► Ferrari 488 GTB driven on road and track
► It's the successor to the sublime 458 Italia
► But has turbocharging ruined the magic?
The new 488 GTB is Ferrari’s replacement for the 458 Italia, which is a bit of a big deal: the 458 remained top of its class some five years after launch.
The 488 is essentially a very thorough evolution of the 458, so you might expect Maranello to simply find another gear and power away from the opposition. But there’s one big sticking point: after years of naturally aspirated V8s that screamed to as high as 9000rpm, the GTB adopts a downsized and twin-turbocharged V8. And this, more than anything, will be crucial in how the new model is received.
This is Ferrari’s second attempt at turbocharging in the modern era – the California T was the first since 1987’s seminal F40 and while the folding hardtop’s engine is technically impressive, it can’t match the excitement of the old V8. There’ll be jitters at Maranello, and no mistake.
Let me guess: more power, more torque, lower C02, better mpg?
Exactly. The 458 Italia’s 4497cc V8 made 562bhp at 9000rpm, 398lb ft at 6000rpm, 24mpg and 275g/km (or 597bhp in ultimate Speciale guise, the rest of the figures remaining the same – with the optional stop/start HELE system). The 488 GTB’s smaller 3902cc twin-turbo V8 ramps that up to 661bhp at 8000rpm, 561lb ft at 3000rpm, with 25mpg and 260g/km. That’s a helluva big jump in performance. And the new car is claimed to be some 43kg lighter than the Italia, its kerbweight coming in at 1445kg.
So, everything improves, but note that the peak power is delivered 1000rpm lower than the Italia, and that the massive wodge of torque is on tap way down low. There is, however, a caveat here: Ferrari has cleverly engineered the engine to unleash the full 561lb ft at 3000rpm only in seventh gear, parcelling the torque out in lower gears to encourage drivers to chase the redline and, therefore, approximate the rush of good ol’ natural aspiration.
But it’s just the California engine dropped into the 488, right?
Well, the two units are closely related, but there are also some big differences: the California has 47cc less outright capacity, revs 500rpm lower at 7500rpm all-in and falls short in the performance stakes by a whopping 109bhp and not so whopping 4lb ft. The 488 GTB's V8 gets new con-rods, pistons, crank and cams, and new cylinder heads with thinner walls for larger cooling channels. New twin-scroll IHI turbos feature ball-bearing shafts to reduce friction, while the compressor wheels are lightweight titanium-aluminium alloy, reducing turbine inertia by 50%.
Ferrari says the engine responds to throttle inputs in 0.8sec, an improvement over the California T’s 1.1sec, but down from the 458 Italia’s 0.6sec.
What else is different compared with the 458 Italia?
While the basic silhouette remains – indeed, the roof and glasshouse are identical – there are some big alterations to the bodywork, particularly the LaFerrari-style front bumper, the twin bonnet vents, and larger twin side intakes ('base-bleed intakes', in Ferrari-speak), all of which cater to the turbocharged engine’s appetite for cooling air – indeed the rear track is 40mm wider to accommodate the turbos and intercoolers on either side of the V8. Along with a new aerodynamic underbody with vortex generators – two paths that start at the front axle line, and curve out behind the front wheels – downforce is said to increase by 50% to 325kg at 250km/h compared with the Italia.
The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is carried over from the Italia, but the ratios are ‘4-5%’ longer (though seventh is shorter than the California’s cruisey top gear).
