Wheres My Car Newsletter No.2 |
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Ferrari 488 GTB first drive review
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It would be difficult to overstate the importance to Ferrari of the 488 GTB.
It replaces the most profitable model in the line up – the acclaimed 458 Italia – months before an IPO will for the first time establish the value of Ferrari as a separate business.
Estimates for that value range from [Euro] €4 billion right up to €$10 billion at the optimistic upper end. It will enable individuals to buy publicly listed shares in the famed Italian sports car maker for the first time.
The reaction to the mid-engine 488 GTB coupe, which makes the radical step of downsizing the V8 and adding turbo charging, could have no small effect on the valuation.
To ease acceptance, Ferrari has gone for the oldest formula of all: more power. Lots, lots more power.
The car also adds a far more aggressive appearance; the roof is the only outer panel carried over from the 458 in this substantial makeover.
So what's it like behind the wheel? Quick, almost implausibly quick.
The 488 feels like it has an on-off switch between 100 and 200 km/h. Reaching that second figure from the first seems to take but a blink.
Official figures suggest it is slightly more than a blink (0-100 in a remarkable 3 seconds flat, 0-200 in just 8.3). Still it feels, and indeed is, a vast improvement on the 458 Italia, which was hardly a slouch (its figures were 3.4 and 10. 4 seconds respectively.)
Twin turbos help the 488's 3.9-litre V8 make 492kW and 760Nm, the latter at just 3000rpm.
The extra power and mountainous torque mean it is not just significantly quicker in straight line acceleration, but in almost any situation, or in any gear.
Turbo lag? Simply none that I could notice, no matter what I did.
The car was launched on a mixed course taking in Ferrari's own Fiorano race track and the winding, narrow, hilly and at times very bumpy country roads around the company's home town, Maranello, in Italy's north.
Considering these are the places Ferrari primarily develops its road cars, it is probably no surprise that both showed the 488 in an excellent light.
The driving experience is much like the 458 in terms of handling, it's just the corners arrive more quickly.
The steering is carry-over, using the same ratio as the stunningly good 458 Speciale but with slightly more weight dialled in. It's super-quick, precise and hard to fault.
The magnetic adaptive suspension (standard equipment) shows extraordinary compliance at speed on bumpy roads, and reacts like lightning to keep the low and wide coupe stable and on the black stuff.
The appearance is more likely to divide the room than the performance. Those huge air intakes behind the doors break up the flowing lines; on the other side of the ledger, every reduction the designers played with was costing horsepower.
Even the door-handles were eventually shaped like wings to tip a little more air up towards the intercooler.
The car is built around a complex aerodynamic package, enabling it to do without traditional rear spoiler (either fixed or moving). It demonstrates enormous stability at high speed and sucks itself down onto the racetrack through fast corners.
Engine noise is another area that will cause some conjecture.
Despite claims about how much work went into crafting the sound, the car is surprisingly subdued at low to medium speeds. In auto, this is partly because it has so much torque it just jumps up through the gears, able to take almost anything in its stride in the upper cogs.
At these engine speeds it lacks the full throated, slightly malevolent rumble of its naturally aspirated predecessor.
By the time the sound has built up to a warm crescendo at the top end (with a just a hint of turbo whistle), the speeds are highly illegal.
There is always the option of choosing manual mode and Sport (or Race) on the steering wheel's five-position Manettino switch, sticking with low gears and thereby hearing the full aural fireworks of the engine at lower road speeds.
The interior is new although instantly familiar. Our car had a large amount of carbon-fibre in the cockpit, on the exterior (including the winglets dividing the side air intakes) and within the engine bay, plus less padded sports seats. All these no doubt saved weight but added greatly to the price.
The driving position is excellent. There is plenty of headroom though the footwell is shorter on the passenger side, so that side of the car proved slightly less comfortable for tall occupants.
There is even a decent boot and glovebox, and a small parcel shelf behind the seats for a bit of extra luggage.
As with the exterior, the interior is a little more "bitsy" with seemingly more panels than its predecessor, often meeting at sharp angles.
An open top Spider version will be seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September; prototypes were spied on the same roads we were using.
Ferrari 488 GTB pricing and specifications
Price: $540,000 (estimate) – (AUD)
On sale: Late 2015
Engine: 3.9-litre twin turbo V8 petrol
Power: 492kW at 8000rpm
Torque: 760Nm at 3000rpm
Fuel economy: 11.4 L/100 km
Performance: 0-100 km/h in 3 seconds, top speed 330 km/h plus.
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