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Ferrari 488 Pista Sets Magny-Cours Lap Record, Beats McLaren 720S

As many of you know, Ferrari isn't a big fan of timed tests, especially when it comes to comparisons, with the Prancing Horse prefering to focus on the driving experience delivered by its supercars. Nevertheless, such battles are inevitable and while it took a while for the Ferrari 488 Pista to be involved in one, we can now bring it to you.
Ferrari 488 Pista Sets Magny-Cours Lap Record 4 photos
Photo: Motorsport Magazine/YouTube
Ferrari 488 Pista track testFerrari 488 Pista track testFerrari 488 Pista track test
To be more precise, the 720 hp Fezza was thrown at the Magny-Cours Circuit, with the short Club layout being used.

Now, before moving any further, there's one thing we need to mention - the comparison between the cronograph numbers of the Ferrari 488 Pista and McLaren 720S isn't 100 percent accurate and that's because the two supercars were tested on different tires.

To be more precise, the Maranello machine came with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Rs, while the Woking animal was fitted with Pirelli PZero Trofeo R rubber (both are street-legal, though).

With that out of the way, we'll mention that the 488 Pista, a coupe model, needed 1:16.06 to blitz the track, while the McLaren 720S had delivered a lap time of 1:16.80 in a previous test.

And, thanks to the piece of footage at the bottom of the page (the clip on the left), we can see Motorsport Magazine editor Nicolas Gourdol (this was a magazine test, not an official one) manhandling the mid-engined special on the technical course.

Then there's the video on the right, which takes the battle to the longer GP configuration of the track. This time around, with racer Romain Monti in the driver's seat, the Ferrari beats the McLaren by a noticeable margin.

Returning to the said driving experience, these clips also allow you to check out the character of the Ferrari 488 Pista, with this actually being the most delightful part of the videos.

For the fun of it, we also added a pair of clips showing the McLaren 720S performing the same tasks below, with these coming from the same source (you'll find the Club stint on the left of the second row below and the GP adventure on the right).



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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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