Having seen the car in the metal I am inclined to agree with you. However, the front of the car does look quite soft design wise, for me there is a definite 360/Dino type softness to it.
I test drove the New Cali T the other day. 3.9L TT. The engine has very little lag. I have driven the Mclaren 650S and the new BMW M3. I find it slots very close to the M3 concerning turbo lag which is very little. I think it is because the 3.9L V8 is not that much smaller than the 4.5L so the turbo isnt very big. The sound of the engine was pretty decent, comparable to a 458. It is a bit more monotone though, the higher you go on the rev .the sound doesnt really increase that much. I think maybe they reduced the sound on the 458 for European sound levels therefore the Cali has a bit more to play with. I find the rev at 7k very annoying, you are definitely shifting constantly specially with the new torque hitting those revs pretty fast. The shifting definitely feels faster however it feels lighter on the Cali T (feel more like pressing a button instead of shifting). I think it gives a pretty good idea of the 488. I am definitely more impressed with it than I went into the test drive.
I love the new car. But, don't believe every word spoken by an automotive journalist. If you know how turbocharging works, you will understand my point. Otherwise, you will not understand my point. Please take a few minutes to understand how turbocharging works, versus parroting what journalists say about the engine. You do understand that the journalists are "wined, and dined" by automobile manufacturers, and receive what amounts to a five star vacation when they "evaluate" cars? I like the looks of the car, the power, and all the small changes. The car will trap the 1/4 mile close to 140 MPH. It is two seconds faster than the 458 around Fiorano (huge margin). As for the only negative, it is the engine. My preference would have been a normally aspirated, screaming, 9000 rpm engine producing about 600 HP. Even the Ferrari Engineers feel the same way...
If that is true, then that's why I think for the 488 successor next gen, we'll see hybrid. Porsche are already planning something similar for the gt2 and 992; Nissans doing it with the gtr, and bmw with the i3/i8.
Very possible. Hybrid technology trickled down from the LaF will give us the best of both worlds. But if that happens, 488 will be remembered just as a stepping stone unfortunately.
Had no idea. Very cool. He is portrayed as a very humble guy on the Internet (he gives away a lot of his wealth and lives very humble), so I am a little surprised. But it's great, he deserves the cars.
No turbo Ferraris can sound as good as NA Ferraris [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ5hALZb6wA[/ame]
That does not suck! Or, as my wife, who was watching over my shoulder said: Wow! Thanks for posting...T
Yes, but the times are massaged and the Enzo was on 10 year old tires. I wouldn't be surprised if modern tires made the Enzo very close to the 488 in performance on a track. And like I said, the numbers are massaged. All their lap times end in something like .00 or .50 and are conveniently .50s quicker than the preceding model. Unless you test them yourself on similar tires, there's really no way of knowing.
Also note that every new turbo car has "almost no lag and amazing response" when it gets reviewed. Every new 911 Turbo model gets reviewed and mentions how there is practically no lag or less than ever before. In reality, in 2015, most turbo cars have more or less zero lag if you're in the proper gear. It's be a long time since I've driven a turbo car that felt laggy.
“We had to move to turbo because we need to reduce CO2 emissions and with the spin off Ferrari will be an independent company and cannot use the FCA fleet average,” said Marchionne. “On top of that credits [where a manufacturer can buy their way out of building zero emission vehicles] cannot be bought in Europe and China but only in US. Saying that it is clear that we are not the problem with 7000 cars per year, but we have to respect the legislation.”
The emissions argument is intriguing. Look at the reduction from the 458 -> 488. It's not massive, hardly substantial to be honest. Anyone with half a brain understands the decision has been made with input from the bean counters. The engine is a now a shared unit Ferrari/Maserati wise, which in its basic form features in a wide variety of cars and will continue to do so for future models. I get it, they are a business. But somehow I wish Ferrari could avoid this new cross-platforming trend seen everywhere else, and indulge their uniqueness.
Interesting review, I found the Cali T to be quite civilized and VERY GT compared to the Cali 30 I drove last year - especially on the downshifts. The engine has no pop or anything exciting when coming back down - obviously the turbos are still spooled. A lot of manufacturers can make a good turbo going UP in velocity, it is the orchestration of the ups and downs (rev blips and matches) that make an N/A engine so special. I found this characteristic to be lacking in all the turbo cars I have owned recently (M5, M6) they just don't rev match with force and execution on the downstream. I told my rep if this is how the 488 is going to be you guys are in trouble. Again I have no doubt the 488 will be more exciting and tuned to performance but the California T really surprised me with its lack of symphony and excitement. Again this is my personal opinion as I know many have bought and raved about the T, for me it just seemed to civilized. The test drive actually left a big void in my future plans of cars as I had hoped to add a Cali T to the stable but now back to the drawing board One thing I fear that Ferrari may have missed out on with the new 488 is that in my car (FF) you feel special even when you are going slow. This makes it a great city and highway/open road car. You get the V12 sound, the pops, everything - the experience is there from 5km/h all the way up! I would actually go on a limb and say I enjoy driving with the windows down in the city then on ripping on a highway with them up.
Want even more speed? Get a Tesla.. If not already, future models will probably easily smoke anything out there, including a 488. After seeing the latest reviews, and as the fog gradually lifts as to Ferrari's new direction, all I can say is hold on to your NA Ferraris!
Awd electric tests would beat most things for the first 200 feet and that's about it. Tired argument after that.
Current electric models will beat anything off the line and future ones will most likely keep on pulling and beat everything flat out, just a matter of time..
