Engine is smaller than its predecessor, and its displacement of 488 cubic centimeters per cylinder gives the car its name: 488GTB. Multiplied by eight, that works out to 3902 cc for the new 90-degree V-8, which is mated to, as was the 458’s V-8, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Despite the 0.6-liter reduction in displacement, the new engine makes more power: 661 horsepower at 8000 rpm, versus 597 horsepower at 9000 rpm for the 458 Speciale. Torque, predictably, is greater as well, reaching 561 lb-ft at a low 3000 rpm, far eclipsing the 458 Speciale’s 398 lb-ft.
Variable Torque Management helps get the power all the way to the rear wheels posthaste. Ferrari claims that the superquick seven-speed transmission will enable the engine to hit the rev limiter in fourth gear just six seconds after the car leaves from a stop.
The extra oomph shaves only fractions of a second from the official Fiorano lap time compared with the latest and greatest iteration of the 458, the Speciale A (which just debuted last fall). The 488GTB gets around Fiorano in 1:23.0, a half-second quicker than the Speciale A. The two cars both claim a 3.0-second zero-to-62-mph time. As speeds increase, however, the 488GTB shows its advantage, reaching 124 mph in 8.3 seconds, compared to its forebear’s 9.5. The 488GTB also is said to be capable of 205 mph, 3 mph higher than the now-completely-useless 458 Speciale A. Brembo Extreme Design brakes—derived from the LaFerrari’s—help haul down the 488 in nine-percent less linear space than the 458’s lesser binders could accomplish. These features and figures should help the Ferrari do battle with the Lamborghini Huracán and the McLaren 650S, the latter of which will beget a higher-performance variant, the 675LT, at Geneva.
Airing It Out
Aside from the revolutionary change affecting the redheaded beauty under the plexiglass cover, the specs indicate that the 488GTB otherwise hews closely to the formula that has been so successful in the 458. The shapely new body is 1.6 inches longer than the 458 Italia’s, 0.6 inch wider, and identical in height. Ferrari says the new car has less aerodynamic drag but creates 50 percent greater downforce (stated as 717 pounds at 155 mph). Large, body-side air intakes are split into two sections and are supposed to reference the original mid-engine, eight-cylinder Ferrari, the 308. Among the 488’s airflow-managing elements are an “Aero Pillar” on the front end, “vortex generators” underneath, and active flaps in the rear diffuser. A “blown spoiler”—trickle-down Formula 1 technology—funnels air in through a wide channel at the base of the rear window and out the back of the car, just above the license plate. (Ferrari released this cool video of the aerodynamics at work.)
Ferrari’s quoted “dry weight” (at 3020 pounds) is 22 pounds lighter than it cites for the standard 458 Italia, with 53.5 percent pressing down on the rear wheels. (The forged 20-inch wheels themselves save 18 pounds.) For reference, the lightest 458 Italia we’ve weighed tipped our scales at 3325 pounds in road-ready trim.
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