The Ferrari 488 GTB Is The 458's 660bhp Turbocharged Successor

Not content with the 458 being one of the finest supercars money can buy, Ferari has given its mid-engined thoroughbred a jolly good overhaul to create this: the 488 GTB. Think of it as a similar approach to McLaren’s 12C-replacing 650S. The basic 458 shape is still there, but with lots of tweaks, nips and tucks - notably a front end that references the 308GTB, and some rather massive vents in the rear three-quarter. And what do these intakes feed? A turbocharged V8.

Yep, the 4.5-litre, naturally-aspirated unit found in the 458 and 458 Speciale is gone, but it hasn’t been replaced with the 3.8-litre twin-turbo engine from the California T - the first turbo Ferrari since the F40. Instead, it gets a new 3.9-litre twin-turbo lump, which produces 660bhp and 560lb ft. Suddenly, the old 458’s 562bhp and 398lb ft seems a bit limp.

This gets the 488 from 0-62mph in three seconds dead, and - perhaps more impressively - 0-124mph in 8.3. Top speed? 208mph.

As you’d expect, there are plenty of clever systems designed to make you look like a driving god - the latest version of Ferrari’s side slip angle control system, an E-Diff and active dampers to name but a few - but it’s the trick aero package which grabs our interest. There’s a double front spoiler, an aerodynamic underbody with vortex generators, an active difusser at the back and a ‘blown’ spoiler which increases downforce with no drag penalty. All of this contributes to a 50 per cent increase in downforce over the 458, while reducing drag.

Want one? There’s no word on pricing just yet, but we’d expect it to be slightly more than the 458 Italia - which goes out of production this summer - which costs £178,851 in the UK.

We’ll get a chance to see the car in the metal at March’s Geneva motor show.