So it's been a little over a week since I picked up my new GTB and all I can say is WTF!! Seriously, I was a little concerned about whether I would like it mainly for these reasons; 1) I am a V12 guy having owned F12, 599, 575, 550. 2) I was never enamored with my 458 (Aside from the noise). 3) There were many detractors on this forum & youtube about how ordinary the 488 is. So in regards to the last point all I can say is this; WTF!! How can you not love the 488?? Please note, I am not one of those "One eyed Willy's" that only loves his own car as I have not loved any of my F-Cars aside from the F12. The 488 is super fast, it handles way better than I thought and it sounds great!! There is a mountain style road that I take home every night and when I push it up this road and the DRS comes on OMG!! I just can't believe the smile I get on my face!! I also, drive a 991.2 Turbo S as my daily and when I push it on the same road, I just don't get the same smile or sensation. All, I can say is this - I can't wait to hit some early morning canyon roads in the new future.
It is a great car and I love them.... relaxing to drive slowly as you can be so lazy and ride that torque, but in my opinion lacks sound only at low speeds Above 5k rpm there’s a lovely high pitched wail which is lovely Congrats Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Pop in a Forza valve controller and problem solved. The valves open up after 3000 anyway so it's really only under those revs really. There are also many times when its nice having the quiet when at low speed/engine speed, so again the controller need not be activated during those moments. But if you activate it on I can assure you the cars around you are gonna hear you coming even under 3000. PS Condorman, like yourself I have no idea what these detractors are going on about. The way the 488 carves up the tight and twisty stuff through the mountains is nothing short of incredibly satisfying to say the very least. WHAT - a - machine!! And the noise...just incredible!! I don't know where these detractors have driven the 488 to form such a negative opinion but it cant have been much further than around the parking lot in the dealership. That's all I can put it down to.
Highly recommend the disabling the exhaust valve, it makes low speed and low rpm driving a lot more fun. When the rpm drop to 1800~1900rpm that papapapa burble sound is addicting. I feel the same. My favorite part is steering feel and look from any angle. I daily drive mine and have put on almost 8k miles in just 7 months. Driving to work and back home is always fun at any speed. Can easily get a tune + high flow cats for a lot more power. But the car already have traction issue even with cup 2 tires, adding more power will not make it faster unless using even more gripper tires.
Every time I get out of mine I just shake my head. The way the thing catapults between corners is just simply mind bending. Has so much thrust. I thought my TTS was good (and it is) but boy this 488 is next level and then some. Did an over-nighter in TTS mid last week with a few other Porsches and as good as it is, I just didn't get the same hit as the 488.
Coming from a 12-cylinder may be better to appreciate the 488 - that's also the path I followed (having previously owned a testarossa, a 550, a 575 and a 599) and I definitely like the 488. The V12 give the feeling they have power across all rev-range while the previous V8 wanted to scream at high rev to deliver their power; for NA V8 lovers that was their appeal, which got lost with the turbocharged 488 - but for those appreciating the power building up with the rev, and not only appearing in a narrow high-rev band, the 488 is the best of both worlds , with the "flat" power curve and the mid-engine agility.
Congrats on your 488 driving pleasure, but can you elaborate on the quoted phrase, I find it disturbing... why did you buy 3 ferraris if you didn't like them ?
Disconnect the exhaust valves and enjoy the sound! I know there are detractors here, but the car looks better than in pictures. I am glad that there is such competition in this market as we have better cars as the result.
So happy to hear this, mine comes in a few weeks and everyone keeps telling me I will hate it compared to the V12Lusso but I really loved my quick test drive so we will see . Congrats bud enjoy!
My new 488 GTB was delivered three weeks ago and I am simply blown away by the performance and appearance of this magnificent machine. I could wax on endlessly about the car's style, on-point steering, acceleration, torque, exhaust note (yes it sounds wonderful with the bypass actuators unplugged), fit and finish, etc. But then there's that intangible element - that feeling of owning the absolute best car in its class in the world and yes, it's a Ferrari. Words cannot describe how amazing this car is to own and drive. I'm thrilled to my core to be one of the very lucky few. Just to be clear, while I am a former 458 owner (a great car as well), I am not comparing the 488 to any other Ferrari.
I have been driving mine almost non-stop the last few days. It is so much better than the 991tts in acceleration from about 50 and up that I am shocked. It has really good traction without resorting to AWD but I can get it to step out while cornering and not worry about the backend losing it. It's fun to push through corners, the Cali was too but this car does it a lot better. The sound is fantastic although I might make it louder with a Capristo exhuast. I discovered that in RACE the valves open up at 2500 so it's easy to keep them open most of the time but it does consume more gasoline. I find the people knocking the car to be complaining about things that don't matter. I admit that I can't hear the stereo with the top down so what, I just turned the stereo off. LOL! The rear view camera isn't very helpful because of it's location so I just turn my head more. It's OK for backing straight up though when you are backing in to a spot and that is useful so it's not a loss, just not as useful as it was on the Cali or the Porsche because of it's location so that is a negative on the 488.
Damn! Was expecting the 488 to suck, based on scathing opinions from people who have never driven it.
Here is a potential problem for people who actually drive the car. Everything else you drive seems incredibly slow and unresponsive!
Agree with all of the above, coming from my 458 I expected to miss that sound, and although I think most of us still agree the 458 is special in that regard, the 488 has a great sound as well. More importantly, the performance is incredible, hard to drive my other cars with the 488 in my garage..... Jim
How in the world could someone tell you you would hate this car compared to the other one? They are really hard to compare I'd imagine. It's the best of two worlds really isn't it? People need to be comparing apples to apples. Maybe they don't like it because they don't have one. I'm sure you will enjoy without a single reservation.
Totally agree. I remember when I bought my first 997 GT3 RS. I drove it around the city for 10 minutes and then took it back and I thought to myself.... what the bloody hell is all of this hype about. Then when my RS arrived I used to take her to a mountain pass twice a month and honestly I was in total driving Nirvana. I still have amazing memories from 7 years ago that will remain with me forever. And I know that the 488 has the same abilities to produce memories. Forza valve.... On it now. Thank you
By the way, I'm actually interested what exactly your colleagues were telling you about why you wouldn't like it?? What was the issue...the V8 vs V12? Front vs mid engine? only 2 seats? All these cars have interesting potential, other brands included. It's great there's so much diversity. Let us know what was considered suboptimal..
That is exactly what I am talking about. Exactly!! It's that hit!!! And let me say this... I have owned 8 x Ferrari's & 12 x Porsche's & 3 x AMG's I am a certified addict!! The only car that I have preferred to date over the 488 is the 918. And I honestly have the say, the smile factor is similar.
I guess you never really know until you live with them. It's like a girlfriend.... how can you tell if it's going to work on the first date? Also, I have always been a hardcore driver racing Porsche Cup Cars and owning 4 x RS's. So sometimes pitting a 550, 599 next to these just dont cut it.
Seriously, at first it feels a little bit boy racer compared to a Lusso. However the once you forget about the long hood and V12 and start getting your head around physics then it all starts to come together.
At Fiorano, the 488 is considerably faster than the 458 or F12. But the 812 is a different story. It is considerably more nimble around Enzo’s track than the 488. Would be great to hear what owners of both the 488 and 812 have to say about the driving experience. (Also very cool to see that the Ferrari tradition of using “numbered” model names is definitely alive and well. Love that part of the Ferrari tradition used for the sportiest and non-limited edition models!
