The Ferrari 488 takes its name from the volume of each cylinder
Each of the eight cylinders in the Ferrari 488's engine displaces roughly 488 cc, hence the name. It was the first mid-engine Ferrari since the F40 to use a turbocharged V8, and its smaller 3.9-litre unit still out-muscled the naturally aspirated 458 it replaced, with 670 PS.
The engine uses twin-scroll turbochargers whose turbine wheels are made of a titanium-aluminium alloy often found in jet engines, chosen to cut inertia and cope with heat. Power flows through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox built by Getrag. Brakes borrowed technology from the LaFerrari hypercar and reportedly stop the car 9 percent shorter than the 458. Ferrari claims the GTB reaches 100 km/h in 3.0 seconds and 200 km/h in 8.3, with a top speed of 330 km/h.
Much of the engineering is invisible airflow. The body produces 50 percent more downforce than the 458 while cutting drag. A double front splitter feeds the radiators and channels air to vortex generators under the floor, and a slotted flap built into the rear bodywork adds grip without a raised wing. Scalloped side intakes, a nod to the older 308 GTB, feed the turbos and intercoolers, and even the door handles, nicknamed shark fins, tidy the flow. Flavio Manzoni's design won a Red Dot Best of the Best award in 2016, and Top Gear named the GTB its supercar of the year for 2015.
The family grew quickly. A folding-hardtop Spider debuted at the Frankfurt show in September 2015, only 50 kg heavier than the coupé. The track-focused Pista, unveiled at Geneva on 6 March 2018, took parts from the 488 Challenge racer to reach 720 PS, shed 91 kg with carbon fibre and could change gear in 30 milliseconds. Its convertible version, at 1,380 kg, became the first production Ferrari road convertible lighter than its coupé counterpart. Jeremy Clarkson picked the Pista as his 2019 supercar of the year.
Racing success fed back into the road cars. After AF Corse's 488 GTE, driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, won the 2017 GTE Pro titles in the World Endurance Championship, Ferrari offered a Pista Piloti edition only to its own drivers. The J50 targa marked 50 years of Ferrari in Japan, and the one-off SP38 Deborah took 18 months to build.
Source: Ferrari 488
