My first ever Ferrari has arrived, 2019 488 GTB [updated] now 458 Speciale.

Thanks gents, grazie mille Angelo - love the saying

That is not a half bad looking lineup, wow. How do the Speciale and 812 compare?

 

She's finally home

Surprisingly, already got esc intervening (or TC?) with rear getting loose just merging onto the freeway. Notably with light throttle in sport mode+ auto mode...that puckered me up. Did not expect the car to feel this different from the 488 GTB based on initial impressions. Can't wait to log some miles soon




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Thanks Joe, appreciate it. Bittersweet with the 488 gone as it was the first & goal achieved. This car basically pistol whipped me and took my money I think what happened..

 

Cant argue with you, felt very fortunate to see this car in the garage today. Spent 15 min just admiring the little details thinking to myself I probably couldn't have done this good of a job speccing the car myself (tied up with family over the holidays so that was it for today lol)

No problem with the wheel well, went to a shop highly recommended by my dealer and came away thoroughly impressed

 

Finally back to regularly scheduled programming! Managed to get up while everyone else was asleep and head out for a decent 80 mi drive

The Speciale feels more alive, impatient, and dangerously playful. Because the car is so new and based on how precise the throttle and steering inputs are, I'm being a bit more careful pushing the car. The Speciale feels lighter on its toes, again more playful that it wants you to go. It wants the rear loose and moving if you hit throttle with the wheel turned more than any other car I've owned. It's a more involving drive, find myself concentrating more. Gearbox changes are very abrupt and the car bucks at low speeds sometimes, especially in race mode. The rev matching on downshifts by the DCT adds even more drama and feedback

NVH is way more present here, it's a more raw experience with debris hitting the floor/wheel wells and engine/exhaust noise from behind the firewall. Louder experience in the cabin which is awesome. The flat plane V8 makes incredible sounds inside, but as expected the Speciale doesn't have that pitch or whine that the Italia has. When you're on it, you'll hear deep & loud exhaust noise drowning out some of the engine noise and notes, especially with windows open. I can see why people mod the exhaust on the Speciale, but I'm a big OEM guy and I'm loving the sound all the same. You hear this car coming!

Amazingly linear power delivery as expected, there's just that faster/sharper/more instant response inevitably with the loss of the turbos. It's a special engine. Who doesn't like revving to a 9k redline. But I will say sound wise once you are at 7k it's already very loud, and doesn't build that same frenzied ballistic chainsaw-through-metal crescendo my GT3 had for the final 2000 revs

Looks wise the Speciale is brilliant, Ferrari does the special series thing right and it just exudes something purposeful, aggressive and stunning. The stripes, lines, vents, angles, cutouts, and all other little details are so cool to look at

Now to the 488. Being in the Speciale you notice the loss of torque the 488 has, the 488 engine gives you that warp speed feeling more where you are holding on for dear life. It's not as sharp for the steering or throttle inputs, but give it that inevitably fraction of a second to catch up and then the 488 feels faster. The 488 also feels like it revs faster and you need to pay attention to catch the revs on the tach as they explode, vs. the Speciale you dictate where you want the revs. I also really liked that deep bellowing sound the 488 made once the valves opened in race mode+, the wastegate noises. 488 feels more planted, less playful that it wants to keep traction. The Speciale feels more communicative and easy to predict when the rear will get loose once you start picking up the car's habits. 488 keeps it more hidden when the rear will start to slip, coupled with the immense torque shove made it scarier (Speciale will dance very easily)

Summary: as expected 488 is more comfortable, more versatile, more refined. An awesome GT car that I loved driving down the CA coast, you tell it what to do and it will do it in a relaxed confident way. The Speciale feels more like a partner, you guys work together on more involving experience. It's more precise, raw, racecar which is what I think I missed..


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No worries, if I ever get some will be sure to share

Thanks buddy!

Haha thanks man. Road was the Pacific Coast Highway. When you get up early enough, you can have sections to yourself and it really is a slice of CA heaven. Otherwise it's a parking lot!