Ferrari 488 Pista
Perhaps my favourite car, the 458 Speciale, has been replaced. Long live the Ferrari 488 Pista, (Pista appropriately meaning track in Italian). The Pista uses the most powerful V8 in Ferrari’s history and is described by Ferrari as an “extreme evolution” of their current 488 GTB. Base price is £252,000 but expect most cars to come in at over £300K
711bhp at 8000rpm and 568lb ft of torque are extracted from the twin-turbo engine. Performance figures are 0-200kph in 7.6 seconds together with a top speed of 211, co-incidentally also the top speed of it’s nearest rival the Porsche 911 GT2RS. However the Pista has more power overall, around 20bhp, and is substantially the lighter car. The Porsche takes 8.3secs to reach 200kph.
The 488 Pista is said by Ferrari to be a significant advance in dynamic terms and the level of technology borrowed from the racing side of the business is higher than seen previously. The now 3.9litre V8 engine, vehicle dynamics and aerodynamics are closely related to the 488 GTE and 488 Challenge race cars. Track performance should therefore be exceptional. Weight has also been reduced from the 488GTB by 90kg’s down to 1280kg.
The weight saving comes from features used primarily in racing. So Inconel exhaust manifolds and lightweight crankshaft and flywheel, plus titanium con rods and carbonfibre intake plenums and overall there is a 20% improvement in overall down-force. The Pista has redesigned front and rear diffusers taken from a 488 GTE race car. In addition the car uses a Dynamic Enhancer, Ferrari developed software to adjust brake pressure in corners which they say can make the car faster.
Ferrari has additionally fitted version two of its Side-Slip Angle Control software, totally brilliant on our Speciale, and which offers stability control to allow controlled drifting. The car uses the latest version of Ferrari’s magnetorheological suspension set-up.
The Pista has a strong heritage following on from the 458 Speciale, the 430 Scuderia and 360 Stradale, cars that have already established a strong following. But the signs are good and we reckon this car will top the lot, certainly in terms of speed, perhaps the only downside being the loss of the naturally aspirated engine. It really does look as if the twin turbo is here to stay!