Ferrari 488 Pista Lands With 710 HP Race Derived V8
The Ferrari 488 Pista has made its official debut, continuing the highly acclaimed lineage of track-derived V8 Ferraris that began with the 360 Challenge Stradale in 2004.
Powering the 488 Pista is a 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 making 710 hp at 8,000 RPM and 567 lb-ft at 3,000 RPM. The engine is not only more powerful than the standard 488’s but 10 percent lighter too, thanks to numerous components from the 488 Challenge racecar. These include Inconel exhaust manifolds, carbon intake plenums, a lightweight crankshaft and flywheel and titanium con rods. The 488 Pista weighs 2,821 lbs dry (1,280 kgs), which is roughly 90 kg less than the 488 GTB. Ferrari claims a 0-62 mph time of 2.85s, a 0-124 mph time of 7.6s and a top speed of 211 mph.
Lessons learned from motorsports helped Ferrari develop the aero for the 488 Pista. Up front is an F1-inspired ‘S-Duct’, which in this case sucks in air from underneath the front of the car and expels it up and over the hood for extra downforce. The huge rear diffuser incorporates the same ‘double kink’ as the 488 GTE racecar, while the rear spoiler is higher and longer than the 488’s. In all, Ferrari claims a 20 percent increase in downforce over the standard car.
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A number of electronic systems help make the 488 Pista’s limit easier to reach when on the track. The latest version of Ferrari’s Side-Slip Angle Control system (SSC 6.0) is present and incorporates the company’s E-Diff, F1-Trac stability management and magnetorheological dampers. There’s also a new ‘Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer’, which changes the brake pressure at the calipers to make fine adjustments. Ferrari says the systems work together to make “the car’s handling even more effortless, intuitive and predictable.”
Ferrari is offering a number of carbon fiber parts for the 488 Pista, including new carbon fiber 20-inch wheels and a carbon engine cover, bumpers and rear spoiler.
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Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
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This remindes me of the greatest battle between Ferrari and Porsche in the '80s. In the good old days of fastest in top speed not in track times, Porsche 959 was the fastest car in the world. A year later, Ferrari F40 was the fastest car in the world. The F40 is more powerful and lighter than the 959. More than 30 years later, the Pista is battling the GT2 RS and guess what? The Pista is more powerful and lighter than the GT2 RS. The problem is that Ferrari won't do a 'Ring record attempt because they want to be in control of everything on track and... cheat if they can.
The performance figures are very similar to the legendary Dauer 962. My, how far we've come