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Turbocharged Voluptuousness
Ferrari 488 GTB

It seems Ferrari has accomplished the impossible; they have produced a shape that makes us forget the 458 Italia and Speciale. Behold the stunning 488 GTB, Ferrari’s first turbocharged V8 since the incomparable F40, and the company’s 40th birthday homage to its first ever rear-engined V8 model, the 308 GTB. Slated to debut at Geneva in March, the 488 GTB’s potent 661 HP twin-turbo V8, significantly improved aero package and heroic handling has more than enough raw performance to thankfully draw your attention away from its scalloped side air intakes and make you plant your right foot hard on the accelerator.

The 488 GTB is bristling with driver-focused tech gleaned from its ‘XX’ track programme. It starts the moment air meets the LaFerrari-esque nose, as air is directed towards the flat underbody of the car, creating downforce and through the double-profile front spoiler, improving the efficiency of the radiators. At the rear, the air is vectored through a ‘blown’ rear spoiler and an aggressive rear diffuser to increase downforce without increasing drag. Vents beside the new rear lights supply abundant air to cool the radiators for the gearbox and differential while also pushing turbulent, drag-increasing air away from the back of the car. Ferrari says this results in the 488 GTB producing 50% more downforce than the 458 while generating less drag.

Channeling this increased grip is a second-gen version of Side Slip Angle Control, now working more efficiently with the suspension’s active dampers as well as the E-Diff and the F1-Trak traction control system, to provide “track-level performance that can be enjoyed to the full even by non-professional drivers”, promises Maranello.

Thus, with the 488’s Variable Torque Management system ensuring that the driver has a broad, steady power band available across the entire rev range, and its aero and handling dynamics in harmony, its new twin-turbo is free to push at will. The 488 GTB takes 3.0 seconds to 0-62mph benchmark and 8.3 seconds to 124 mph, matching the 458 Speciale. Top speed is 208mph. And please, stop staring at those air intakes.