Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

Spending a few days with a Ferrari is a treat, even if you get to drive as diverse an array of vehicles as we do here at Ars. As a small manufacturer with perhaps the best brand recognition in the auto industry, Ferrari doesn't really need to lend journalists its cars to sell them. And with a small press fleet and a big country to cover, the opportunity to drive one therefore remains rare. So it's perhaps not surprising that having recently scheduled such a loan, it's something I still look forward to immensely. That was certainly the case for this car, the $256,000 Ferrari GTC4Lusso T.

The new vehicle is the replacement for the Ferrari FF , and the prospect of four days with a Lusso T offered a chance to see how the legendary Italian automaker evolves and iterates its ideas. Ferrari's goal with the Lusso T was to build on the success of the FF, which sold well by the standards of four-seat Ferraris. The car maker wanted to create something that was both "sporty and versatile, as well as perfect for driving on a daily basis."

After spending some time with it, calling the Lusso T a replacement for the FF doesn't feel entirely accurate. The FF was powered by a naturally aspirated V12 and not one but two transmissions (a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox for the rear wheels and a two-speed box for the front wheels that disengaged above 150mph). If you still want 680 prancing horses and all-wheel drive, Ferrari will accommodate you with the slightly shorter-named but $40,000 more expensive GTC4Lusso.

The Lusso T ditches that heavy, thirsty V12 engine in favor of a 3.9L twin-turbo V8. If that sounds familiar, it should—one variant of the same engine is found in the California T , another sits behind you in the 488 GTB . In the Lusso T, it's tuned to develop 602hp (449kW) at 7,500rpm and 561ft-lbs (760Nm) between 3,000-5,250rpm. And this car is unashamedly rear-wheel drive; that front transmission is gone. So if you open the hood to admire the engine's distinctive red crackle-finished cam covers, you can't help but notice how much empty space there is in the engine bay, with virtually nothing ahead of the front axle. (The weight savings from ditching four cylinders and several extra gears is less than you'd imagine, though; the Lusso T is just 110lbs/50kg lighter than the V12 version.)

Improvements over the old car were immediately apparent, even before putting the Lusso T into gear. The dashboard has been redesigned with some neat swiveling air vents and repositioned controls for the driver on either side of the main instrument display. There's a new, much better infotainment system with a 10.25-inch capacitive touchscreen, and the (optional) digital display for the front passenger is now much higher resolution and in full color. And Ferrari has ditched the rubbery finish that used to adorn the panel of climate controls; the old finish would wear off, leaving a grubby looking mess in short order.

The multifunction steering wheel is also new. It loses the strip of LED lights embedded in the rim that told you when to shift, and it now has scroll wheels in place of rocker switches to control the two multifunction displays on either side of the tachometer and the windshield wipers. The buttons to select neutral, reverse, or activate launch control have been moved to one side of the center console. One change that hasn't been for the better involves the cupholders; installing anything taller than a medium coffee scared me enough to have the front seat passenger on overwatch to prevent a spill, and you'd be hard pressed to get two large sodas in there should you take the Lusso T to the drive-thru (which, of course, we did).

Listing image by Jonathan Gitlin