MENACING MUSIC
Ferrari 488 almost too powerful
It’s the sound. Loud, brazen, occasionally bullying and always insistent, the sound of a Ferrari 458 is music to a gearhead’s ears.
To those not raised to worship piston and valve, all this talk of internal combustion as song must seem a little too precious, descriptors like “ripping silk” or “exhaust music” just so much tripe.
And yet, it is that mere noise that has tifosi — Italian for “fans” but most liberally applied to the followers of Ferrari — all aflutter. If you want the full, hair- raising, spine- tingling Ferrari experience, it’s the 458’ s flat- plane- cranked 4.5- litre V- 8 you desire.
And it’s come under threat by those overbearing environmentalists and their governmental lackeys. Turbocharging, now the pragmatic automaker’s solution to the performance/ fuel economy conundrum, has taken root even in Maranello. The F40 supercar was turbocharged back in 1987, but the California T was the first modernday cruiser to gain a couple of turbines. Now the mid- engined 488 follows suit.
While turbocharging does indeed have the desired result — upping the ponies while reducing fuel consumption — slotting a couple of fans into your exhaust tract does have the desultory side- effect of muffling the sound of said internal combustion. At low speeds the almost metallic reverberation of the 458’ s exhaust has been replaced with a Bugatti Veyron- like hiss of twin turbos spooling up their bad intentions. At mid revs, the 488 comes on like a very angry Mercedes-AMG GT that grew a pair.
Even though the 3.9’ s incredible 561 pound- feet of torque is available at as low as 3,000 r. p. m. in seventh gear, Ferrari restricts low- speed power output in the lower gears, the discrimination Maranello’s way of encouraging you to rev the snot out of the midengined supercar.
The only problem with this internalcombustion- as- symphony is that the 488 is still too powerful. Yes, I said that out loud.
It’s like this: the 458’ s naturally aspirated engine needed to be revved hard to render its supercar power. True stupidity required 6,000 r. p. m. and more, hence you were always bathed in its irascible song. The 488, meanwhile, is almost 100 horsepower stronger and endowed with a positively steroidal 163 more lb- ft of torque, and needs not those revs. Even dedicated hooligans will find that 5,000 r. p. m. easily suffices — and that’s still some 3,000 r. p. m. shy of the full Pavarotti. Unless you have the police on speed dial, you’ll never know the best of 488 until you take it to the track.
Thanks to the incredible response of the titanium- aluminum bladed turbochargers and quick-shifting seven- speed dual- clutch transmission, the 488’ s 661 horsepower are sufficient to propel the 1,475- kilogram GTB from zero to 100 km/ h in just three seconds.
All that turbo trickery has other benefits as well. One of the common complaints of typical turbo sports cars is that the fat mid- range bulge of turbocharged torque generates indelicate throttle response at the most inopportune times — for example at mid corner when you’re on the very edge of traction. All that diminishing of torque is Ferrari’s way of recreating a naturally aspirated power curve from a turbocharged engine.
It works — kinda. Power production is indeed more linear, but there’s so much of it — again, the 3.9- L engine boasts 661 horsepower and 561 lb- ft of torque — there’s really no way to tame this beast.
Thankfully, Ferrari has further upgraded the Side Slip Control System. Flip the manettino into Race mode and all manner of silliness is possible.
The one thing that truly differentiates the 488 from its predecessor, however — besides the overwhelming power — is a complete rethink of the 488’ s steering. The 458 was renowned for its razorsharp steering and the tenacity of its front Pirellis. Whipping around Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, the 488 did feel more stable through the high- speed sweepers while still proving plenty handy through the hairpins.
Foibles are few. Ferrari promised that, with a GPS navigation system upgrade, the 458’ s cranky mapping was a thing of the past. What a load of crap! The new system just gets you lost faster.
And Ferrari promises the 488’ s magneto- rheological suspension has been recalibrated for comfort and support. Somehow the former got waylaid, as the 488’ s dampers, even in this mild GTB guise, are freakishly firm. Princesses who can feel peas will not be pleased.
But electronic glitches and suspension harshness will not put off Ferrari tifosi. The only thing that matters is the music and the 488’ s soundtrack is still fully operatic. Same as it’s always been. Same as it always will be.