Turbocharged Ferrari 488 GTB to replace 458 Italia

The new Ferrari 488 GTB replaces the outgoing 458 while harking back to its mid-engined V8 ancestors, such as the 308 GTB…

Top of the news agenda is the inevitable arrival of turbocharging in a modern, mid-engined V8 Ferrari. Like its California stablemate, a blown, 3.9-litre engine powers the 488 GTB, although Ferrari is adamant that the two engines are very different in feel and character. That’s unlikely to soften the blow from which purists are no doubt still reeling, however.

What’s in a name?

The 488 GTB – named as such to reference cylinder capacity (488cc each) and the familiar Gran Turismo Berlinetta appellation – conjures an impressive 660bhp, enough to eclipse not only its 458 Italia and 458 Speciale predecessors, but also the 641bhp of the rival McLaren 650S. However, the Woking firm will soon release the 675LT ‘Long Tail’ at the same Geneva Motor Show at which the 488 GTB will also debut, promising an exciting start to the next round of supercar shoot-outs.

Name and basic layout aside, other references to the Ferrari 308 GTB include a large front air-intake, part of a package of aerodynamic measures that increases downforce by 50% in comparison to the previous model. Ferrari also claims to have paid great attention to tuning the engine’s sound, maintaining that the blown engine will have the type of soundtrack expected from the marque.

The Ferrari 488 GTB will go into production in September, following its March reveal in Geneva and the winding-down of 458 production this summer.

Photos: Ferrari

You can find hundreds of modern and classic Ferraris for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

Snapshot 1967: Turbulent love with Bardot and Sachs in Paris

In 1967, Brigitte Bardot and Gunter Sachs are the dream couple of the French glitterati. Wherever the actress and the playboy go, cameras flash – it’s French photographer Roger Viollet that captures them on this occasion…

At this point, they’re Paris’s most glamorous couple. However, a year after their flash wedding in Vegas, the whirlwind romance is beginning to show signs of strain. Together with Serge Gainsbourg, she famously records ‘Je t'aime moi non-plus’ – and begins a secret affair. Bardot pleads with Gainsbourg not to release the song; he agrees, and will later record the song with Jane Birkin, making musical history. Bardot’s marriage to Sachs, however, doesn’t last so long: it comes to an end in 1968, before the divorce is finalised in October 1969. 

Photo: REX/Roger Viollet

World-Record Bizzarrini just one of the winners at Artcurial’s Rétromobile sale

A home advantage again played into the collective hands of Artcurial during the second half of its Rétromobile 2015 sale, with no fewer than eight new World Records set on Friday evening to add to the two posted earlier…

Following on from the stunning results in the earlier sale of the Baillon Collection was never going to be easy, with all but one of the ‘forgotten’ cars going beyond their high estimates – many stratospherically so. But despite a few hiccups (and not of the champagne-induced type), the French auction house still managed to chart eight new auction records, including those for a Ferrari Testarossa (€196,700 including premium), a Porsche 356 A Speedster (€298,000) and a 1973 De Tomaso Pantera GTS (€133,500). One highlight result saw a stunning orange 1968 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada pip the million-euro mark (€1.2m), doubling its mid-estimate figure. However, a few important lots failed to find buyers, including a few of the pre-War Bugattis and Mercedes, and a 300 SL ‘Gullwing’. Bidding for the latter stalled short of its reserve and its €1.1m - €1.2m estimate, despite a matching-numbers engine and the desirable Rudge knock-off wheels. We’re sure the Artcurial collective will be attempting to make the most of Rétromobile’s captive audience to hammer out a few more deals in the post-auction sales window.

Other notable results included the €441,000 paid for a Ferrari 599 GTO – another World Record, and perhaps a sign that interest in modern, limited-production Ferraris could swell, as one of our experts suggested it might at the turn of the year. Or could it just be the result of hyped-up bidders caught up in the Gallic theatre of three auctioneers with boundless energy, and no aversion to telling the bustling audience to ‘shhhh’?

Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver © 2015

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