Ferrari 488 GTB "Speciale"

There are several rumors that Ferrari will present the 488 GTB "Speciale" at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016.

If this is true I see the following product strategy behind: from now the 488 GTB "Speciale" is a fully-fledged model of the 488 product line and creates space for an even sharper and limited road-racing car, a "Speciale PLUS". We will see!

488 GTB "Speciale": the classic ingredients are: lighter, more power (+ 700hp), with a more aerodynamic, aggressive body and pretty sure with a different name.

Following a speculative rendering of the 488 GTB "Speciale" from Cavalino Design:
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Daniel, where did you hear (read) those rumors? presentation 2016??? i heard maybe 2017, more likely 2018. if 2016 is really correct then your conclusions make a lot of sense.
this is important for me because if so i will hold up my 488GTB order.
cheers peter

 

Early 2016 seems way to early. Logically I'd even say Geneva 2017...

 

Written in the current issue of the German magazine "Auto Zeitung Nr. 24", page eleven.

 

a scan maybe?
cheers peter

 

Here it is, cheers!
View attachment 488 Speciale Auto Zeitung.pdf

 

And here the Ferrari/Maserati roadmap 2016, cheers!
(P means Presentation, F means Facelift)
View attachment Ferrari Maserati roadmap 2016.pdf

 

thanks. very interesting news. i do not know though how reliable autozeitung is. also, there should be mules around by now if presentation was in march, no?
peter

 

Doesn't make sense to me. Nevertheless, i'd be pretty pumped about it but i think its too quick.

 

My thought is that manufacturers should give customers a direct choice between the road focused car and the lighter track focused one. Why not let consumers decide which they want from the beginning rather than wait till late in the cycle to introduce the track version?

 

I'd think it is far too soon for a special version of the 488

 

No way. It is too early to present it..

 

I wold actually be disappointed in Ferrari if they released it that early. It would show they are just following other companies in releasing all these special versions too fast. I think they do it right by waiting a few years into the model cycle.

 

I'm expecting a 2017 presentation 2018 cars land in Europe. Will be certainly interesting to see how it plays out. I'd prefer to skip the 488 and go straight to the Speciale but Ferrari has to get us to play the game of Buying the base model and upgrading in a few years.

 

Let's just hope it doesn't resemble anything like the 488GT3. I almost cried...wtf is with Ferrari in-house and ugly front ends? I didn't think anything could be worse than the speciale front end but I'm obviously wrong...
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That front end lol...
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Well, this would be way too early if this were the older days.

But these are the new, post IPO days.

And doing a special more performance oriented version is likely great for profits.

And then the limited edition Speciale+ or whatever you want to call it - yes.

I can tell you all as a fact the pressure on Ferrari now is enormous. They need to show volume and margin growth.

I would say we cannot simply look at the last 10-15 years as an absolute guide. The road they are traveling now is different.

I think they can get away with this kind of thing for a few years before it shows negative consequences. But eventually doing a special version and then a special plus version, I think it will hurt them.

 

+1

 

Flaps and gills, flaps and gills. Then add some old time PF elements. You can bank on it. Someone mentioned that they are looking for a new coach design house. I hope they choose wisely. With almost no magic left under the bonnet in the non-LE offerings, the new bodies need to be pleasant. Not sure if they can bring back the passion moving forward but I sure hope so. Its just a car company without the passion.

 

Wait a second- they just created their own internal Design Center. Why would they look outside? And why not just purchase PF? Maybe I'm forgetting something....

I think it was a giant mistake to let the association with PF slide away. Not every Ferrari has been designed by PF, but most were. It was something unique to Ferrari. Name another car manufacturer operating today who can have that claim? Porsche? No. Mercedes? No. BMW? No. Lexus? No. Jaguar? No. Lamborghini? No- not consistently. I think if I go down the list there will be no one. It was another thing that links cars from the 1950s all the way to todays cars. You can park them next to each other and see they both say Ferrari and they both say Pininfarina....

When it comes to all the aggressive styling elements, I tend to agree with you that the newer cars are a bit too much but I think that is just something personal to us and the people making the decisions have to figure out what will sell. I don't think PF was above making a few, shall we say, "interesting" design calls...

Anyway thats my 2 cents. Probably worth less than that!

 

Ha ha... Yeah, it looks like it has an overbite

 

This is a race car; FFF, form follows function (and the regulations)!

 

Also my thoughts.

If we are honest the racing-oriented lightweight models were intended to extend the life cycle of the respective product lines (product diversifications) - and it worked. Today with the Speciale we have a "special limited version" which is, at the very end, not limited and has also lost this radical and extreme element which made the Challenge Stradale and the Scuderia so unique. This is in principle not bad (the Speciale is breathtaking) but also not longer honest.

So why not from the beginning next to each other two full-fledged models? Of course, both also in the Spyder version available. And then, at the end of the life cycle, again the game with the absolute and ultimate hyper-model. But this really limited and really extreme.

Sergio Marchionne wants to sell more cars. This is the formula for it.

 

You are correct! Was at the factory last Monday and saw a 488 that was louder than normal, in a bunch of body stickers and panels, black exhaust tips that look exactly like 458 Spaeciale.... It was not a normal 488. It passed as we where boarding the bus for the tour so cameras were no go. I have been meaning to post about it but with no pictures it's kind of pointless...

 

Totally agreed. I think there is a genuine possibility SM sees Limited Edition models as easy money and so as you say there will be Speciale and Speciale plus versions in an effort to maximise profits and we need to recall that PROFIT is now the guiding force post IPO.

We have entered a new world and the more the impact becomes apparent, the more I understand why LDM fought so hard to protect Enzo's legacy. The TDF may well be the final link with the past.