I like it less now. The true joy of the 458 is the sound of the engine at 9 grand. That's lost now. The front really does not integrate well with the body and the hood seems tacked on. The Speciale does this 1000 times better. To me, Ferrari seems to be going through the motion with this one. I thought the change from the 360 to F430 was a huge improvement. This one seems like they just changed because it was time.
You are right, despite what many people say here sound is important and it's part of italian sports car DNA, with 488 something was lost.
I think that before we officially write it off and wait until its replacement, we should wait to see how novitec, ipe, and decatted sound first, then we can write it off.
Maybe this might convince ferrari and the others to go hybrid instead of downsizing. so you could go up to 10 liters and still pay the same tax as a 3.8 liter. Vehicle Taxes in China | China China To Cut Annual Taxes On Hybrids And ZEVs - HybridCars.com China Raises Taxes on Big Cars (Up to 40%), Lowers Them on Small Cars (Down to 1%) : TreeHugger
This press car has the carbon option featured by the tail lights> I wonder how they will resolve the design for the North American rear lic plate placement. Currently the present long narrow lic plate design of the euro market cars doesn't leave any room back there? Image Unavailable, Please Login
They made it look like crap so you have no choice but to buy the CF option. Easy $2K profit for them...
I might be in the minority, but I don't think the 458 sounds that great. To me a 355 or 360CS sound great. As such the 488 is only marginally different on the sound department and certainly fine by me. As for the design - it's ok but not spectacular. It sacrifices the purity of the 458s elegant design and replaces it with something that looks like a bit 'Tuner special' with various bits stuck on all around the car. I still like it as it's unmistakably a Ferrari but it's not one of their best efforts
It's a tacky gimmick - Ooo, look, it's just like F1... I wonder if you can prise it off with a screwdriver.
For a different perspective: I was at lunch with a good friend of mine, yesterday. He's a talented graphic artist, and we are both F1 fans. After discussing F1 for awhile, I brought up the 488 (he, btw, has never been a Ferrari owner, and doesn't obsess over cars like we all do, but he humors me and listens to my Ferrari ramblings). I told him that a lot of guys on Ferrarichat were unimpressed with the 488's design and sound (he appreciated this part of my story, as he hates the current F1 sound), and were ragging on it pretty bad. He then commented that he had looked at some side-by-side comparison shots of the 458 vs. 488 (much to my surprise) and said that he thinks the 488 looks fantastic! He really likes the design, favoring it over the 458, and explained his artistic reasons as to why. That certainly doesn't make him right, or the voice of keen-eyed, design expert observers, but it does reflect many opinions I've heard/read from people that are simply car fans, but not Ferrari fanatics. In other words, it seems that most of the disappointment is coming from inside the Ferrari world. I, btw, get this, as I have some minor issues with the 488, too, but know they're based on this ideal...this dream...I have built up of what a Ferrari should be, based on 25 yrs of owning/hanging around them. Though it may not be a car Ferrari fanatics and some would-be purchasers are warming to, quickly, it seems quite possible that the global view of the 488 is one praising another Ferrari success.
The more I see the 488, the less I like it. I rarely have this sort of response to new Ferrari designs. Even ones that I never come to love, I can accept after seeing it for a while. Every time I see the 488, I see it as a visual mess with overly large side intakes. The only element / revision I prefer vs. the 458 is the front intake, which I think on the regular 458 is overly plain both in pictures and in person, and is the element most likely to date the car...
Problem with 488`s lies in some aesthetic treatments that were absent on past models: - Over-dimension(ed) unpleasingly shaped side scoops for sake of air intake (this kind of treatment is most common between Ferrari competitors where aerodynamic & efficiency is most important) - Facelifted design rather than transformed design (488 looks like refreshed 458, while F430 was completely transformed 360). - German-ish wheels design (For the first time with Ferrari wheels, you can mount them on, for example, Audi A8 and they will look absolutely suitable) - Unpainted plastic elements that looks absolutely cheap (Ferrari is pushing buyers to pick CF option) - Exhaust tips reserved for hardcore V8 models are now placed on regular model So yeah, for regular people it will look awesome, but for people who are following Ferrari for longer time some design actions are pretty questionable for now. IMO lack of Pininfarina touches is very very visible on new Ferrari models. Now they are much more aggressive and ultra modern looking vehicles, without that romantic touch that was very visible on all Ferrari models that were designed by Pininfarina. On top of that we have leading man that is presenting people`s dream cars in old vest
My guess is these will look better in the flesh. It's a point, but I'm not sure it matters. The 458 is such a fantastic base to work from that it could be argued that there's enough life in it for it to be the basis of a follow up. Wheels look fantastic. First time I've been really been taken with the standard wheels. True. But the CF option will look great. So what? Though I do miss the 3 pipes which I thought was great.
Who here remembers that (disappointing) black 488 mule video? Jalopnik has finally picked up on it and the comments are kinda surprising. Most of them think that its some kind of v6 test mule for a future product (dino), some think its ferrari's way of testing its f1 engines, others think its v6 with kers, others think that its just purely an early test mule compared to the red production car's sound that we heard from the other videos. What The Hell Is This Weird Ferrari Test Mutant?
It's always the same thing: If a new V8-Ferrari comes out many owners of the precedessor-model start to pick on the styling of the new model. Why don't they are just happy to own the prettier model? Design is a matter of taste at the end! I think that many complaints are based on the fact that these owners are unhappy to own an older model of the series from now on... In my (personal) opinion the front and the back of the 488 are much better designed than the 458s and the side view is design-quality-wise about the same. Of course the sound is different and not so good like the sound of a NA-car, but for a turbo car the sound is more than adequate and very emotional - I heard it myself. We do not have to discuss the performance... So that's why I have ordered the 488 with delivery date in octobre! By the way: I am not owning a 458 but I owned a 360 CS which I sold in february. And you know what? The 488 has the same basic price like my CS 12 years ago!
