Advice Needed: 458 v 488 v 650s v 720s | FerrariChat

Advice Needed: 458 v 488 v 650s v 720s

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by sgtpeper, Sep 22, 2025 at 10:23 PM.

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  1. sgtpeper

    sgtpeper Formula Junior

    May 4, 2004
    427
    Denver
    Full Name:
    Jeff
    Hi All,

    I have owned my 650s for several years now - and I love it. It has been reasonably reliable, fast, beautiful, and fun. It has been the perfect compliment to my 355GTS

    However, I'm getting that itch... The 355 isn't going anywhere. I have 40k miles on it now and plan to put another 40k on it.

    However, the 650 is at 19,500 - so likely a good time to consider next moves...

    I recently drove 458 and 488 spiders back to back and I was really impressed with both. The sound of 458 is pretty wild. The lack of turbo lag in the 488 shocked me and I kept hitting the rev limiter.

    I have also driven a 720s spider several times and it is quite the machine - though for some reason always feels bigger than the others to me.

    I would love to hear other opinions on all this. My use case is heavy canyon drives, and occasional date night car - when parking feels "safe".

    Thanks!
     
  2. greyboxer

    greyboxer F1 World Champ

    Dec 8, 2004
    12,712
    South East
    Full Name:
    Jimmie
    I'm guessing there's going to be some comparison opinions already in the 458/488 section - might be worth a look
     
    mdrums, Shark01 and dustman like this.
  3. dustman

    dustman F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 12, 2007
    11,627
    Agree. Lots to review there.
     
  4. LVP488

    LVP488 F1 Veteran

    Jan 21, 2017
    6,061
    France
    For those hating turbos and valuing a NA engine noise, the 458 is an obvious choice; for those who don't care about turbos but appreciate better performance, the 488 is the way to go.
    The main difference between the 458 and 488 is in the engine character - high revving but with less mid-range torque in the 458, flatter power curve (with lower rev limit) in the 488. And a significant power advantage for the 488, but depending on the use, it may not be a compelling advantage.
    A 720S is another step up in performance (and wipes out the flex issues of a spider thanks to its carbon tub), but it's not a Ferrari :p and some question its dependability.
    This is my summary, probably as good as any AI-generated one - as noted above, deep review of the many existing threads should provide more detailed insights.
     
    Echelon likes this.
  5. willcrook

    willcrook F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 3, 2009
    2,782
    UK
    really hard choice between the 720s and 458 imo as both are incredible

    i'd base the decision on styling, noise and lastly power
     
  6. Shark01

    Shark01 F1 Veteran

    Jun 25, 2005
    6,542
    I like a car with a good amount of torque so the 458 is out (for a number of reasons). You should really add a Lamborghini to your list, the later Huracans and Aventadors are quite good and more reliable than other choices.
     
  7. 3POINT8

    3POINT8 F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 23, 2014
    5,402
    +1 for the 458 - driving experience is hard to beat
     
    Shorn355 likes this.
  8. mdrums

    mdrums F1 Rookie

    Jun 11, 2006
    3,649
    Tampa FL
  9. Ruscky

    Ruscky Rookie

    Today
    1
    Full Name:
    Max Pops
    Having driven the 488 Pista and a 750S back to back. Id say the 488 for how special the car feels and looks and sounds. The 750S is on another planet for performance driving position and handling beats anything I have ever driven one caveat to that is its feels very clinical and almost boring. I would pick 488 all day, just feels very special still no slouch on performance.
     
    Echelon likes this.

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