Ferrari F8 Tributo makes its North American debut by going Hollywood

07/10/2019

The North American reveal of the Ferrari F8 Tributo occurred in LA and included the requisite pomp and circumstance

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you—the Ferrari F8 Tributo you see in these pictures is the exact same model revealed at the 2019 Geneva auto show just a few months ago. But when Ferrari throws a party in Los Angeles, how can you say no to that? After all, some of the company’s most significant customers call Southern California home. It only makes sense to bring the F8 Tributo straight to them.

As for that name: Think of it as a tip of the cappello to the long legacy of midengine, V8-powered Ferraris, dating all the way back to the 1975 308. What a difference almost four and a half decades can make: Featuring a 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 making 710 hp, a claimed 0-62 sprint in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 211 mph, the F8 Tributo serves up seriously impressive numbers. But according to Matteo Torre, president and CEO of Ferrari North America, the goal behind the F8 Tributo was more than just generating enviable performance figures.

“Everything we bring into the car is about enhancing the performance,” Torre said. “But we worked very hard on the aerodynamics and the ecodynamics so that an everyday person could drive it closer to the limit.” It’s hard to imagine a scenario where an everyday person could explore those limits, but then again, Torre’s definition of an everyday person is referring to an everyday Ferrari driver.

Last week’s event was all about paying tribute to nearly 45 years of mid-engined V8 Ferraris. Upon arriving, dozens of Ferraris of all colors and vintages were queued up at the valet stand. Inside the warehouse, the massive interior was awash in red lighting, illuminating everyone in a rosso corsa glow. Vivid scenes of Ferrari heritage were projected onto garage doors throughout the space. The only wine at the bar? An old-world Italian red, of course.

Then, one by one, those garage doors opened and a quartet of modern V-8 Ferraris rolled onto the floor. From here it was easy to trace a path of styling evolution which advanced every five years: how the squat, almost squarish proportions of the 2000 360 Modena gave way to the more wedge-like shape of the F430 introduced in 2005, followed by the 458 Italia in 2010—lithe and angrily graceful. Five years after that, the 488 GTB added twin turbos and a lot of sculptural venting to keep everything cool.

Lots of red, lots of wine and cocktails, and a whole heck of a lot of Ferraris

Finally, the center door opened and the F8 Tributo advanced into the spotlight. Even before its driver got out of the way, the crowd surged forward for the opportunity to get extremely hands-on with the star of the evening. Torreo wasn’t kidding: tonight, the F8 Tributo really is accessible to everyone. A constant stream of people lined up to snap selfies and nestle inside the F8 Tributo’s extremely supportive-looking buckets.

Although it would have been nice to see an F40 roll onto the floor as well in a twin-turbo V8 show of solidarity with its 2019 spiritual successor, the crowd didn’t seem to mind. If Matteo’s words hold true, hopefully the majority of F8 Tributo owners will be keen on driving it rather than simply adding it to a climate-controlled collection.

We’ll have a complete first drive of the F8 Tributo coming soon, so stay tuned.

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