7 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 35
ROAD TEST
he track-ready ‘special
series’ V8 supercar,
delivered as the sun sets
on another mid-engined
Modenese model generation, has
become a go-to piece of product
strategy for Ferrari. Starting with the
360 Challenge Stradale in 2003 and
taking in the subject of this week’s
road test – the 488 Pista – we’ve
now seen a line of four consecutive
examples of the breed.
How e v e r, none of t he 4 88
Pista’s predecessors – the 360 CS,
430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale,
and before those the 348 GT
Competizione of 1993 – represented
such a titanic leap in performance
a s t h i s. T h a n k s t o t h i s c a r, t heextra-hardcore ‘junior’ Ferrari has
skipped out a whole stratum of
the supercar hierarchy: whereas a
Speciale made a peak 597bhp, the
Pista cranks the power all the way
up t o 7 10bhp, ne at l y v au lt i n g ov e r
the 600-and-something-horsepower
supercar class without so much as a
downward glance.
A twin-turbocharged V8 engine
with 50% new components is what
has allowed the Pista to advance so
quickly; and while you might think
such horsepower-grabbing pace
unsustainable, it is after all only
enough to allow this car to match a
McLaren 720S for peak power and
torque. Elsewhere, there’s a familiar
mix of new downforce-generating
carbonfibre bodywork, a stripped-
out lightweight cabin treatment and
a track-intended suspension overhaul
to report on – and we’ll cover them all
over the next few pages.
There are also some eyebrow-
raising acceleration figures andcircuit lap times to tell you about
- the Pista having become the first
production car to bring a set of
super-sticky Michelin Pilot Sport
Cup 2 R tyres to the MIR A dry
h a nd l i n g c i r c u it , a s w e l l a s
e v e r y t h i n g e l s e. R e a d on t o f i nd out
what difference they made.
DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
AAAAA
If you ticked every lightweight option
on the order form for a 360 CS, you
could make it 110kg lighter than a
360 Modena. By the time of the 458
Speciale, the weight loss from the
s t a nd a rd c a r w a s dow n t o 9 0k g.
The 488 Pista offers a nothing
if not predictable 90kg saving,
br i n g i n g it dow n t o a c l a i me d 1 385 k g
with lightweight options; or 1465kga s w e i g he d i n t he c a s e of ou r t e s t c a r,
which, allowing for the full tank of
petrol it was carrying and the mass
of the 488 GTB we tested in 2016
(1555kg on the scales in like-for-like
running order), makes Ferrari’s
claim entirely credible.
The section of the 488’s bodywork
ahead of the front axle has been
entirely redesigned for the Pista. It’s
now made up of a carbonfibre bonnet
and front bumper, and inside it, the
lateral radiators so important for
engine cooling have been inclined
rearwards rather than forwards, to
z Whereas a 488 GTB’s engine breathes
through the air intakes on its hips, the
Pista’s inhales through a shortened
plenum fed via these ports on either
side of the rear spoiler. Hip intakes
supply the intercoolers only.
z Radiators inside these lateral air
intakes have been leaned over on their
backs relative to the 488 GTB’s design –
a tweak that not only makes them work
more efficiently but also dumps the hot
air out to better use underneath the car.z Ferrari brought the S-duct, which
routes airflow through the nose section
to boost downforce, to Formula 1 and the488 Pista is Maranello’s first road car to
use one. Cleaning up airflow around the
nose, it also allows the rest of the aero
on the car’s front end to work better.
z Re a r d i f fu s e r i s s l i g htl y l a r g e r th a n a
488 GTB’s, but most of the extra rear
downforce comes from the enlarged
rear wing. It’s a contributing part of
a n a e r o m a ke ove r th a t a d d s p u r p o s e
without too much visual aggression.
T
The 360 CS kicked off the track specials
the improvement of both cooling
efficiency and the car’s aerodynamic
performance. At the rear, a
carbonfibre bumper and spoiler do
their bit for weight saving, with a
Plexiglass engine cover
also saving a few grams. There’s
a lithium ion battery, too, and a
set of optional carbonfibre wheels
(fitted on the car we performance
tested, although not on the one we
photographed) that are 40% lighterthan the car’s standard alloys.
Then there’s the Pista’s engine;
a nd w h at a n e n g i ne it i s. I n l a r ge pa r t
a ‘civilian garb’ motor from one of
the firm’s 488 Challenge racers, it’s
a widely overhauled 3.9-litre 90deg
V8 with a lightweight f lat-plane
crankshaft, an Inconel exhaust
manifold, a lightened f lywheel,
titanium conrods, lightweight
cylinder liners and new valves
and valve springs. It duly weighs
18kg less than the V8 in a 488 GTB
and, running a slightly higher
compression ratio and shorter
induction tracts than its relation,
makes 710bhp between 6750rpm and
80 0 0 r pm , a nd up t o 568lb f t of p e a k
torque at 3000rpm. However, torque
is electronically governed depending
on y ou r s e le c t e d ge a r i n orde r t o g i v e
the engine’s performance a more
progressive feel, which means peak
torque actually only ever figures in
seventh gear – just as was the case
with the 488 GTB.Where suspension is concerned, ◊
ENGINES POWER FROM
488 GTB 661bhp £197,553
488 Spider 661bhp £219,409
488 Pista 710bhp £252,765
488 Pista Spider 710bhp £287,850
TRANSMISSIONS
7-spd dual-clutch automatic
With the 488 replacement, the
F8 Tributo, announced earlier this
year and soon to be launched to the
press, the regular 488 GTB coupé
is no longer on sale. Meanwhile, allexamples of the 488 Pista coupé
have been sold. However, if open
and closed versions of the regular
488 and both Pista derivatives had
been made available in parallel, they
would have lined up as above.
On a Pista, you get various pieces
of carbonfibre bodywork, carbon-
ceramic brakes, Cup tyres and a
lightweight lithium ion battery as
standard, as well as that engine.
Range at a glance
We don’t like
We like
z Adjustable, flattering, super-
accessible track handling
z Huge performance and abundant
character of its V8 turbo engine
z The car’s motor can dominate the
driving experience a bit
z Occasionally, it feels highly strung
on the road and overpowered for it