You just know Ferrari is getting fed up with Porsche taking all the junior super car glory when its own fan page promises this year’s new 488 special will be faster than a LaFerrari.
The track-focused coupe is promising everything from an engine that’s 10% lighter to carbon-fibre wheels to a bodyshell that’s 20% more efficient through the air.
There are even strong hints that Ferrari will revive the GTO badge for the super car, even though a recent presentation indicated it was a "New V8 Sports Special Series."
The GTO badge has never been used on a Ferrari production car, with the exception of the ultra-low volume 599 GTO. It has traditionally been a racing car name, with the only other Ferrari GTO racers being the highly sought-after 250 GTO and the 288 GTO.
It’s effectively a like-for-like replacement for the 458 Speciale, one of the great sports cars, though with more power, torque and speed at every point in its envelope.
Leaked information shows Ferrari claiming the GTO will have the most powerful V8 engine it has put into production, with the 3.9-litre, twin-turbo motor taken almost entirely from the 488 Challenge race car.
It’s likely to punch out 522kW of power and a lot more torque than standard.
It will retain the road car’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, complete with a revised slide control management setup and a tighter differential setting.
The leaked documents show there will be big jump in the amount of carbon fibre used on the car, with the lightweight material now found on the bonnet, the rear spoiler, the bumpers, the dashboard and big swathes of the interior. The carbon-fibre wheels, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber, are said to save 40% in weight over the forged alloys on the standard car.
The material move isn’t just for weight, though, with the low volume nature of the GTO allowing Ferrari to sculpt the body even better for airflow, with the slides suggesting a 20% improvement in aero efficiency over a standard car that already delivers 325kg of downforce at 250km/h.
It will be loud inside, if its go-faster predecessors are any guide. Ferrari will likely remove any heavy sound deadening from the cars, including such niceties as carpets, while even the glass will be shaved down to save weight. – BD Motor News
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