The Ferrari 488 Challenge is the new darling of playboy racers everywhere

06 December 2016 - 13:39 By Brenwin Naidu
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If you have a lot of money but not necessarily a lot of talent then you can go and buy yourself a drive in the single-marque Ferrari Challenge racing series that runs everywhere from North America to Asia Pacific. And what better time to do this than now as Ferrari has just pulled the covers off their latest piece of track-gobbling playboy bait – the 488 Challenge.

Replacing the old 458 Challenge EVO that has been the series' whip of choice since 2011, the new 488 Challenge comes with the promise of more. More power. More handling prowess. More jealously amongst your peers. This is, after all, the first turbocharged racing car offered to Challenge clients in the series' 23-year history.

As such it comes with the firm's blown 3.9-litre V8 engine that produces an extremely credible 492-kilowatts. Backed up by a reworked aerodynamics package plus all manner of chassis and gearbox tweaks, the 488 Challenge is apparently one second a lap faster than its predecessor around the famed Fiorano test circuit (1:15.5 vs 1:16.5). Sick.

So what are you waiting for? Stop staring at your gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual, pick up the phone and order one already. – Thomas Falkiner

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