Return to 458 or go for the new 488?

Took possession of my new 488 gtb yesterday. 488. Not even close. And, FWIW, love the engine note. Bassy, gutsy growls and burbles w/ a sweet turbo icing. And killer aesthetics. Life is grand.

 

I have read this several times and I took it to heart and bought a Speciale: “If you want a car that you will keep and retain it’s value, get a Speciale.”


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458. Engine growl !!!

 

Congratulations. Owning a 488 really allows you to truly taste what they care are made for.

 

Congratulations on the new purchase!!

You must be over the moon!

The 488 has a greater gap to a 458 than just "marginal" in my opinion.

If you were to say that you felt like the extra power wasn't necessary as the 458 is plenty fast enough, then I could understand that too.

 

Congrats Napoli. Pic? 488 not even close to what? Agree engine note is the goods and life is surely grand! Just got back from another run and I'm shaking my head again. What A car!!

 

Thanks! Pics forthcoming. Rain and busy schedule plus car to detailer for next 1.5 weeks....

Regarding my 488 comment, I was just answering the question posed by TS. 488 much better, (458) not even close. With all due respect to the 458.

 

I hear you. I'm not tracking it, so the extra gains are fairly wasted on me. I'm super happy just listening to the high revving engine with the back window or top down than anything else. My GF told me to turn off the music today so we could just listen to the engine while we took a road trip! Life is good....

 

If you’re leaving the 458 exhaust stock, I recommend the 488. With the right aftermarket hardware, the 458 sound becomes an exceptionally compelling plus point. The right hardware will also add a meaningful amount of horsepower to the 458, bringing it to a level nearly perfect for the street. For track driving, the performance of the 488 obviously wins out.

458 w/ exhaust:



488 w/ exhaust (maxed out sound):

 

Drove the 488 GTB at COTA - impressive car but flat out it definitely sounds different than the 458 and the amazing 812 Superfast. That said, the torque on the 488 is wonderful. You have to drive it very differently than the 458 and makes shifts just before the 7k mark. But the 458 has that impeccable whine flat out at 8.5k rpm. I recently picked up a 458 Spider for the road. While I thought the 488 GTB was stupendous on the track, that open air roof with the engine behind you is just something else for every day driving - especially when your avg speed is 35 mph versus 90 mph. The 458 Spider has a little more shimmy than the 488 Spider I tested but not by much. Certainly much less than the Portofino I got to test drive a couple weekend ago. Plus, I suspect the 458 Spider is at around 5 o'clock on the depreciation dial whereas the 488 still seems closer to 1pm.

 

You should really go test drive the 488. Everyone in these threads defends their own decisions (and some make blanket generalizations about why other people made their decisions), including me. To me the 488 didn't have the "soul" of the 458. It was missing the excitement factor I feel in the 458, which is why I've had three different 458s (Italia, Speciale, and Spider) over the last 5-6 years and never a 488. But only you can know how it makes you feel when you drive both cars, so I would go test drive both back to back and see which one you find more exciting to drive.

Launch control acceleration and track speed cornering are only going to be important to you if you actually track the car regularly or are "that guy" who launch controls against station wagons, SUVs, and Subarus at stop lights. How it feels to drive it on the road the way you usually drive is the most important if that's how you will use it. The 488 can indeed go faster, but I have a 911 991 TTS with stage 4 bolt on parts that can blow it out of the water, so it's not really a priority for me.

There are definitely much faster options out there than the 488 if speed is a priority. Buy the one that makes you feel like you want to drive it all the time. That's how I continue to feel about the 458, even when in the 9 second TTS.

 

My take on this is pretty simple for unmodified cars:
488 is faster on the track(a few seconds)
488 is faster on a drag race(if you really need to do this)
488 will have far higher production numbers than the 458
488 supply has caught up with demand

Price:
the difference has shrunk in the past month as there are lots of 488's on the market. 458's are selling better according to 5 separate Ferrari dealers in NA. This is based on price and the bullet point above that supply has caught up with demand. I am sure that many of the other reasons come into play around performance, sound, etc.. The new CEO of Ferrari has increase production of the 488-it is a public company and needs to perform for the street/investors. This should not surprise anyone.

From the dealers:
Prefer to have the 458's as they are easier to sell. They have also mentioned several 488 owners have traded back to the 458(we can only speculate on why) which is something they have not seen before.

The 458 and 488 are very different--engine, looks, and technology etc. Performance is slightly better in the 488 than the 458 yet none of it makes a difference unless you are on the track(assuming you practice). The point here is driver capability--give me 488 and a guy/gal who drives in the Challenge series(name your series) a 458 the guy/gal with 458 will win. These cars are past the limits of rational street driving so it gets down to your personal pleasure. Simple as this:

Looks
Sound
Wallet
Tech

my 2 cents

 

My local dealer has three pre-owned 458s in stock, while their 488 inventory is six pre-owned. I'm not sure if that is meaningful data or not.

When I was looking to trade in my 458 Italia (Spring of 2016) because it was getting close to 10k miles, I test drove a pre-owned 488 and a pre-owned Huracan back to back. After that experience, I ended up hunting down a Speciale.

Funny enough, I'm even happier in the 458 Spider than I was in the Italia or Speciale. Cognitive dissonance perhaps, but: (1) I always felt uncomfortable driving the Speciale because of the singular value of the car; (2) I can't tell the difference performance-wise between them the way that I drive them on the roads; (3) I love having the top down on sports cars, and on colder days, putting the little back window down to hear the engine sound. I guess a Speciale Aperta would be the best of most worlds, except for the price.

I definitely have less road anxiety with two moderately priced sports cars than one higher priced one. Still, I have my list of pet peeves on the road, even with the lower value cars, like people who get right on my tail at stop lights, in traffic, or on highways (Especially when you can't go faster because another car is in front of you or beside you!), or people who get behind or beside you to try and take pictures of the car while driving. Most people's insurance plans can't cover hitting these cars, and I already pay a high enough premium for insurance.

 

The dealers typically have more of the most recent cars, because they prefer to sell cars in better condition (which are obviously easier to find for more recent cars).
The dealers rarely have F430 (they have even more often Scuds, because many of the ones existing have low mileages).
It does not mean that more F430 owners want to keep them compared to 458 owners, nor that Scuderia owners do not like their cars as much as the regular F430 owners.

 

They have three F430s and three F430 Scuds. Two 458 Aperta Speciales and no coupe Speciales.

 

The dealerships will buy whatever is a good deal and that they can make money on!

 

Simple answer, if you have the cash get a 488 if not get the 458.

 

Simply put, yes. This is the answer.

 

Honestly a used good example 458 spider and a used 488 coupe are in the same price range.

 

Not really surprising, one should compare coupe to coupe or spider to spider.
The last 458 spiders were delivered at about the same time as the first 488 GTB, and these 458 spiders had a higher MSRP at that time (the 488 GTB was only slightly more expensive than the outgoing Italia, so it was cheaper than the 458 spider).

 

Simple. I have the cash and will keep my 458 Spider.

 

Rob , we all know you want a 488 spider so get the moths out of your wallet bro.

 

N

Not true it all depends on options on either car!

 

Sorry to tell you guys but it's not about the "if you have the cash then buy it" when the cars are so close in price. Let's be real if you can afford 250 then you can afford 280 etc. etc. it has to do with most what car you like better. Same debate had been going on for a long time with the Scud and the 458 coupe it's a matter of preference.

 

It goes without saying - when one can elect to spend more than $100K in options, all comparisons should be between similar configurations; a heavily optioned car will always have a higher MSRP than a standard one unless the price gap between base cars be huge.