This is generated through a sophisticated combination of underfloor aero management and a huge active rear wing. As in a modern F1 car or endurance racer, the driver’s feet are elevated slightly, allowing for engineers to create a more aggressive aero duct at the front. This is helped further by a narrowed cockpit, made possible by slightly staggering the driver and passenger seats, bringing them further inboard.
The brakes are all-new, and feature a new CCM-R composite gripped by massive Brembo six-piston calipers on the front axle, while the 20-inch and 21-inch wheels are bespoke carbon-fibre units with five spokes – another first for Ferrari.
Of course, a game-changing Ferrari hypercar is nothing if it doesn’t look like a step forward and here chief designer Flavio Manzoni and his team have created a car that unapologetically references the sci-fi world for inspiration. The blocky design language is new for Ferrari, and features lots of elements that build a bridge between the past and future.
The nose, with its black facia and hidden headlights, was designed to give the F80 a new face, paired to a large aero opening at the centre and two outer intakes. The flat front wheelarches reference the F40’s rear wing section, while also helping separate the air from the side and top surfaces of the car. Manzoni’s team have also re-interpreted the aeronautical NACA duct that’s been found on various Ferrari sports and competition cars since the 1950s, which sits on either side of the cabin behind the two butterfly doors.
The cabin’s unique packaging is highlighted with an asymmetrical dash layout that separates the driver and passenger, and is accentuated by the coloured driver seat. There’s no main display, but instead a driver’s information display mounted directly to the steering column, with a passenger display mounted on to the passenger side dash. The steering wheel is also new, and features physical buttons, in contrast to the haptic buttons of current Ferrari models.
Like all of its once-in-a-decade hypercars, the F80 takes performance and technology onto a higher plane. All of the electrical components are lighter, more compact and more energy dense than before, and they will feed into the next generation of Ferrari models that you’ll see on the road in the coming years.
Click here for our list of the best hypercars…
