Enzo magazine reveals the greatest ever V8 Ferraris

A poll by evo’s Ferrari specialist sister title, Enzo magazine, has named the greatest V8 Ferrari of all time. The vote was held amongst readers of the evo, Auto Express and Octane websites and drew over 4500 responses on the question of what is the greatest V8-engined Ferrari.

The Ferrari 458 Italia took a landslide victory with 42 per cent of the vote across all three sites. The Ferrari F355 was the runner-up with 20 per cent, while the most recent of the models listed, the Ferrari 488 GTB rounded off the top three with 9 per cent of the vote.

The six other models included, reaching back through the Ferrari V8 lineage to the 308, failed to muster much support with the top three commanding almost three-quarters of the combined vote.

Enzo, is the new quarterly magazine dedicated to celebrating the illustrious brand with road tests, drive stories and all things Ferrari. The latest issue leads with a group test of some of the most evocative V8 Ferraris to emerge from Maranello, including the winner of the poll in 458 Speciale guise.

Subscriptions to Enzo are available from www.enzo-magazine.co.uk and anyone signing up now gets the first and second issues for just £6.

The top 5 greatest ever V8 Ferraris

1. Ferrari 458 Italia

6

The last naturally-aspirated V8 Ferrari, the 458 Italia arrived brimming with evo appeal. The flat-plane-crank, 4.5-litre V8 produced 562bhp, revving out to a heady 9000rpm, and 0-62mph was dealt with in 3.4sec. The more extreme, harder and lighter 597bhp Speciale edition will go down in evo history having claimed the evo Car of the Year title in 2014.

evo comment - evo139

‘It would require rocket propulsion to inject a serious extra snap of acceleration beyond what’s already occurring at 7000rpm’

2. Ferrari F355

6

The F355 righted all the wrongs of the preceding 348, reestablishing Ferrari atop the supercar tree. When the F355 went on sale, it had the highest specific output of any car on sale, squeezing 375bhp from a 3.5-litre V8 thanks to F1-derived technology. The performance figures were equally impressive for 1994; the 0-62mph dash was covered in 4.7sec and a top speed of 183mph was possible.

evo comment - evo231

‘It’s a busy sort of engine note, hard-edged like the tip of an industrial drill. It’s only when you breach 5500rpm that it homogenises into something  petrolheads like us would call musical.’

3. Ferrari 488 GTB

6

The 488 GTB finishes behind its immediate predecessor and the F355 in the poll, but it’s leagues ahead in performance terms. The 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 churns out a substantial 661bhp and 560lb ft of torque, the latter figure a whopping 162 lb ft more than the 458 offered. Its five-star evo status shows there’s all the emotion and excitement you'd expect of a Ferrari to augment the huge performance.

evo comment - evo211

‘It flattens you into the seatback if you pin the throttle. It’s a fairground-ride sensation.’

4. Ferrari F430

6

Debuting in 2004, the F430 was the first Ferrari to feature the steering-wheel mounted Manettino switch – a fixture on all Ferraris since – that controlled a myriad of onboard systems, including mapping for the 4.3-litre V8 which developed 483bhp helping the F430 past 200mph.

Evo comment - evo74

‘Perhaps for the first time, Ferrari has managed to successfully combine age-old passion and heart-pounding emotion with state-of-the-art engineering and electronics.’

5. Ferrari 308

6

The 308 was the first of the mid-engined V8 breed to emerge from the famous factory gates of Ferrari in 1975 – the 308 GT4 was officially a Dino. In a modern context its performance is more hot hatch than supercar, mind you its carb-fed 2.9-litre engine produced 252bhp, sending the wedge-shaped icon from 0-62mph in 6sec and past 150mph.

Subscribe to Enzo magazine now at www.enzo-magazine.co.uk and get the first and second issues for just £6.