MOTOR SPORTS
Inside the Ferrari 488 Pista, where you’ll find
incredible onboard safety systems, traction
control and customizable drive modes
dêtre reaches back decades to Ferrari’s nearly unrivaled motorsports
heritage in sportscar and Formula I championships.
Building on the superb 488GTB platform, the Pista version offers
enhanced aerodynamics, rigidity, downforce, and the best power-to-
weight ratio of any production Ferrari in history.
Read that again. In history!
TEST DRIVE
Given the opportunity to test this new vehicle in both street and track
driving conditions, I was immediately struck by just how powerful this
thing is. I have been the lucky recipient of both street and track driving
experiences in a number of high performance cars over the years,
including the Pista’s predecessor, the 488GTB. I once described that
car as a ‘precision instrument’ – and it was…and is – but after a day
with Pista version, I can honestly say that the latter is on an entirely
different level.
Blistering acceleration and unbelievably responsive handling and brakes
that will cause your eyes to bulge out of your head are all by-products of
this brilliant engineering triumph.
Passing rainstorms at Miami’s Homestead Speedway kept us from
getting all the track time we were originally allotted, and I found myself
strangely relieved. A few more hours in that car and I might have thrown
away my wildly successful career as a hack automotive journalist and
signed on as pit crew for one of the Corso Pilota instructors, joined his
traveling circus, eaten nothing but beef jerky… just in hopes for the occa-
sional shakedown lap handout.
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Addictive would be putting it mildly. And so, so good.
As for the street-drive portion of the program, well, let me just put it
like this: After completing a thirty-minute loop, I immediately got out of
the car, handed the keys to my press contact, and asked – nay, begged–
him never to give me the chance to drive one on a public road again.
Forget just losing my driver’s license. One traffic stop in that beastie
could have only resulted in a ‘go directly to jail’ scenario, with no stop-
ping and no collecting $200.
I kid, but not really. The inherent danger of a vehicle such of this
doesn’t come to life and limb. Its incredible onboard safety systems,
traction control, and customizable drive modes will see to that.
It comes from the fact that roads – and laws – aren’t up to even the
starting capabilities of this incredible vehicle. So while this car was built
to be the perfect version of a street-legal track car, roads in this country
are simply not up to the task. Don’t blame the car for the world’s
shortcomings.
In conclusion, the Ferrari 488 Pista is without a doubt the most
exciting and dynamic thoroughbred vehicle I have ever had the oppor-
tunity to flog. It is nothing short of superb, and while it may be better
suited for hot laps around your local cement playground than for a trip
to the grocery store, for those who have the means – and the desire – it
can, and will do both. Yes, it’s better than just about anything else with
four wheels and a motor.
PERFORMANCE FOR YOUR WRIST
Like the 488 Pista, there are some fantastically over-engineered