We Drove the Ferrari F80. All We Can Say Is "WOW."

The 2026 Ferrari F80 has arrived, and a new top-line supercar from Modena is a giant deal in the car world. Think back a decade to the LaFerrari, a car so monumental it was not only named after itself but also given GOAT status as a member of “The Hoy Trinity,” along with the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder. Or what about the radical Enzo 10 years before that? What of the race-car-in-disguise F50 from the ’90s? Or the poster car fantasy object that is the brutal F40? These machines define automotive decades.

Early next year, customers will begin taking delivery of the latest and possibly greatest of them all, the car built as a celebration of 80 years of prancing horses, red cars, and Enzo’s singular vision: the Ferrari F80. Let’s take a beat and pause, however, and think about the grandaddy of them all, the essential 288 GTO. To most folks’ eyes it’s nothing but a 308 GTB with some extra slots cut into the flanks. But to those in the know, it’s by far the most exciting of the bunch.

The 288 GTO, Ferrari’s first supercar (not the 250 GTO, as that car was built four years before the term “supercar” was coined) was indeed based on the 308. Said mid-engine exotic was then cut in half and its wheelbase lengthened by 4.3 inches to allow the 2.9-liter V-8 to rotate from transverse to longitudinal orientation. It was also upgraded to near Group B and Group C race car specs with twin turbos, making it essentially a detuned version of what eventually powered the F40. Some Ferraristis even maintain the F40 is just a 288 GTO in a body kit. This is important because if you look at what Ferrari is up to in the year 2025, its "entry-level" street car, the 296, uses a 120-degree 2.9-liter (2,992 cc; we round this up to 3.0 for accuracy) twin-turbo V-6 with hybrid assist, as does its Challenge series race car and its back-to-back-to-back 24 Hour of Le Mans–winning endurance racer, the 499P.

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The Heart of the Matter

You will not be surprised to learn then, that under the Ferrari F80’s aerodynamically radical bodywork sits a spiffed-up version of that exact powertrain. The F80 iteration cranks out 888 horsepower at 8,750 rpm (redline is 9,000 rpm, limiter is 9,200 rpm), which is nearly 300 hp per liter. Read that last part again. Torque output is 627 lb-ft at 5,500 rpm. The front axle consists of two electric motors that combine for 282 hp (141 hp each) with a total system output of 1,184 hp. If the math of 888+282 doesn’t math for you, know that there is a third, small electric motor that’s mounted below the driver side of the engine block called the MGU-K. It’s derived from Ferrari’s F1 cars and performs several duties; it acts as a starter and a between-shifts torque filler, it helps to recapture electrons during engine braking, and it keeps both the 2.3-kWh battery charged and front motors spinning at all times. Some of its 80-hp rated output adds to the total system output when running flat out. This powertrain makes the F80 the most powerful Ferrari in history. Not shabby.

The rest of the F80 technology story is so bleeding edge we needed to cover most of it in a separate article or else we’d never get to how this $4 million car drives. But a few highlights: The asymmetric chassis reduces the width of the vehicle by seating the passenger slightly aft of the driver. There’s a tri-wing behind the front S-duct modeled after the rear triple wing on current F1 cars. The F80’s aerodynamics are both state of the art and massively effective; at 155 mph there’s 1,012 pounds pressing down on the front axle and 1,298 pounds on the rear. That’s a total of 2,310 pounds, or twice as much downforce as the LaFerrari. For launch control fans, the rear wing is active via four 12-volt electric motors and can instantly move into a low-drag stance, and the front wing can be stalled. Then there are the alien-looking 3D-printed suspension arms, the first ever street application of Brembo’s CCM-R+ brakes, and the unique Michelin Pilot Cup 2R K tires. Not to mention the two massive electric turbos that spin at 130,000 rpm. Yes, this car is wild.

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The Drive

Due to the nearly 90-degree articulation of the massive butterfly doors, getting into the Ferrari F80 isn’t much of a limbo. The driver’s seat is comfortable and even features a hidden cupholder (the seats split like a Y between your legs, and a water bottle can be securely held in place by the bar you pull to slide the seat). The yoke-style steering wheel is pure motorsports, though as it was designed before the new Amalfi ushered in some UX changes, you’ll still need to press a haptic start button to fire the F80 up.

Unlike, say, the Lamborghini Revuelto, which starts in silent EV mode, pushing the start button always fires the F80’s mighty V-6. The F80 is a performance hybrid, and the engine is always on. Ferrari mentioned that because of tightening global noise regulations, the engine’s sound outside the vehicle was kept muted. When the F80 rushes past a bystander, it sounds like a weather event, a low-flying tornado. Inside, the engine sounds pretty awesome.

Put the F80 in gear by yanking on the large, carbon-fiber paddle fixed to the right of the wheel. If the manettino is in Sport mode, the F80 drives like a regular car. It’s a fast car, sure, but thanks to the absolutely trick 48-volt Multimatic active dampers, ride quality is much better than you’d expect.

If you push down on the manettino, you can toggle between Soft and Medium in Sport mode, but on the smooth Autostrada south of Bologna where we got to road test the F80, it was hard to detect much of a difference. Even well into triple digits, the ride is quite good. You also have Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and shockingly excellent air conditioning, and you can hold a non-shouty conversation with your passenger even at extralegal speeds. Flexing your right foot stirs the beastly powertrain, and the acceleration is as quick and explosive as practically anything else.

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The Launch

Launch control is easy and fun. Twist the manettino to Race mode, pull down the little launch control slider, left foot brake, push the throttle pedal to the floor, and release your left foot. The initial, fractional moments are reminiscent of a Porsche 911 Turbo’s launch. There’s an initial forward lurch, followed by a “the front of the roller coaster is over the peak but not quite moving yet” sensation where the traction control computer is computing, and then fuhgeddaboudit. You’re into the wormhole. It’s just wild.

Ferrari is claiming 0–62 mph in 2.2 seconds. There are three cars that deliver similar gut-drop experiences: the Rimac Nevera; its mechanical twin, the Pininfarina Battista; and the Lucid Air Sapphire. We cannot stress how crazy the F80 launches. Ferrari is quoting 0–124 mph in 5.8 seconds, and we see no reason to doubt it. The quarter-mile time might very well be in the high eights or low nines, and the trap speed will be in the 155-mph neighborhood. Or faster. Just bonkers.

It’s hard to explain how ferocious this powertrain is. Because the huge turbos are electrically spun, there’s no lag. And because of all the magic the engine team performed on the V-6’s internals, redline arrives almost instantly. One negative thing you could say—but we wouldn’t—about the Ferrari F80 is that you’re constantly under the threat of running into the limiter. Like a lot of Ferraris, there are red shift lights atop the steering wheel that fill in left to right. The one to watch, however, is the final indicator light. It’s blue. When you see it, snap that paddle to grab the next gear, or you’ll hit the limiter. We cannot stress just how quickly this occurs. Especially when you get full power in fourth gear. It’s wonderful.

As is the F80 on the road. One of the many aspects Ferrari prioritized about the F80 was keeping the aerodynamic profile pure. To accomplish this, the active dampers adjust 1,000 times per second to keep the body as parallel to the ground as possible.

Sure, the F80 stays flat through corners, but the dampers also ensure downforce remains constant during all directional changes. The result is a baffling amount of driver confidence. It’s a worn chestnut, but on twisty roads the F80 feels like it’s running along a rail. Superlatives needed, but even the physics-defying Porsche GT3 RS doesn’t feel as in control as the F80 does whipping through corners. Is this the best-driving car we’ve ever experienced on the road? Put it like this: We can’t think of a better one.

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Hitting the Track

Ferrari also gave us a go on the Misano World Circuit, a seaside track best known from MotoGP that features many places to test the F80’s grip both in tight corners and alarmingly fast ones.

As fantastic and easy as it was on the road, the car is equally at home on the racetrack. The F80’s brakes offer the best feel and performance we’ve ever experienced in a car, production or otherwise—full stop. Made by Brembo’s racing department and lifted off the 296 Challenge car, the 16-inch CCM-R+ fronts and 15.4-inch rears are miracles.

And because of innovative cooling strategies—the two small openings on the F80’s snout feed hollow frame rails that lead to hoses to cool the fronts, while the rear brakes are cooled from the top and bottom—you don’t need a massive, 10-piston caliper that acts as a heat sink. The brake-by-wire system felt fantastic, and the brakes never exhibited any signs of fade or change in pedal travel. The stopping power is incredible.

As on the street, the hardest part about driving the Ferrari F80 on track is looking out for the always-approaching redline. We’ve simply never experienced an engine that revs this quickly. Other than that, the car is a sweetheart on the track. Ferrari stuck a brave instructor in the passenger seat for our nine laps, and even as he barked out, “You’re supposed to be on that side, and in fourth gear!” the car allowed us to easily make the necessary corrections.

There weren’t any “oh snap!” moments. The big test was Turn 11, a fast right-hander that can be taken flat in fifth gear. We were too busy to note the speed, but 160 mph seems about right. The F80, due to the insane aero, trick suspension, and wild tires handled this corner as if it were leaving a parking lot. Drama-free. Exhilarating? You bet your ass, and such fun that the only thing that ran through our mind was, “Again! Again!” All great cars should induce a childlike state. The F80 is a toy store.

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The Afterglow

After the drives, we sat down to a delicious Italian dinner with our fellow American journalists. The Lambrusco flowed and two conversation points stood out. The first was whether anyone would actually believe us when we tell them how great, how monumental, how fan-freaking-tastic the Ferrari F80 is. Opinions varied.

The second was a small sadness that, after this wonderful experience, we’ll probably never be able to drive the F80 again. And even then, will any owner give us two days in the car to drive it like we don’t care about it? All 799 examples of the Ferrari F80 were sold days after the car was announced. We implore the lucky owners to not mothball these automotive triumphs. Run them. Pound on them. Cough up the dough for however much another set of the wild Michelins cost. Do it on the regular. Do not replace the carbon rotors with steel ones! The F80 deserves to be flogged, needs to be enjoyed, and demands to be driven. Both on the street and on the track. Especially on the street. Think of how happy you’ll make your inner child.

As for Ferrari, we’ve been doing this long enough to have lost count about how many times a manufacturer has claimed that a vehicle is as good on the road as it is on the racetrack. It’s typically never true. Except for the Ferrari F80, a machine so adept at both it’s hard to say where it’s better. Ripping the pavement off a twisted country road or easily, repeatedly, and with an immediate confidence braking from 165 mph into a third gear right before almost expertly pitching it left on an unfamiliar road course? If forced to choose, the F80s is slightly better on the road. That’s where most of them will be driven, hopefully in the manner in which they deserve to be. Bravo, Ferrari. Bravo.