In left-hand drive form we rated this car very highly last year, so it’s with some anticipation that we get to drive the 488 GTB in right-hand drive in the UK. It’s a new model but it’s also very much more than the sum of its parts.
What might we recognise? The chassis is similar to the 458. The brakes are from the LaFerrari. The engine is from the Cali-T. The steering and dampers are from the Speciale. Yet everything is revised, uprated and blended together in perfect harmony.
It starts with the 3.9-litre V8 which produces, in equal measure, 661bhp and a gravelly soundwave that gets your senses tingling. The twin-turbo Italian V8 is simply sensational, pouring out torque – 561lb ft of it – at lower revs before the engine soars rapidly up the revrange to the redline at 8000rpm, all the while making power in the most dramatic and satisfying way imaginable.
It’s is one of the best engines you can possibly engage with. Yet even that mighty motor is mildly overshadowed by the rest of the package. That begins with the steering. Sitting at last in the right-hand footwell, it rapidly becomes clear that the steering is astonishingly quick and responsive to the lightest input. A busy response from the chassis, which features a new version of Side Slip Control as well as the first introduction of active aerodynamics on a Ferrari, means the initial impression can be faintly disconcerting.
But you soon realise that the designers have made a car that is directly plugged into your nervous system and brain. A slight adjustment of the wheel, and the car dips fractionally to the outside, then the front end changes direction with extraordinary speed and precision. The rest of the car follows through with total stability and focus.
The latest Ferrari seems to float above the road, yet at the same time it feels totally connected to it. The result is a car that feels alive in your hands, responsive, precise, immensely talented. This is a car built for travelling very quickly over a variety of roads, and it’s a car that delivers enormous amounts of driver involvement, excitement and satisfaction.
You could argue that the cabin, by comparison, feels a bit of a let-down, but we’re quibbling. This is a five-star Ferrari that is simply magnificent to drive. You do of course pay for such pleasure. An asking price of nearly £184,000 is unlikely to be the actual price you end up paying as you add some desirable extras. Our test car, for example, came in at nearly £250,000. But you wouldn’t be wasting your money buy spending it on a Ferrari 488 GTB.
Ferrari 488 GTB 3.9 T
Location: Wales
On sale: Now
Price: £183,964
Engine: V8, 3902cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol
Power: 661bhp at 6200-8000rpm
Torque: 561lb ft at 3000rpm
Gearbox: seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Kerb weight: 1475kg
Top speed: 205mph
0-62mph: 3.0sec
Economy: 24.8mpg (combined)
CO2/tax band: 260g/km, 37%
