1 uses a V8, the F80 a V6) and driven wheel count (with motors on the front axle the Ferrari is four-wheel drive).

The F80 will be significantly more expensive, too, at around £3.1m compared to £2.4m for the W1. Some 799 examples of the F80 will be built; 399 W1s are due to be produced. The F80 programme will therefore create close to three times more revenue for its maker than the W1, and that’s before options and any F80 variants are factored into the equation. Such is the power of the Prancing Horse.

So now that you’ve seen and read about them both – Ferrari or McLaren?

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