The Ferrari 458 Italia was always the epitome of handling in the supercar segment. But even though its 4.5-liter V8 won many awards, the fact that it wasn't turbocharged like the McLaren rivals dragged it down. Today, the Maranello supercar maker showed it wasn't going to cut against the grain of the market forever by showing the 488 GTB, an evolution of the 458 equipped with a much smaller 3.9-liter turbo V8.
At 670 PS, this is undoubtedly one of the most impressive supercars ever produced. And even though the new McLaren 675LT that's also being showed in Geneva has a tad more power, Ferrari's engine delivers more torque. 760 Nm (560 lb-ft) is available from 3,000 rpm and Ferrari say the curve is very long and flat.
With numbers like that, it's not surprising that the 488 GTB rockets to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3 seconds, reaches 200 km/h (124 mph) in only 8.3 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 205 mph (330 km/h). Meanwhile, a lap around Ferrari's Fiorano track will take 1 minute and 23 seconds.
For the record, that means it's faster than the F12 Berlinetta and only the 963 hp LaFerrari can outpace it (if you ignore the crazy XX stuff).
The GTB isn't just a car you enjoy in the track. Looking at the new bodywork hidden behind gorgeous red paint, we almost couldn't resist giving it a kiss on the side emblem. It's that gorgeous! And the reason why it looks so much like a LaFerrari is because the company didn't use outside help from Pininfarina designers.
Many things are different on the outside, starting with the headlights and the front bumper, which has F1-style vertical struts in the middle. They've also re-sculpted the side air intakes to feed the engine more air, changed the taillights and kept some hints from the 458 Special, including the diffuser and the twin exhaust pipes that we rather like.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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