Drove the 488 today.. thoughts, photos and videos

Most people will not explore the envelope of an F430, let alone a 458. As one of the reviews summed up, the 488 gives you more of what you can't use and less of what you can.

 

Precisely the point!

Oh and the Chinese market has a less conservative tax bracket
for engines over 3.9l

 

Obviously not a musician..

 

Looks like the same 488 that my dealer Artur sent me from the Frankfurt dealership I ordered my 488 Spider from lol.

Thanks for the post!

 

I remember all the discussions as the 458 was released, the main argument at that time (btw even today) for the 430 successor: more power, better performance, more displacement, sharper and blah blah blah...

I think we are in the category of high-performance sports car, or not? I daresay, in this category each buyers demands first better performance figures. The "we don't need more power" reasoning is a dead end. This argument seems ridiculous to me.

If anyone can take advantage of the power or not is completely secondarily, if I spend so much money in a new car then for the best!

 

When's the Delevery date for your spider?

 

We will come to a stage very soon,, where the tyres will struggle to convert all that power into grip - slip and slides do not result to an engaging drive.
I have a BMW 1M and Speciale coming soon, and must say that despite 1m being less power, it is full of character and balance.
I had a 599 which I sold 2 months ago, and that was just something else.

 

June/July 2016

 

So, bragging rights, then. Is 'best' really a ton of performance you can never use or is it the sensations you can feel on any drive, sound, handling response, feel, throttle response etc, etc? Are people really so invested in the idea of 'best' being pointless stats on a data sheet, that they'll rarely if ever experience, that the numbers become more important than what you can actually feel every time you drive the car that you spent all that money on?

 

Yes, the currency for "the best" are performance figures (power, torque, acceleration and deceleration values, g-forces, lap times etc.), these are the only measurable variables.

Should I tell you the most-mentioned argument for the change from a 458 Italia to the Speciale? You are right; better performance, faster, better acceleration, faster gearshifts, sharper etc. etc. etc.. These are all performance figures.

And yes, just very few people can really use all these better performance values from a Speciale. Who cares, there is a good feeling to own the faster car, to own "the best". And this is absolut ok.

 

Fun to own. Thats my #1 criteria for owning a sports car.

Different strokes for different folks. Nobody is right or wrong.

Secondarily i dont want to be stuck with a turkey. I am risk averse. There is a risk the 488 will be an aberation with the turbo. The next model may be a hybred like the LaF. Good sound and performance.

Of course if i love driving the car i would overlook that and buy one anyway. Fun rules not $ at this point in my life.

Best

 

The unfortunate, albeit understandable and logic, truth; as many other things in life which are just matters of principle.

Imho the 'fun to drive' variable is only lived by true aficionados that are passionate about the brand and is a more 'romantic' and less tangible element.

Then again, that being said, Ferraris are very expensive and only destined for the very few who can afford them, so a great deal of the buyers are true aficionados.

As a matter of fact this forum (the largest in the world dedicated to Fcars) is by no means unrepresentative and I would bet the powers that be at Ferrari give it due consideration. Most of you guys will probably smirk at this but why do you think they actually delayed production of the car due to not being satisfied
with the exhaust noise? lol

I think this thread raises many points that Ferrari and all other exotic marques are currently struggling with: how to make a supercar exhilarating with so many more considerations and restrictions on the playing field than there used to be.

I find I am currently ending my posts always with the same leitmotif: hold on to your NA Fcars

 

shhhh ;-)

 

In Chris Harris's review, The Ferrari test driver stated that the 488 suspension softens up at the limit to help the tires find more grip. This might be part of the softness you felt while driving?

 

Then you should probably be driving a McLaren. Certainly nobody should have bought a 458 over the McLaren.

I don't care which badge is on the front nor about romance. Only about how the car feels when you turn the wheel.

 

Agreed with the point about F Cars aficionados.
Cars have far too much technology in them and far easier to drive.
The rawness and soul is being strangled. Yes - each to their own... why do GTS porsches sell more than 911 Turbos? Why did the M3 / M4 turbos not do as well as the V8s?
F cars are not cheap - and its not just important how they sound and drive - but how the make the driver feel. In my opinion, emotions are very important in F cars.
I had a 599 and also had the chance to drive the F12 - they are miles apart. F12 far easier to drive at the limit than 599.
I feel mass market producers are also factoring the eastern markets an emissions - and this will mean a lot of changes happening in cars.

 

This thread has certainly developed a life of its own. I had originally thought the OP delivered an very thoughtful review of the new car from an exquisite personal perspective but as the comments accumulated on the 488 vs the 458, I was also reminded of an alternate perspective on what is compelling about Fcar ownership. I think TheMayor has valid points and it is good to understand impassioned arguments that reveal what has been compelling about Fcar ownership and compare that to how the factory is now changing its product design philosophy. It's a big deal for Ferrari and the Ferraristi.

Here's my opinion. None of us can make full use of Fcar performance on public roads. Few of us have the time, opportunity or money to seriously track our cars. Most if not all of us value the way our cars make it an event whenever we drive our cars. So does any of those things really call for ever-increasing performance numbers? NO.

So does Ferrari care about numbers? YES and NO.

YES, I think Ferrari cares that the performance numbers for every improved or newer version of its Fcars be meaningfully better than its predecessor but NO, not necessarily faster than perceived performance competitors... because it can justify itself with a superior but hard-to-quantify-and-hard-to-copy packaging that includes its iconic appeal. A big part of that appeal was the noise and engaging nature of driving an Fcar.

In the end I think Ferrari is simply bowing to the perceived pressures of having to appease other numbers, PROFIT and ENGINE CAPACITY. FCA is intent on making Ferrari a separate corporate entity so now there's more financial pressure to take advantage of markets like China where there's a big incentive to make these cars use smaller engines. The cheapest way to appease this small number requirement is to use turbos, not even superchargers. So I think Ferrari does care about numbers, but it's not performance numbers but the $$$ numbers. Ideally, they could offer an extra, NA version of the "488", simply by using a bigger NA engine but that may well eat into profits. Having multiple engine options is what we have been used to with many more mundane vehicles, so why can't Ferrari do it? Numbers. It's expensive to develop and maintain low volume separate engine models. It's the engine, not suspension differences, as those can be more easily dialed in at the factory production line.

In the end, I think they may need to do this, offer the NA experience along with the turbo while managing the performance differences between Fcar models. It may then have to lower the turbo model price while bumping up the NA model price. Ferrari doesn't really care about competing against other vendors with numbers. Look at LaF, Ferrari does not want to promote LaF based on competing with numbers and is LaF turbocharged? NO. That would be self-defeating. A company with products that have unique competitive advantage based on intangible qualities does not want to quantity its competitive advantages. Don't you see that??

Ferrari needs to preserve its competitive advantages and so it remains to be seen whether it has traded too many of them in return for pursuing easy-to-compete-against numbers.

 

I drove the car again today and had it more in twisty roads, through town in some traffic through some tunnels and on the autobahn again. It grew on me much more. The 458 has its sweet cruising sound around 3-3750 rpm in my opinion. The sweet spot for sound at cruise is around 4000rpm. That seems a bit high but when you drive it you will see what I mean.

The car is quick, it feels great no doubt. Put your foot in it out of a turn at 5500 rpm and it launches you much more than the 458 coming out of a turn at 7000 rpm. The traction in these conditions is also superior in the 488.

After my drive today I can also say that the engine has the note were looking for just not the volume behind it. Are the turbos completely limiting the sound volume or is the exhaust holding some back too? We will only see once aftermarket gets ahold of a couple cars.

I have always been a fan of the sound of turbos so that does give me a little bit of excitement however I hope we can see a bit more of a scream out of it. As I said Saturday, its no NA V8.

I can conclude that after three separate drives some thought and running the car in just about every condition I am looking forward to the car. The 458 is irreplaceable and the 488 does not cover all areas that the 458 excels. It will be a blast of a car to own however.



I was asked yesterday on here what options I would take now that I have been in the car. After my trip today I have it narrowed down

Rosso Corsa
RC Calipers
20" sport wheels with diamond finish
Sporteinsteigsleiste in carbon (Name is slipping my mind? Rocker panel as far as I recall?
Side air inlets in Carbon
Air outlets in Carbon (black area to the inside of the tail lights)
Fog light in Carbon
Motor room in Carbon
Exhaust pipes in Titanium


Yellow Tachometer
Goldrake Racing seats with carbon
Back wall behind seats in leather
Complete drivers zone in Carbon
LED steering wheel with Carbon
Dash in Carbon
Main tunnel in Carbon
Middle Tunnel in Carbon
Interior doors in Carbon
Door sills in Carbon

Cavalino in headrests
Red Stitching with the heavier stitch
Black leather
Red Stripe or piping in seats

Park sensors front and back
Rear Camera
Electric mirrors
AFS Headlights


That should be 99% certain the complete specification that I will take.

 

Yes I believe this is exactly the case. It is only right at the limit. Today I drove more and when your in normal curves not pushing too hard the car is firmer and the dampers are not letting go to find the grip. It takes a moment to get used to thats for sure.

 

Great post! I would be clear on one thing... I may have reamed Mayor a bit but I do agree with his thoughts 100%. I had just gotten tired of his negative delivery method as of late so I kinda let him have it. I think we are good now!

It will be fun to see how all of this plays out for Ferrari and for all of the 488 potential buyers. I still have my reservations but am looking forward to using it to the fullest.

 

Appreciate the additional insights. Great spec!
I look fwd to revving my slow 458 next to you

 

IMO, Ferrari should launch the 488 with 2 engine options : NA and Turbo. That will be a win-win solution. Looking at the comments here, I think those that only want NA and those that don't mind turbo are about equal. But nobody only wants turbo. LOL

 

That would be an admission that their chosen direction is not perfect. Not going to happen.

 

If it weren't for slow traffic, the way you enjoy your Fcars would qualify as an exception to my earlier comments about the FULL use of Fcar performance on public roads.