Purists may whine all they want, but the truth is that customers are lining up to buy the latest range of Ferrari’s models with a turbocharged V8 faster than the factory can roll them out.
In fact, demand is so high that waiting lists are growing longer by the day, to the point that some owners will have to wait until 2018 to get their hands on the Prancing Horse they’ve placed an order for.
It’s not just the existing ones, like the 488 GTB and Spider, either, that have already established themselves in the market. The same applies to the recently unveiled GTC4Lusso T, which sits below the naturally-aspirated V12 model and is marketed as more of a daily driver, something people are apparently buying into.
Ferrari Australia CEO Herbert Appleroth told CarAdvice that he expects a good deal of the T’s owners to be conquest sales: “This is a car that will attract buyers from the traditional British brands, but it’s also a nice stepping stone for clients to come to Ferrari, who might drive a luxury SUV or even a Porsche Panamera or Aston Martin Rapide, someone who wants to step up to the next level in terms of automotive ownership.”
Appleroth points out that V8s account for an 85 percent share in the GT market, so the addition of the GTC4Lusso T suits that niche perfectly. Moreover, he asserted that forced induction was the right move: “The demand is unprecedented, because it’s the perfect technology for the everyday user in these times. High torque, low rpm – that still feels naturally aspirated, which is just what you need for a blend of city and urban driving.”
With the 3.9-liter twin-turbo lump pushing out 610 PS (602 HP), the “small” Lusso posts a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 320 km/h (198 mph), so it sure isn’t wanting for performance.
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