Test Drove the 488 Today. Cancelled my Order, Sticking to my 458

"Undoubtedly the 488 is a super car, as is the 458 but when you are cruising around at 35 mph you want some drama and based on that I have read the 458 provides more of that drama that the 488 does, maybe in the new year I will have the opportunity to experience this first hand."

As I can assure you from the first 600 miles in my 488 the sound of the 488 has a lot of deep "drama" in the lower rpm's particularly - I think the 488 provides here more nice sounds tha a 458. An other story is the higher rpm-band - here the turbo does act as a muffler and there is no shriek anymore... good when you going to noise-restricted racetracks

 

I think people are over-rating the sound of the 458. I never find it that big a deal. The really good sounding Ferrari V8s are the 360s. Great sounding 458s tend to have after market exhausts with Novitec being my fav. There are many better sounding NA motors around. The Huracan's V10 sounds way more exotic and F1 like.

 

I'm sure in a couple of years nobody will complain about the exhaust of modern V8-Ferraris anymore. People will get used to it and after all I'm sure they will be among the best sounding turbos around.
Just like the Porsche 993 the 458 will be known as the last of an era - pretty sure there will be no more NA V8 built by Ferrari. If the drivetrain will be electrified it will for sure go along with the new V6-TT coming up - analogue to Porsches Hybrids in Panamera and Cayenne.

 

I guess you are correct bigblock737, Ferrari will most likely combine their hybrid technology with the short V6 tt engine. Presumably the only surviving Ferrari NA engine will be the V12, installed in the F12 II (and maybe in the FF II).

 

Did somebody say recently that the FF was going Turbo? Don't quote me on that, I might have made it up.

 

+488

 

All things change and the day will come when those who follow won't know what "heel/toe" means. Best

 

I'm 24. Have met 3 people in my life that are my age that knew what it was and could executed it. times are already here

 

True, 458 is just a normal sounding Ferrari. But 488's sound is something like louder 911 turbo, not a Ferrari's standard.

 

I have read in a well known German magazine that the FF after the next facelift will be available significantly cheaper with a V8 tt engine. With the next generation (FF II, launch in 2019) the FF will change dramatically. Ferrari has decided to reinvent this car completely, it shall become a very extraordinary GT, perhaps only with V8 tt (maybe also with a V6 tt hybrid) and gullwing doors.

A funny statement made Marcionne in a press conference a few days ago regarding a change back to V8 NA engines in the Formula 1: "Back to the naturally aspirated V8, impossible. It would be as ridiculous as when we would say we abolish the modern mobile phones and going back to analog cable telephony".

 

I don't see how they go back to NA motors. I hear they will go turbo on all the motors- including the V12. The only question is the supercar motor... They simply want to increase production and they also need to increase efficiency and reduce emissions and its either turbo or hybrid and the hybrid is too costly and heavy.

Ferrari has always liked making a profit, but now that is in hyperdrive. Turbos are the way forward.

 

Porsche is the smartest here, they keep the NA for GTs. Now the waiting time there is looonnng.

 

Depends on your relationship with the dealer. Keep in mind that GT Porsches usually have a 1 year production cycle so the 'wait' is rarely longer than that.

What does your dealer say the wait time for a 488 is in your country?

 

The GT production is just 3 months. I ordered 2 different models in July, no connection at all, confirmed 1 for May delivery next year, the other one is still dark. Personally I won't wait for more than 1 year to just get a slot, will cancel it.

I don't ask my F dealer about the 488, because I dont like turbocharged car.

 

Which GT production is only 3 months? The RS and GT4 are both running production for about 12 months (spring 2015 - spring 2016).

 

All the RS cars and most 911 special editions are all basically sold out before they're even announced. Good luck getting a 2016 Porsche 911 R. It'll be a limited production GT3 with a manual transmission and no wing. Not announced yet but all sold three times over.

The GT4 - even though not limited production - sold out quickly since there was pent up demand for a car like that. I ordered my GT4 months before it was even official, well I should say I was added to some unofficial list at my dealer. But after officially orders were taken my delivery was only 4 months out, which I ended up pushing out because they were temporarily out of the bucket seats. GT4 production is 1 year.

GT3s typically can be ordered but it takes a little bit of luck to be there at the right time. I was offered 2-3 991 GT3 allocations with delivery dates just a few months out each time. But months after production ends prices already go up. GT3 production lasted for 2 years.

So with all that being said, one could think buying a 488 "should" be as easy as buying a new McLaren or Porsche Turbo S and then same issues for special or race editions. 2+ year wait times are a little excessive in the single biggest market for Ferrari. Because I would imagine those customers who get their hands on early allocations don't give a C%^& about short term value appreciation. So there are lots of good customers who they make wait for so long. Seems like a lost market opportunity to me. But then again it's still all very small production numbers and adding capacity is expensive and risky.

 

That's the slot you are talking about. So if the delivery is in May for example, they will build the car in Feb. But in order to get the Feb's slot, you need to order 6 months before.
It's never this difficult to get a Porsche, until Ferrari launched the turbocharged V8-mid. And I never really liked Porsche, until recently.

 

But the 911 Turbo (today's 991 version) is faster than a 458 (even the non-S version does 0-60 in 3.0 sec.; the S does it in 2.8) and much better as a daily driver, as it has more torque. Of course, most owners don't daily drive their 458s (though remarkably, they do pretty well at that, so long as you don't mind the attention or the depreciation that comes with many street-driven miles). And yes, people buy GT3s over 911 Turbos, and no question the GT3s hold their value better, but the turbo is as fast or faster than a GT3 when shod with like tires (GT3s come standard with Michelin Sport Cup 2s, but Turbos only get regular street P-Zeros). I know many people knock 911 Turbos (and many who do have never driven one or only driven versions prior to 991s), and they don't sound nearly as good as any Ferrari, but once you've been spoiled by their performance that you can enjoy every day, you'll want that 488 as your weekend or special drive car. It's really hard to go to a slower car, even if it is a Ferrari, unless you go more for the "experience" that you can have with the gated shifter of older models.

 

Sorry, but this discussion was held over and over again... You can't replace a Turbo Porsche by a Ferrari - and vice versa. Too different cars. And we all know there are faster cars out there, even for less money.

 

+1

 

I think that you underestimate the 458 (or overestimate the 911TT): Ferrari 458 Italia vs Porsche 911 Turbo PDK (991) [29794575]

The 488 is in a different league altogether!!!

 

I missed all of the positive M3 talk at the beginning of the thread.

Haven't driven (or even seen) a 488 GTB, but if I had a Speciale, I wouldn't give it up for the 488. The sound and appearance of the engine just kill the 488 for me.

BTW, I love my 2005 M3. One of the most rewarding cars I've ever driven.

 

Another +1. Ferrari has rarely if ever offered the fastest road car in the world. They play a different game.