There is a new production car lap record at Top Gear’s official test track and it is held by the Ferrari 488 Pista.
In the first episode of season 27, The Stig was able to lap the Dunsfold Aerodrome in a blistering 1:12.7 with Ferrari’s latest and greatest mid-engined V8 supercar.
To put that time into perspective, it is approximately half a second quicker than the 991-generation Porsche 911 GT2 RS around the circuit and a full second quicker than the McLaren 675LT. However, what we find even more amazing is just how fast the 488 Pista is compared to some of the vehicles tested on Top Gear roughly a decade ago.
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In 2007, the production car lap record was held by the insane Ascari A10 and not long after, the Gumpert Apollo Sport. These two vehicles may have had license plates but they were pretty much full-blown exotic track cars and are now approximately five seconds slower than a Ferrari 488 Pista. The Ferrari is also about 1.5-seconds faster around the track than a Ferrari LaFerrari driven by Fifth Gear’s Jason Plato.
Lap time list via Wikipedia
A key reason for why the 488 Pista is so fast is its powertrain. The supercar is outfitted with the twin-turbocharged V8 engine of the 488 Challenge racer car and delivers 711 hp and 568 lb-ft (770 Nm) of torque. The Pista also weighs 90 kg (200 lbs) less than the ‘regular’ 488 GTB and produces 20 per cent more downforce. It can reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.85 seconds, 200 km/h (124 mph) in 7.6 seconds and a top speed exceeding 340 km/h (211 mph).