It has overrun or anti-lag or something going on when he lifts off throttle on the rev. Sounds awesome.
There's nowhere for it to go on a 458 either.... But also, where does the rear plate go on a U.S. model? The space on the shots we've seen so far isn't tall enough for a U.S. plate. Maybe they have different rear bumpers depending on region? I'd hope so. If they can make different left-hand-drive / right-hand-drive, I'd think they could make differently shaped bumpers for different plates...
Another screenshot from Ferrari's video - so we can stare at it longer and analyze. Again, I think this view is very promising, and more in line with my initial, and positive, impressions based on Ferrari's initial pics. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The sound in the video meaningless. You have to hear it in the open at high RPM under load. I will say that the video shows the styling in a much better light. The first computer renderings did not. The rear end treatment looks even better than it did in the renderings, and the side creases are much more subdued. Still until one sees it in a non artificially lit setting, one will not get a detailed sense of the car.
Also, it's clear from this second screenshot how much lighting has an extreme effect on the ability of photography to capture the lines of the 488. Notice how you can't even see the hood scoops of the red one (second screenshot) as compared to the completely obvious scoops in the gray one (first screenshot ).
Two more examples of the disappearing/reappearing hood scoops! Friends, this thing will HAVE to be seen in person to get a full grasp of how it really looks! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yeah, but it's not like you're gonna have a spot light pointing in the perfect direction to show all the lines in real life. Every car looks great with professional photos on a stage with good lighting The grey cell phone pics are probably the most realistic since all that red is just not friendly to the cell phone cameras.
It's always the same movie running in this cinema - the deadlocked sustainers shout the loudest. The good news for all these guys; don't panic, the 458 (with his wonderful screaming sound between 8000 and 9000 rpms) was produced by Ferrari in a sufficient quantity, this car is available on lifetime, keep it or buy it (...and for a more impressive sound below 8000 rpm's are also better exhaust systems available). For all others there are also good news; yes, Ferrari is a forward oriented company and has developed with the 488 something different, something stronger and faster, something with a more aggressive design, something with a future oriented engine technology - yes, Ferrari has developed a NEW supercar, a new benchmark in this market segment. What a beautiful world!
Took these photos from the Ferrari 488 website. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A little surprising that no native english speaking bothered to comment on that, so I´ll do my best: To design a high performance turbo engine is not as simple as basing in it on a good NA engine and bolt on a turbo and get more power at the cost of some lag. There is much more to it than that. The biggest defining factor is the compression rate. A performance NA engine sucks in air at atmospheric pressure and let the piston compress it heavily. In a turbo engine the air is already pressurized when it goes in at higher revs, hence the compression rate of the piston has to be much lower. Also other factors like different exhaust resistance, need for different ignition timing and injection must be adressed. Hence a 3,9 l turbo engine is a bit of a lame duck until the turbos are spooled up compared to a 3,9 l NA engine. But sometimes its the lag that actually creates the famous turbo kick. I remember a Saab 9000 2,0 16 Turbo was one of my first cars. And I really loved that kick. After some years I was invited to test drive the new 2,3 l version with 50 more hp or so, and felt very excited about it. "And we also fixed much of the turbo lag!" the SR told me entusiastically. I left the test drive very disappointed, the kick was just gone and the engine felt bland...
