Before letting him have a go in the 488 GTB on the Fiorano circuit, Ferrari asked Chris Harris to sit on the passenger seat for a few laps with test driver Rafaele Simoni behind the wheel.
This gave Harris (and the viewers) the opportunity to learn more about the car from Ferrari’s test driver, who wanted to show how hard it is to reach the 488 GTB’s limits on the circuit without getting killed.
Obviously, the big talking point is the twin-turbocharged V8 engine, Ferrari’s first force-fed powerplant since the F40’s 2.9-liter twin-turbo V8. Harris noticed how similar the new turbo engine sounds to a naturally aspirated unit, which is quite an accomplishment.
But if people may not detect the presence of a turbocharged engine judging by the engine’s sound alone, the explosion of torque under heavy acceleration is a clear indicator of turbocharging. As Chris Harris points out after having a go himself in the 488 GTB, it feels as fast as the 730hp F12 Berlinetta.