What is it?
Ferrari's 488 GTB, the 458 Italia’s replacement, is here in right-hand-drive format at last. The last time we encountered it, it was taking first-place honours as Britain’s Best Driver’s Car of 2015; a feat it managed despite having its steering wheel jauntily angled to the port side.
Now, after what seems like forever (Ferrari has managed to launch the Spider in the meantime), the DVLA-approved, UK-registered coupe has finally landed.
Read our Ferrari 488 Spider review here
The 488 is Ferrari’s mid-engine heartbeat: more expensive than the soft-top, soft-bellied California, and a little cheaper than the V12-powered FF or F12. Broadly speaking, it gets the same twin-turbocharged V8 engine as the Cali-T, albeit with uprated internals, a longer stroke, and more power. Quite a bit more in fact, developing 661bhp at a higher 8000rpm limit.
Its rear-drive chassis is based on the 458, although it too has been substantially overhauled. The steering rack and dampers are from the Speciale, and it gets a new generation of that model’s innovative Side Slip Control. The brakes, meanwhile, are from the LaFerrari.
The 488 GTB is the manufacturer’s first series production car to get active aerodynamics, and there’s a revised version of Ferrari’s spectacular seven-speed dual clutch gearbox as standard.
Prices start at £183,964 in the UK, where cruise control, rear parking sensors, the USB port, and the anti-theft satellite tracker are thrown in as standard.
Nevertheless, as with anything else in its class, that price won’t feature on the bottom of many order forms. Our press car, thanks in part to plenty of additional carbon fibre, a £7k paintjob and £5k “Goldrake” seats, has a pricetag of £248,860.
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Once again I didn't bother to
There's only one prettiest car
I understand it perfectly why somebody would prefer a Porche...
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