Ferrari utilised turbocharging twice before – once in the iconic F40 and another time in the lesser-known 208 GTB. The former was designed to make huge lumps of power (478bhp to be exact), while the latter was created to dodge car taxes in Italy with its 2-litre V8. In the 488 GTB, there’s no single magic bullet. Rather, it is the perfect blend of oily bits and eye candy that delivers the goods. Preconceived notions of turbo cars will cloud opinions. Clearly, Ferrari has achieved the impossible.
The 488 GTB’s 3902cc V8 is over 500cc less than that of the aforementioned 4.5-litre V8, but the former gains two ultra-lightweight turbochargers, which feature compressor wheels made from a titanium-aluminium alloy and ball-bearing-mounted shafts. The turbochargers’ impellers fit more snugly in their housings, thanks to “abrade-able” polymer seals that can be scraped away as the turbos bed in, thereby increasing their efficiency.
Floor the throttle and the 488 GTB will accelerate from rest to 100km/h in three seconds. Keep your foot on the loud pedal and 200km/h will arrive 5.3 seconds later. If you select Race mode, the surge of acceleration will pin you to the seat even if you’re in fourth gear. Complementing the powerplant is the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which has shorter sequential shift times compared to the dual-clutch transmission in the 458 Italia. In this car, all the driver has to do is hold the “-” paddle and the gearbox will continuously downshift until the ideal gear ratio is chosen. There’s no need to pull back on the paddle multiple times to achieve this.
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(Source: Luxury Insider)
