Wednesday 16th October 2019

488 Pista on the 'ring | Time For Coffee?

Ferrari doesn't do Nordschleife times; sportauto certainly does, though...

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You'll know all about the Ferrari 488 Pista hype by now; we did our fair share of additional gushing about it just last weekend. While officially superseded by the F8 Tributo now, the Pista's combination of outrageous performance, sublime chassis and huge excitement ensures it continues the track-prepped Ferrari Berlinetta lineage very nicely indeed.

But just how good is it on track? There have been circuit tests with various magazines since the Pista's launch, but now it's time for the big one: sportauto, its resident nutcase Christian Gebhardt, and the Nordschleife. It would be rude not to share...

Even more excitingly, this particular Pista is on the optional, super sticky Michelin Cup 2 R tyres, so it's perfectly specced for track use. Far be it from us to reveal the time here - rest assured it's very, very fast - but it's worth drawing your attention to a few things: the way the harnesses are flung around under heavy braking, which is always cool, how little steering effort is required, even for the tightest of turns, and just how rapid the Pista is on the straight bits - it does 200mph down the Dottinger-Hohe...

So yeah, even by the standards of Nurburgring onboards, this one is pretty special. Get your brew ready and enjoy - just be prepared for the lap to be finished before your drink!

[MDL111]

That’s a very impressive time - 13 seconds faster than what they did in the 918

[loudlashadjuster]

I would've sorted my visor out before that lap

[nickfrog]

Turning into Schwedenkreuz at 200 km/h. Brilliant.

[Krikkit]

I don't give a fig for lap times, but good grief that guy is absolutely on it all the way round. Proper driving.

[FoxtrotOscar1]

Those gear changes are violent

[TIGA84]

Certainly giving it plenty, seems to have a very long 6/7th gear through the longer sections.

Looks almost easy in some parts, grip levels must be off the chart the way he's on the throttle early in some corners.

[GranCab]

I bet he's slightly miffed it wasn't in the 6s....

[av185]

Very impressive for sure.

[simonbamg]

Would of been better if it was Matt blue with a yellow stripe

[Porsche911R]

MDL111 said:

That’s a very impressive time - 13 seconds faster than what they did in the 918

the 918 broke the ring record with a sub 7 on non R spec tyres.

It's also slower than a 500BHP GT3 RS on like for like tyres ! 6.56.40 , now that's an impressive lap and time.
esp as only 288 on the straight vs the pista 320 !!! so if you take the straight off, the Pista is 6 seconds down by the start of the straight !!!
and pulls 3 or 4 seconds back due to the vmax.

for 720BHP on R specs it's not vey impressive at all imo in fact it's disappointing if anything with the power and on paper states and the long power straight.

And vs a Turbo GT2 RS which was slower on the straight, it's 20 seconds down !!! which is a lifetime even on the ring.

Edited by Porsche911R on Wednesday 16th October 15:37

[GranCab]

Only valid if it was the same driver and same track and weather conditions.

[CArmo123]

I thought he was going to make the jump to lightspeed on the main straight!

[Onehp]

Porsche911R said:

the 918 broke the ring record with a sub 7 on non R spec tyres.

It's also slower than a 500BHP GT3 RS on like for like tyres ! 6.56.40 , now that's an impressive lap and time.
esp as only 288 on the straight vs the pista 320 !!! so if you take the straight off, the Pista is 6 seconds down by the start of the straight !!!
and pulls 3 or 4 seconds back due to the vmax.

for 720BHP on R specs it's not vey impressive at all imo in fact it's disappointing if anything with the power and on paper states and the long power straight.

And vs a Turbo GT2 RS which was slower on the straight, it's 20 seconds down !!! which is a lifetime even on the ring.

Edited by Porsche911R on Wednesday 16th October 15:37

Correct, the problem is that the Porsche time was set by one of the best factory drivers, while the Sport Auto times tend to be ~15-20s slower where like for like comparisons are more or less possible...

[BVB]

Incredible.

[C.MW]

Porsche911R said:

MDL111 said:

That’s a very impressive time - 13 seconds faster than what they did in the 918

the 918 broke the ring record with a sub 7 on non R spec tyres.

It's also slower than a 500BHP GT3 RS on like for like tyres ! 6.56.40 , now that's an impressive lap and time.
esp as only 288 on the straight vs the pista 320 !!! so if you take the straight off, the Pista is 6 seconds down by the start of the straight !!!
and pulls 3 or 4 seconds back due to the vmax.

for 720BHP on R specs it's not vey impressive at all imo in fact it's disappointing if anything with the power and on paper states and the long power straight.

And vs a Turbo GT2 RS which was slower on the straight, it's 20 seconds down !!! which is a lifetime even on the ring.

Edited by Porsche911R on Wednesday 16th October 15:37

Yea well, not surprising given that the Nurburgring is like their backyard; they really know it inside out. So imagine how much of a shock it must've been when out of nowhere Nissan took them on in their own backyard with what looks like a overweight gt car. Since then the German's got the title back and is seemingly never going to let anyone go for it again.

[greenarrow]

Onehp said:

Porsche911R said:

the 918 broke the ring record with a sub 7 on non R spec tyres.

It's also slower than a 500BHP GT3 RS on like for like tyres ! 6.56.40 , now that's an impressive lap and time.
esp as only 288 on the straight vs the pista 320 !!! so if you take the straight off, the Pista is 6 seconds down by the start of the straight !!!
and pulls 3 or 4 seconds back due to the vmax.

for 720BHP on R specs it's not vey impressive at all imo in fact it's disappointing if anything with the power and on paper states and the long power straight.

And vs a Turbo GT2 RS which was slower on the straight, it's 20 seconds down !!! which is a lifetime even on the ring.

Edited by Porsche911R on Wednesday 16th October 15:37

Correct, the problem is that the Porsche time was set by one of the best factory drivers, while the Sport Auto times tend to be ~15-20s slower where like for like comparisons are more or less possible...

Exactly - what was the SportAuto time for the GT3RS?

That said, the Porsche 911 time is pretty amazing.

[Fixer03]

https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/rundenzeiten/s...

[chris116]

The entry to the right hander at 3.45 was a bit eye opening!

[CedricN]

Comparing lap times from the factories is close to irrelevant, we know nothing about whats going on behind the scenes. We should be glad SA does their ambitious test so there is any chance of comparison. Hes a fast driver, even though he doesnt get the same seat time of course as a factory driver. But its interesting to see how far he is from the factory times. In some of the cars he gets really really close, some like the type R are very far from it, that definitely creates a a source for suspicion

[Plate spinner]

Watching these vids now I always hold my breath as they approach flugplatz... The reprofiling / resurfacing done a couple of years ago has definitely made it quicker, but far less challenging to negotiate. But I still forget and think “fk dude, that entry speed is too much!”

I get it though, Nismos getting airborne into the crowd was not acceptable.

Edited by Plate spinner on Thursday 17th October 13:11