By: Denis Droppa
Maranello, Italy - Ferrari initially bucked the trend towards turbocharged engines because it didn’t believe it could produce one with the distinctive throttle response and sound expected of a cavallino-badged road car.
Now, with its new 3.9-litre V8 turbo installed first in the California T, introduced last year, and then under the glass cover of the new 488 GTB, the Scuderia believes it’s cracked the code.
By using twin-scroll turbochargers with ball bearing-mounted shafts and other clever lag-reducing tech, the engine response is claimed to be the quickest in its class, and I felt no evidence of turbo lag when driving the 488 at the media launch in Ferrari’s home town of Maranello.
The revs shoot up as quickly as Sebastian Vettel’s victory finger, as 492kW and 760Nm are unleashed with a most entrancing lack of hesitation. These outputs represent an enormous leap over the 419kW and 540Nm produced by the normally-aspirated 4.5 V8 used in the Ferrari 458 Italia this car replaces, but without losing too much emotive appeal.
The 488 doesn’t reach the 458’s dizzying 9000rpm and nor does it roar quite as seductively, but its 8000rpm redline and still-emotive bellow – spiced up by a subtle turbo whistle – is well within acceptable Ferrari charisma parameters.
Along with its claimed ability to do 0-100km/h in three seconds flat, and a top speed in excess of 330km/h, the 488 GTB (which stands for Gran Turismo Berlinetta) still has the heart and soul of a Ferrari.
The 488 refers to the cubic capacity of each of the engine’s eight cylinders.
SIDE-SLIP CONTROL
In harnessing all these extra horses, Ferrari’s upgraded its electronic traction-enhancing systems to improve direction-changing ability.
A session on Ferrari’s Fiorano test track confirmed that the evolved side-slip-angle control system (SSC2) improves cornering speed without being intrusive. Working together with the stability control and electronic differential, SSC2 now also controls the active dampers to reduce body roll.
Ferrari has also used F1-derived active aerodynamics to achieve the discordant goal of improving downforce without increasing drag.
Those dramatic ducts and air scoops in the body aren’t just there to serve as a schooboy’s wet dream, but help to press the car into the tar 50 percent harder than its predecessor.
Every part of the body is aero optimised, even the doorhandles which improve the mass flow rate to the turbo intercoolers.
An aerodynamic underbody helps suck the car to the road, while active flaps in the rear diffuser open and close to increase downforce in corners while reducing drag on straights.
We were given just three laps around Fiorano to delve into the 488’s handling repertoire, but this car was purpose-built for hard laps and it didn’t require an extended courtship to learn its nuances.
PARTY MODE
With the steering-mounted “manettino” switch set to party mode (ie. the stability control switched off), I poked the beast and discovered a forgiving car that’s also lively and playful. It wasn’t the snarling, thrashing alley cat it could have been. More of an alley cat contained in a padded pillowcase, it’s a car that allows some controlled tail-out action.
The quick but linear power progression prevents sudden turbo spikes that might provoke sudden snap-oversteer. There’s a vast wave of torque through the rev range, and it’s managed by a seven-speed dual-clutch auto that’s a thing of quick-shifting beauty. The perfectly-weighted steering allows the 488 to be guided along the track like a rumba partner across a dance floor, while LaFerrari-derived brakes allow heroically-late stabs at the left pedal, without fade. Controlled violence, made into an art form.
It didn’t come as a surprise that the 488’s Fiorano laptime is faster even than the famed Ferrari Enzo.
A smooth racetrack is one thing, but it was in the bumpy mountain passes near Maranello that this mid-engined, aluminium-bodied coupé really swept through its rumba moves with impressive composure.
Firm-riding without being spine-jarring, there’s enough compliance in the suspension to let this Italian sportscar scorch through turns without being upset by mid-corner bumps.
A three-hour drive through Italian countryside and villages further underscored that beneath this spitting alley cat resides a car of a fairly friendly and hospitable disposition in everyday driving.
The Ferrari 488 GTB will be available in South Africa from January 2016. - Star Motoring
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