In person, the Ferrari 488 Pista looks like an absolute weapon and certainly too extreme for a show floor. Instead, it seems more at home at the racetrack and was recently filmed taking to the Nurburgring looking exceptionally planted.
Compared to the run-of-the-mill 488 GTB, the Pista’s 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 engine has undergone a series of modifications, helping it to deliver 711 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough grunt to rocket the Pista to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.85 seconds, 124 mph (200 km/h) in 7.6 seconds and a top speed exceeding 211 mph (340 km/h). These figures put the Pista directly in line with the McLaren 720S.
Many of the performance gains have been achieved by taking components from the 488 Challenge race car. For example, the 488 Pista includes the racer’s valves and springs, cam profile, strengthened pistons and cylinder heads, shorter inlet ducts, radiators with an inverted rake, and a larger intercooler, among other things.
McLaren better watch its back
Ferrari engineers have also gone to town on the supercar’s aerodynamics, ensuring it now delivers 20 per cent more downforce than the standard model. Among the key aerodynamic changes are modified front and rear bumpers, an aggressive rear diffuser, and an active S-Duct at the front. These alterations also make the 488 Pista look a hell of a lot better than the regular model.
While the 488 Pista could probably target a Nurburgring lap time of roughly 7 minutes, it’s extremely unlikely the Italian marque will look to post an official time. In fact, the company has repeatedly expressed its disinterest in Nurburgring laps.