1980 Ferrari 308 Gts on 2040-cars

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Ferrari F8 Tributo brings the best of the 488 Pista to the masses

This is the Ferrari deemed worthy of replacing the 488 GTB, called the F8 Tributo. Let's start with the red meat: 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers sound familiar? They're the same as we got from the special edition 488 Pista, and they outdo the 488 GTB by 49 hp and seven pound-feet. The F8 Tributo warps itself to 62 miles per hour in a Pista-matching 2.9 seconds, takes two tenths longer to reach 124 mph at 7.8 seconds, but runs all the way to the same 211-mph top speed. What's more, the F8 Tributo weighs 2,932 pounds dry when graced with all of the lightweight options. That's 111 pounds more than the Pista, but an 88-pound diet compared to the 488 GTB. Rear-slanted radiators frame an evolution of the Pista's S-Duct to redefine the front end. Ferrari said the under-over airflow trick delivers a 15-percent increase in downforce compared to the retiring 488. Redesigned headlights take a horizontal stance, making room for brake cooling ducts that obviated needing to fit larger brakes. The Lexan engine cover and its three subtle louvers hearken to the F40, and the quad taillights hearken to Gran Turismo Berlinetta Ferraris of yore. The enlarged spoiler hunkers over that light cluster in 812 Superfast fashion, above a rear fascia that incorporates curved mesh grilles. Ferrari says the overall look is "the bridge to a new design language." As a side benefit, it confers a 10 percent improvement in aero efficiency compared to the 488. Ferrari's updated its Side Slip Angle Control (SSAC), and made the revised Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer (FDE) available in Race mode "to make performance on limit easier to reach and control for greater number of drivers." SSAC allows for more drifty attitudes, the FDE adds automatic braking inputs to reduce the need for sudden countersteering. Formerly, FDE was only available with the steering wheel manettino control in the CT Off position. The cabin's been overhauled, starting with a smaller steering wheel dotted with a couple of additional buttons for hands-free phone operation. The former oblong vents give way to round ones, there's a new digital interface for the driver and 8.25-inch touchscreen for the passenger, and new door cards. We will be taking a much closer look at all of it come Geneva. Related Video:

Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.

Scarbo Performance SVF1 First Drive Review | A hot-rodder's take on vintage F1

THERMAL, Calif. — Some turn their nose to the sky as soon as they hear the term, "replica." They only care for "originals," cars that are inevitably destined to collect dust in someone's impeccably clean garage, preserved for posterity, and never revved in anger or given the beans in fear of fouling up an "investment." Joe Scarbo thinks this "mere existence" is a boring one, that cars are meant to be driven hard – period. That's the outlook that spurned him to create the SVF1, an ass-kickin' track weapon so good, and so demanding, our body quit well before we wanted to hand back the keys. Once you realize what the Scarbo Performance SVF1 actually is, you'll get it. The open-wheeled, open-cockpit retro-racer is modeled after a 1967 Ferrari F312 Formula One car, and many, justifiably, consider its sultry, minimalist lines to be among the prettiest F1 designs. However, the guts under its beautifully hand-beaten aluminum exterior are more SoCal hot-rodder than devout Tifosi replica. Made even clearer that this track beast resides in the former is what powers it; a Red, White, and Blue-blooded GM-sourced, 430-horsepower LS1 V8. You can't get much more American than that. Our date with the SVF1 occurred at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, an automotive oasis plopped squarely in the middle of an agricultural hub. The freshly finished facility is just a few hours outside of Los Angeles, but unlike the better-known Willow Springs, the track surface here is absolutely pristine, on top of which there was a fine mist of sand, a condition which kept both us and the SVF1 on our tiptoes. To provide the perfect soundtrack for our track adventure, Scarbo married the LS1's fly-by-wire throttle system with eight velocity stacks, providing an otherworldly induction yowl. This is punctuated by a guttural exhaust featuring an eight-into-one collector with a three-inch exit. Upon startup, the SVF1 is sends shivers through your body, and like chain lightning it propagates through the bodies of anyone within 60 feet. Grunt and stamina are required to shift the transaxle 5-speed manual transmission from a 986-generation Porsche Boxster mated up to the LS1. No flappy paddles or dual-clutches here. You get into the SVF1 by placing your feet onto the softly padded seat and sliding your butt in-between its fuel tank, which straddle your hips and posterior. Clip into the five-point harness and you're eyeball level with the truly massive Avon race-spec slicks.