iW Magazine Summer 2019 | Page 102

Motor Sports FERRARI By James Lamdin BLOOD-PUMPING PERFORMANCE We put rubber to the road with the 488 Pista, Ferrari’s most powerful production automobile. And, here are a few new watches to match Ferrari’s high performance. The 488 Pista is Ferrari’s most powerful production automobile CARS AND WRISTWATCHES ARE, FOR THE MOST PART, mechanical things that get the blood of like-minded enthusiasts beating – be it to the tune of a twin-scroll turbocharged V8 or a high-beat column-wheel chronograph.  Judging by the fact that auto manufacturers continue to ask me to cover their products in wristwatch-centric media, and similarly, that wristwatch- centric editors continually allow me to create this coverage (thanks, Gary!) there can be little doubt that the Venn diagrams outlining their respective collector communities is overlapping more and more. And with numerous watch/automotive collaborations being rolled out annually – from Hublot’s Big Bang Ferrari collection to the Breitling clocks that adorn the dashboards of Bentley Continentals, the power players in both spaces similarly recognize the innate connection of their mechanical products.  Of course, not every automobile gets the blood pumping the same way as a Ferrari can. And not every Ferrari gets the blood pumping like the 488 Pista, Ferrari’s newest high performance model.  A (PRANCING) HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR The 488 Pista is Ferrari’s latest in a line of thoroughbred performance specials. It builds on the successful formula of developing ‘hot’ versions of production model cars that are based on but are a slot above the standard model in terms of power and handling, yet are just below the track-only variants that aren’t street-legal, Its recent ancestors include the 360 Challenge Stradale, 430 Scuderia, and 458 Speciale. But its lineage and raison 102 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SUMMER 2019