Wasn't there the engineer from Georgia? who occasionally got into car and engine design details for road and track work? Still agree that more nitty gritty engine details would be great from someone in the know! The old 458/ Speciale motor has some amazing design efficiency...
What's the opinion of testers on the effect of power through the front wheels on steering feel? Admittedly, though, with the level of power being offered on these latest generation cars, 4wd may become a necessity.
I also have mixed feelings about AWD on our beloved Ferraris but do like the AWD on my Porsche 993TT. That system directs 5 to 40% of the torque to the front. To dial out the understeer, I increased the front tire size from 225 to 245. I tracked the car extensively at tracks like Road America and Mid Ohio, and felt that the AWD allowed me to get back to power sooner in corners. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
From a performance driving point of view people seem to prefer the V8 Lusso with RWD vs the Lusso V12 driving experience even with those extra cylinders on hand. Just depends how you are using the car. There are both plus and minus features with AWD.
Not really. In the dry AWD adds weight and frictional losses, as proven by Formula 1 experiments. Of course it adds a lot of traction in the wet and on slippery roads. Anyway, Ferrari have said that their AWD system is for adverse conditions and their sports cars shall remain RWD.
It's more than that with the FF/Lusso, because even the V12 AWD is rear wheel drive most of the time. The V8 turbo is just a lot lighter in front, so it reacts way better to steering dynamics. No mystery. That said, I would never buy a Lusso T. Only a V12 in a 2+2 will ever do for me. And I would love to go play in the snow with the AWD!
Years ago Ferrari said that they were evaluating AWD for the future top-tier models because rwd couldn't handle the new level of powers, even from a pure performance point of view, so not only for bad-weather conditions. But since then they have changed two CEOs ...
The weight difference and distribution between the two is virtually identical, according to official stats. The V12 is 55 kilos heavier (wet) and their distribution is 47-53 vs 46-64. It's more to do with the clarity, both in steering feel and predictability, that the RWD setup offers.
I recall vividly Luca saying that the 4RM system of the FF was meant for bad weather driving and that the sports model would remain RWD.
Yes the AWD program was run by Mauro Forghieri and also was a basis for the study of body panel materials. The red car had a stainless steel body and the yellow car had an aluminum body. The car had a 300HP V8 and weight with fluids was 1343kg. The red car was built first. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is what I'm thinking. At some point as the horsepower increases, the additional weight of the system will mean less than getting power to the tarmac. When it becomes a distinct advantage to have AWD, Ferrari will do it.
I have to say that as 488 replacement I mean a new car: I don't know if there will be a sort of 488/2 or what it is, before the replacement. Rumors say that the new 488 (the new car, non the upgrade, if there will be one) will be a sort of upgraded… (two cars already on the market, not Italians, one V6, the other V8...) ciao
RWD Ferraris have existed since the forties. IOW, I'm not getting your point. Of course, "965 CV" means nothing to me either.
CV means the amount of power. His total point is a bit unclear...yeah, we have heard of the laferri...and “yes” subsequent “regular” Ferrari’s have always gone on to exceed the power of the HyperCars (F40, F50, Enzo were all bested by subsequent regular production Ferrari’s).
