5 Technologies That Define the New Ferrari 488 GTB

There’s numerous intelligent stuff happening underneath the attractive pores and skin of the new Ferrari 488 GTB, numerous smart science and considerate engineering dedicated to serving to you excellent the artwork of driving quick. No matter your ability stage, the 488 makes you higher. Extra necessary, it does so with out you noticing how; all the pieces works collectively intuitively to ship responses that really feel completely pure.

Listed here are 5 key applied sciences that make the 488 GTB considered one of Ferrari‘s all-time greats.

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The Ferrari 488 GTB’s F154 engine shares its block with the California T, however little else. The turbochargers, made by IHI, are greater than these within the Cali T, and have 8mm bigger twin-scroll generators produced from light-weight titanium-aluminum alloy as an alternative of the same old Inconel. The TiAl generators are lighter, lowering inertia 50 p.c, although Ferrari has to fastidiously monitor exhaust gasoline temperature, as they have to be saved at about 1,720-1,740 levels, whereas Inconel generators can fortunately stay at 1,800-plus levels. The generators additionally spin on ball bearings, lowering energy misplaced to friction by 30 p.c. The turbocharger housings are constructed with a microscopically skinny abradable seal that wears and seats completely inside moments of preliminary begin, bettering effectivity by 2 p.c. Packaging could be very compact: Turbos and all, the 488 engine is simply 0.23 inch wider than the 458’s naturally aspirated powerplant, and rides 0.19 inch decrease within the chassis.

A hefty section of the 488 GTB product briefing was given over to detailed explanations of exhaust and inlet sound tuning, and diagrams exhibiting the power of sixth and eighth order harmonics, and everybody from Ferrari chief Amedeo Felisa on down solicitously requested those that’d pushed the automobile what they considered the engine sound. In reality, engine sound is essentially window dressing — necessary window dressing, insists Felisa, because it straight influences a driver’s notion of a automobile’s efficiency.

Ferrari fastidiously manages the torque output of the 488 engine, to not protect the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission carried over — other than some ratio modifications — from the 458, however to enhance the automobile’s drivability. The engine administration system produces a barely completely different torque curve for every of the seven gears, with a baseline output elevated by 25 p.c in fourth gear, and an extra 30 p.c in fifth gear. The utmost 560 lb-ft is offered from 3,000 rpm in seventh gear. Ferrari says the abundance of torque permits drivers to extra simply entry the engine’s 660 hp. Information monitoring of testing at Fiorano exhibits drivers sometimes use lower than 520 hp of the 458’s 557 hp due to the peakier energy and torque curves, however all 660 hp within the 488, and that helps ship a 2-second enchancment in lap occasions.

Here is the place it is evident that the 488 GTB is constructed by an automaker that additionally builds System 1 vehicles. The 488 options an aerodynamic underbody designed to induce low strain on the entrance and rear of the automobile, and a twin splitter on the entrance to extend downforce. Ferrari’s patented blown rear spoiler, which channels air from the bottom of the rear window via a slot that exits simply above the license plate, delivers downforce with no large, drag-inducing wing tacked on to the rear of the automobile. The rear diffuser contains a moveable flap that stalls airflow over it underneath sure circumstances — it is principally an F1-style drag-reduction system, and when it is activated, just a little DRS brand seems on the sprint. All of it provides as much as a 50 p.c enhance in vertical load over the 458, with most downforce of 716 kilos generated at 155 mph.

The second-generation aspect slip management system, SSC2, now integrates management of the 488’s magnetorheological shocks. The shocks themselves have redesigned rods to cut back friction, and are managed by a sooner ECU that interprets yaw, roll, and pitch information from three sensors situated on the automobile. If the SSC2 system senses oversteer, it robotically stiffens the entrance shock price to induce some understeer and steadiness the automobile. Conversely, if understeer is detected, the entrance shocks are softened and the rear stiffened to get the automobile to rotate. Ferrari claims the SSC2 system, working with the latest-generation E-Diff and F1-Trac techniques, improves longitudinal acceleration out of corners by 12 p.c with the manettino set in both Race or CT Off positions.