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2016 Ferrari 488 GTB First Drive

After The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, after recording their first album, Iggy and the Stooges released the brilliant Fun House. Not every second creative attempt has to bomb like The Strokes' second, Room On Fire, and not every new car model has to be heavier and uglier like the Mustang II. Or at least that was the hope as I arrived in Italy for the launch of the 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berlinetta, if you're wondering). The new car traces its lineage back through 40 years of mid-engined V8 supercars, one that started with the 1975 308 GTB that replaced the V6 Dino series. But the 488 is also the follow-up to the 458 Italia, which is generally considered to be the zenith of all things Ferrari. With sublime handling and a yowling V8 that made you question how fast you could really travel on public roads, the Italia was an Italian missile wrapped in voluptuous aluminum. When the 488 GTB debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March, the portents weren't good. As well as having fewer curves and a turbo engine, trouble was brewing inside the stronghold. Last fall, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) chairmain Sergio Marchionne sacked Ferrari president Luca de Montezemolo. And Marchionne's plan to sell 10 percent of Ferrari on the stock market raises fears of hedge fund guys calling the shots at this archetypal Italian sports car maker. What's more, there's already talk of increasing annual production from the current cap of 7,000 units to 10,000. But back to the 488 GTB. The new car is based on the same aluminum underbody as the 458, but with less dramatic looks. The source of those looks is not the design department, however. "We gave them [the design department] the shape...they started with that shape." explained Matteo Biancalana, Ferrari's aerodynamics chief. So wind tunnel data penned the GTB's lines, mainly because of an ambitious target to achieve 50 percent more downforce than the outgoing model with no increase in aerodynamic drag. "We had to touch every millimetre of the car apart from the carried-over roof," says Biancalana. The front grille channels air through the radiators, cools the brakes and denies air access to the underbody, which consequently develops low pressure areas that suck the car to the road. There's a moveable spoiler under the body at the rear to reduce drag at high speed in a straight line.

Ferrari planning 458 Speciale Spider?

The Ferrari 458 comes from a long line of mid-engined V8 supercars to roll out of Maranello, from the 348 and F355 to the 360 and F430. Each has also bred a Spider version, and starting with the 360 Challenge Stradale (through the 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale), a hardcore performance version. But combining the best attributes of Spider and performance model is relatively new territory for Ferrari, one which it attempted only with the limited-production Scuderia Spider 16M. And if the latest rumors are to be believed, it's about to go at it again.
Though we can't verify its sources, 4WheelsNews says it has double confirmation from within Ferrari that a 458 Speciale Spider is in the works. When reached for confirmation, Ferrari refused to comment, as it typically does on the prospect of new models yet to be announced. Given the precedent of the Scuderia Spider 16M, it would seem to make sense, but for the time being we'll have to chalk this one up as a rumor.
If it were built, the Ferrari 458 Scuderia Spider (or whatever it would ultimately be called) would take the best of the 458 Spider and 458 Speciale to pack the 600-horsepower version of Maranello's sweet-revving 4.5-liter V8 underneath a folding hardtop. The latter is something the 16M did not offer, but crucially, the new McLaren 650S Spider does. We'd also expect only a limited number to be produced at a suitable premium over the Spider's $257k MSRP and the Speciale's $288k sticker.

EVO dubs Ferrari 458 Speciale its Car of the Year

While some publications are concerned with finding the best car or truck for the average buyer and slapping a ribbon on it, or (in our case) identifying the best new automotive technology of the year, across the pond our compatriots at Evo are more single-minded in their approach. Every year, the British car mag awards its Car of the Year to its top new performance automobile on the market. And this year, they've picked the Ferrari 458 Speciale. The stripped-out supercar from Maranello beat out some heady competition. Second place went to the Jaguar F-Type R, followed by the Porsche Cayman GTS, VW Golf R, Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy-R, BMW i8, McLaren 650S Spider, Aston Martin Vanquish, BMW M3 and, last but not least, the Audi S1. It was only the second time a Ferrari won the eCOTY award, after the 599 GTB Fiorano took top honors in 2006. Precedent suggests the magazine typically hands the award to a version of the Porsche 911 – like the GT3 that won last year, preceded by other Elfens in 2011, 2010, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1999 and 1998 (when the award was inaugurated). Why is the latest 458 derivative so... Speciale? Watch this video to find out.