Ferrari 488 GTB: Review
Ferrari's turbocharged Berlinetta, meet wet, bumpy UK roads - play nicely now
It certainly provided me with one of the most terrifying moments I've ever experienced in a Ferrari.
Do ya feel lucky, punk?
Well, it's not Maranello that's for sure
White knuckle
OK, a shaggy dog's tale to illustrate a conceit about the 488 GTB being a bit of a handful. Actually this wasn't the scariest moment in the car at all. That came a couple of days before on one of the bleak and bumpy roads that cross Saddleworth Moor.
A lesser car would struggle there. The lumps and bumps are savage, rapid-fire and typically exactly where you wouldn't want them, like just on corner entry. And apex. And exit. Go even a foot off-line and there are kerbs to make a mess of those wheels - and more besides - not to mention splitter-scraping compressions, vicious crests and more. The surface is a make do and mend patchwork quilt of materials, none of them especially grippy, and the rain was hard enough to have the wipers on full and still be left wanting.
Less capacity, far more punch
The composure offered by the SCM3 magneto-rheological dampers is a defining feature of this car, and what makes it entertaining and rewarding even at relatively sane road speeds. Certainly more relevant in the UK than all the clever aero. The dampers are so fast and so controlled, whatever's going on with the road surface. They're clever too; in Race and CT Off modes on the Manettino the Side Slip Control 2 can independently play with the damping balance in each strut to adjust cornering stance, Ferrari claiming a 12 per cent improvement in corner exit speed in conjunction with the E-Diff and F1-Trac stability control.
Carbon garnish costs dear - see options spend
Technically all very impressive. Practically speaking confidence in the car as a whole flows from the damping, the way it maintains a consistent contact patch for the tyres even on roads as bad as this giving you a direct line of communication with the chassis. A super pointy front end on a car with this much power going to the rear wheels shouldn't be this accessible - see how inert Lamborghini has made the Huracan feel in comparison, even with the extra security of four-wheel drive. But Ferrari clearly views tech as an enabler, delivering a razor-sharp set-up that's also massively confidence inspiring in average hands.
Confidence enough for me to be driving a wet moorland road with the Manettino in Race, dampers decoupled into the Bumpy Road setting and flicking up and down the gears via the big carbon paddles, their decisive click and the lightning quick response to them from the dual-clutch gearbox a reasonable alternative to the tactile delights of the long-abandoned open-gated manual.
But sometimes a bit of fear - call it respect if you prefer - is useful. And when, finally, I got a little too greedy on entry speed, a little quick on the throttle and a little lazy with the steering the 488 showed me its scary side.
Ferrari is very clever in the way it manages the torque delivery of its turbo engines, only giving you the full 560lb ft in seventh and carefully tweaking the curve to avoid any nasty, traction compromising spikes like you get in some turbo cars. The BMW M4 I ran as a long-termer springs to mind.
'Base bleed' aero exits here
Ferrari's engineers spent many, many, many hours of work in an attempt to eradicate turbo lag and give the 488's motor the throttle response of the normally-aspirated engine it replaced. Their PR colleagues then spent even more at the press launch (well, it felt like it anyway) telling us EXACTLY how this had been achieved. Graphs and everything. Ferrari keeps banging on about it too, Tweeting just the other day 'zero turbo lag and a seductive soundtrack - discover the engine of the Ferrari 488 GTB'.
This is nonsense. The 488 GTB's engine feels turbocharged. Less so than a McLaren. Sharp enough in response to all-but silence fears of those saying it could never match a 458 Italia's normally-aspirated zing. Through an optional titanium sports exhaust it blares away in maximum attention seeking fashion. But from inside it sounds turbocharged. It IS turbocharged. Lag included. Just not much of it, even when you deliberately go looking for it by hauling from a tall gear.
Nice dry road; not so scary now
It's actually something of a relief to discover Ferrari hasn't entirely dumbed down what is, by any measure, a staggeringly fast car. No, you don't need to walk on eggshells the way you might have with a 288 or an F40. But it's still a car that can turn you pale if you push your luck just a little too far. And for that alone I admire it. Ferrari needed to do something to help us transition from 458 to 488. And burying just a little of the madness of its previous turbocharged icons is entirely appropriate. If you ever do uncover it best have your wits about you though.
Want more on the 488 GTB? Read our tech heavy original launch drive here.
FERRARI 488 GTB
Engine: 3,902cc V8, twin-turbo
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 670@8,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 560@3,000rpm
0-62mph: 3.0sec
Top speed: 209mph
Weight: 1,370kg (dry, with "lightweight options")
MPG: 24.8mpg* (NEDC combined)
CO2: 260g/km*
Price: £183,974 (£238,214 as tested comprising carbon fibre outer sill £1,152; black brake calipers £864; embroidered logos on headrests £720; carbon engine compartment £4,512; carbon sill cover £4,896; carbon diffuser £5,472; carbon driver zone with LEDs £4,320; carbon upper tunnel £2,304; titanium exhaust £1,440; carbon dash inserts £3,840; carbon side vent splitters £2,112; carbon rear air ducts £2,400; colour on request for lower dash £768; carbon door trim £3,936; 'Goldrake' carbon racing seat £5,184; sat nav/cruise/parking sensors/USB port £0 for UK; carbon front spoiler £4,320; carbon steering wheel with LEDs £2,880; Scuderia shields on wings £1,056; colour on request for standard stitching £432; carbon tunnel bridge £1,632; total extras £54,240)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Driving a Ferrari through Marlow. You really picked the wrong town to be noticed, but there are some great roads in the area.You want to try it in a TVR Dan, it's more 99% of the time you are going to die when one of those bumps or bad cambers catches you out. But the other 1% is utterly thrilling.
Question, how brave were you at the right "I can see the lake I'm going to land in...2 miles below me" hander?
I guess this would destroy an F40 ? Never mind a 355, and nobody said those were slow.
670 bhp, and it isn't very heavy, are super cars getting a bit too super ? Yeah, sounds a bit lame but where is this going, does the normal driver ever use all that ? Is so, where ?
You want to try it in a TVR Dan, it's more 99% of the time you are going to die when one of those bumps or bad cambers catches you out. But the other 1% is utterly thrilling.
Question, how brave were you at the right "I can see the lake I'm going to land in...2 miles below me" hander?
And I know the one... No I wasn't!
Dan
This looks like it would spank an Enzo and yet seems to be in the same lineage as a considerably more mundane 355/360 if a little more expensive?
Do Ferrari no longer make a junior supercar? This is more hypercar imo. Fair play for offering at at £185k though, compared to the £600k you'd pay for an Enzo
I know expensive options is part and parcel with cars of this level but the price of some of the carbon bits is eye watering. The titanium exhaust at £1,440 seems reasonable to me, then you get carbon dash inserts at £3,840? How much would these really cost to mass produce? £100?
To answer the poster above - technology marches on. Staggering that you can have a 670bhp car in a 1,370kg package - no wonder it beats an Enzo, a 14 year old car. Also don't forget Ferrari's real hypercar is 950bhp. What was once a revelation in the Bugatti is now par for the course for hypercars.
A cursory glance on eBay suggests you can get replica carbon bits for the 458 that are 1/3 the OEM price or less. I doubt they're any worse than OEM and may in fact be better (see: manifolds on F430).
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff