Fast-track only: meet the new Ferrari 488 Pista
700bhp track-special scooped
FERRARI IS one of the most secretive of car companies of all, but that hasn’t stopped pictures of the new 488 Pista finding their way into the open.
The high-performance version of the 488 sports car, which James May described as being “like a mini LaFerrari” in his review for Driving.co.uk, is due to be revealed at the Geneva motor show, next month, but pictures have leaked online.
Its name comes from the Italian word for racetrack, and points to how the car is expected to be used. More power for the V8 engine, uprated brakes, retuned suspension, recalibrated electronic driver aids and a host of bodywork changes aimed at improving the car’s aerodynamics feature on the new Pista.
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Details from an internal presentation suggest the car generates 20% more downforce than a standard 488, helping pin it to the road at high speed.
It follows in the tyre tracks of cars such as the 360 Challenge Stradale, 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale. All were designed to be driven at high-speeds on a race track.
The 488 Pista’s 3.9-litre V8 engine is believed to generate around 700bhp. The bodywork’s revisions include using the front and rear diffusers from the 488 GTE racing car, there are lighter wheels and carbon-fibre has been used extensively throughout the car to help reduce weight.
Engineers are believed to have developed a new ‘race-shift’ setting for the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and the Slide Slip Control management, which helps the driver manage the car’s behaviour as the tyres lose traction, is likely to have been fine-tuned to make the Pista thrilling for expert drivers.
The company teased the 488 Pista in a video, above, earlier this month. Prices are likely to start at around £215,000 when the car goes on sale after making its debut at the Geneva motor show.
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