Certainly not a bad looking car, but it has dated somewhat. The amendments to the 308 design definitely have a whiff of the '80s about them.
JAmes May says is absolutely fantastic. JM is a 458 owner. And a future 458 Speciale owner. James May drives the 2015 Ferrari 488 GTB (exclusive video)
Took the wife out for lunch today. Put the car thru its paces with little traffic. Wife was not scared once!
A thought to ponder on... James and other reviewers are saying the car is so fast you have to trust it to go fast. From experience this is what usually feels like when a car has a noticeable aero load. Therefore I ask: are cars less engaging and too fast or we have entered a new era of aero load super cars that most of us are not used to how they feel?
I'd say we are in a new era of downforce on these cars that you may just have to trust that they stick and can pull the G's
Here's a thought... Anyone remember the bag of spanners that was the F1 gearbox fitted to the 355? It worked, but it did feel like you were beta testing paddle shifting for Ferrari. And look where Ferrari paddle shift is now. Given that the 488 is Ferrari's first modern implementation of turbo in it's regular V8, and its short comings are so slight as to be a non issue for all but those with ideological objections, just try to imagine where they might take turbocharging over the next few models in terms of both throttle response and sound. Instead of bemoaning the end of the NA engine, perhaps we should be celebrating the birth of turbocharging done right.
I fail to see how it will make the car less engaging. I think a they key words here are "not used to". We have to adapt to the new technology in order to use it. If we expect sports car manufactures to push the envelope, we need to push with them, not against them. We say "Give us better driving cars", "Give us faster cars" and so forth. As I've said numerous times. Tyres are better than ever, aero grip is now part of the equation and it needs to be, and computer controlled suspension is helping a lot too. If you subtract all of this, you're moving backwards and the the technology cease to develop. Like in Formula one, different driving technique is needed, than what was required many years ago, where down force was non-existent.
...and I bet he is a faster driver than most people who will buy a 488. Not judging; just saying. His review is probably more valuable to 95% of buyers than watching Harris or EVO slide it or go max attack.
Absolutely! I bet most owners wouldn't get anywhere near maxing out a 430, let alone a 488. This is one of those odd things when people's desires bear no relationship to what would be good for them.
I've seen pictures of some who have gone beyond maxing them out. Usually the result is not pleasing and consists of lots of car parts and injury. I learned alot spending full days on the track. Some of those things were that even a 430 won't come close to what it is capable of on public roads. Next was that you will think you are now an incredible driver on (and off) the track after many days of training with a professional. Then I learned as good as you think you have mastered things the pro can take you for a ride along and you then realize there is lots more to learn and 100's of hours to spend still to get even close to their level. The one thing most anyone (at any skill level) can do on public roads with these cars though will be in a straight line zero to whatever. I think here is where the 458 beat up the 430 and the 488 will beat up the 458. Then again, we are talking a few tenths of a second of a speed that is already "insane" as Musk likes to call it. Of course, I did see one person actually at a skill level that could not handle the straight line in a Z06 so this might be the exception to my comment just above. Enjoy [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkb9IbN1gzk[/ame]
Interesting video. Starts off well by giving us context for the new car but then spends too much time comparing it to the Speciale. This is not a replacement for the Speciale, it's a replacement for the regular car and he ended up telling us nothing in that respect. When the hotrod version of the 488 comes out, that's the time to focus on a comparison with the Speciale.
This type of thinking is antiquated. Track day models of modern exotics are not really that compromised relative to the normal ones. Most can be ordered with all the normal options added back, including carpets. The difference between a Speciale and 458 is not the same as the difference between a 911 C2S and a GT3 RS. The gap is much smaller. So that said, if you have $300K for a car then you should simply compare it to whatever else is of that same type and price. If you walk into a Ferrari dealer with a $300K check and they say they have a Speciale and a 488, exact same colors and specs, you try them both and pick which you like best. I'd be willing to bet a huge number of Speciale sales went to people who replaced their 458 with it and had no issue doing so. If you want to compare the 488 to the 458, you compare it to the best 458 you can buy.
Couldn't agree more. Of all the reviews, I find this to be the most biased. At no point, did he compare it to the Italia, and after the intro I really got the feeling that he had already made up his mind about the 488. He seemed extremely biased towards the Speciale before he even started the review, a feeling of "I really don't want to like this car". As with Harris review, and all other reviews, it is biased and subjective. They can't be anything but. For those who absolutely hate the idea of the 488, this might work. For those of us who think it can work, and to whom sound is not everything, Harris review is more fitting. But alas, it would have been nice if he had compared to the Italia. But hey, it was a nice review of the Speciale.
No. The 488 takes what Ferrari learnt from the 458 and also the advances they made with the Speciale and then moulds that into it's regular version of the 488, which is most certainly not the 'balls out for the man on the street this side of a proper race car' version of the 488. That's a fundamental difference.
