[Atomic Ed]

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to own an exotic sports car. So, when the S.O. broached the subject of going to Italy for vacation, my only personal “must do” on the trip was a half day in Bologna at the Ferrari facility. I knew that at the museum Ferrari rents out various cars from the California T up to the 488. So when we hit the Ferrari museum that afternoon, I plunked my money down and rented a 488 spider for an hour.



After an hour of driving a 488, I have formed a pretty good opinion of the 488 and how it compares to my E-Force supercharged SS. And that opinion is … an SS with a supercharger compares surprisingly well! Of course, ultimately the 488 wins at so, so many levels. But an SC SS wouldn’t be completely shamed by running with a 488.



The stats are like this; Surprisingly, the 488 is only about 350 lbs lighter curb weight than the SS and is powered by 670 bhp twin turbo V6 verses my estimated 650 bhp with the E-force supercharger. 0-60 is 3.0 sec for the 488 verses roughly 3.5 for my SC SS. So, the “feel” of acceleration is close. Clearly being in an open cockpit intensifies the 488 experience, but at WOT, there wasn’t a huge, dramatic difference in push-back into the seat.

Handling is where the biggest difference was observed. The 488 is a mid-engine, RWD with a low-slung suspension. With the mid-engine weight centered and all the carbon fiber body pieces at the outer edges, the center of mass of the 488 is compact and centered perfectly between all four wheels. Spirited driving left me with the impression of the 488 being mounted on a large ball bearing in the middle of the car that it transitions around on in turns.



Other things I noticed is that the 488 has a dual exhaust mode like our NPP exhaust. The exhaust note coming out of the Ferrari at WOT sung like a Formula 1, but I still enjoy the visceral growl of our big V8s. To me, it’s a wash in the exhaust note department. The 488 also has its equivalent to the MRC feature on our SSs and I thought that the ride quality was about the same, at least pushing the 488 around back roads on the first three settings. Chalk this partially up to the rigidity of our body/frame.



Fit and finish on the 488was excellent, as to be expected. But I gotta say that the fit and finish on the S.O.’s new Cadillac is just as nice. Quality of the materials only came out in the 488 in the use of real leather verses our manufactured leather and the copious use of carbon fiber.



So, my desire to own an exotic has lost its luster since I now have my SS. My personal opinion is that we have 85-90% of what a $330K Ferrari has compared to what we have in our $50K Camaros. But, got a new checkmark on my bucket list now!

If you are ever in Italy, sell your first born and go do this.

[Fraxum]

Nice review OP. The drive sounds like fun especially fitting in beautiful Italia. And yea, the Camaro is sort of like a sports car 2 door sedan. But the only way we can compare a Camaro to a Ferrari is to close our eyes and cover our ears.

And I have the same dream to own something special. But the problem is even if I could afford to buy one of these beauties, I could not afford to own it. It's a 1% thing. But we can always dream, can't we ?

[Lafourche1]

There is a rumor that Ferrari licensed the MRC from GM. I don't state that with authority, but it is something that I have read / heard more than one time,

[Atomic Ed]

Originally Posted by Fraxum

Nice review OP. The drive sounds like fun especially fitting in beautiful Italia. And yea, the Camaro is sort of like a sports car 2 door sedan. But the only way we can compare a Camaro to a Ferrari is to close our eyes and cover our ears.

And I have the same dream to own something special. But the problem is even if I could afford to buy one of these beauties, I could not afford to own it. It's a 1% thing. But we can always dream, can't we ?

My thinking also. Even if I owned one, then what? Can't afford the insurance or maintenance. I did ask what would be the monthly payment on the 488 and I was told a minimum of $6500!

We as car enthusiasts have been conditioned since we first started playing with toy cars on the living room floor that the Ferraris, and others like it, were almost magical. I kinda felt that way a little before I did this test drive. But this romp with the 488 re-shaped my thinking about the exotics. In the end, they're just a car. A work of art to be admired, but still, a just a car. The pleasure is in the drive itself which my SS gives back in spades.

Comparable to choosing a life partner; I wouldn't trade my S.O. for an Italian actress, no matter how exotic she was.

[Atomic Ed]

Originally Posted by Lafourche1

There is a rumor that Ferrari licensed the MRC from GM. I don't state that with authority, but it is something that I have read / heard more than one time,

I've heard that too. The ride quality seemed very close to what we experience with the MRC.

[Mustang Fanboy]

Originally Posted by Lafourche1

There is a rumor that Ferrari licensed the MRC from GM. I don't state that with authority, but it is something that I have read / heard more than one time,

GM no longer owns MRC, they (as well as everyone else) buys it from BWI who acquired Delphi's chassis group back in 2009.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by Atomic Ed

Comparable to choosing a life partner; I wouldn't trade my S.O. for an Italian actress, no matter how exotic she was.

Nice. In Italy though, they keep both.

The problem with exotics these days is comparable performance and driving fun can be had for a fraction of an exotics price. But then that is not the point of these cars. The point is offering unobtainable cars at an ever escalating price to these very few that can afford to collect them like Hot Wheels. This helps them wear a badge that says, I am rich, drool away you losers.

They will have to start hiding those cars when the pitch forks come out. And come out they will.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by Atomic Ed

Comparable to choosing a life partner; I wouldn't trade my S.O. for an Italian actress, no matter how exotic she was.

Nice. In Italy though, they keep both.

The problem with exotics these days is comparable performance and driving fun can be had for a fraction of an exotics price. But then that is not the point of these cars. The point is offering unobtainable cars at an ever escalating price to these very few that can afford to collect them like Hot Wheels. This helps them wear a badge that says, I am rich, drool away you losers.

They will have to start hiding those cars when the pitch forks come out. And come out they will.

[Atomic Ed]

Originally Posted by Fraxum

Nice. In Italy though, they keep both.

The problem with exotics these days is comparable performance and driving fun can be had for a fraction of an exotics price. But then that is not the point of these cars. The point is offering unobtainable cars at an ever escalating price to these very few that can afford to collect them like Hot Wheels. This helps them wear a badge that says, I am rich, drool away you losers.

They will have to start hiding those cars when the pitch forks come out. And come out they will.

LOL, how true!

The other thing that struck me was when the guide was showing off their brand new, two story (100,000 square feet, maybe?) facility devoted to race car development and training. When you consider that they only sell around 8,000 cars a year, you have to assume that a big chunk of that $330K goes to supporting the Ferrari racing team.

And your comment on driving fun was exactly where my head ended up after driving the 488. When you just focus on the thrill of the driving experience itself, the two are closely comparable, at least to me.

[Iron Lung Jimmy]

I did one of those exotic car driving experience things at NOLA Motorsports Park, the local track, and drove the Ferrari 458.

One warmup lap, then 6 laps as fast as you can go.

My takeaway... to just drive it around public roads would be fun, but on the track it was an experience beyond anything I could have imagined.

Matting the gas coming onto the front straight was like but the coolest thing was how, braking hard at the end of the straight, the transmission would downshift... thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack... and it feels like you are being kicked in the back. Then you just think "turn", move your hands a little bit, and the car turns.

There's a reason they cost a quarter million dollars.

[evanescent03]

I just rented a brand new Audi R8 Spyder (V10, not the "plus") and it was incredible. Drove it for a day, roughly 350miles. The R8 launches so so hard... something the camaro just can't do as well with front engine, RWD.

My S.O. who is also my C.F.O. aka wife was in love with it, partly for the looks but also that beautiful V10 and speed it can build even after an initial hard launch.

My SS 1LE isn't supercharged but I imagine it's quite fast with boost as it's already a quick car.

The 488 is on a level above the R8 in regards to craftsmanship but both are just insane machines. I am looking forward to renting a 488 in the future with maybe a McLaren 650S in there somewhere. Our Camaros are great machines but these super cars are a work of art with performance, looks, and sounds to match their lofty price tags.

Thanks for sharing, glad you got to enjoy the 488!

[Atomic Ed]

Originally Posted by Iron Lung Jimmy

I did one of those exotic car driving experience things at NOLA Motorsports Park, the local track, and drove the Ferrari 458.

One warmup lap, then 6 laps as fast as you can go.

My takeaway... to just drive it around public roads would be fun, but on the track it was an experience beyond anything I could have imagined.

Matting the gas coming onto the front straight was like but the coolest thing was how, braking hard at the end of the straight, the transmission would downshift... thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack... and it feels like you are being kicked in the back. Then you just think "turn", move your hands a little bit, and the car turns.

There's a reason they cost a quarter million dollars.

A track day is next on my bucket list. We really don't have anything close here in eastern Washington that offers this kind of experience, particularly with anything exotic.

I told my S.O. that for my retirement/birthday gift send me down to Las Vegas or somewhere else for one of the driving schools. A driving school may get me interested in doing some track days down in Oregon.

[Atomic Ed]

Originally Posted by evanescent03

I just rented a brand new Audi R8 Spyder (V10, not the "plus") and it was incredible. Drove it for a day, roughly 350miles. The R8 launches so so hard... something the camaro just can't do as well with front engine, RWD.

My S.O. who is also my C.F.O. aka wife was in love with it, partly for the looks but also that beautiful V10 and speed it can build even after an initial hard launch.

My SS 1LE isn't supercharged but I imagine it's quite fast with boost as it's already a quick car.

The 488 is on a level above the R8 in regards to craftsmanship but both are just insane machines. I am looking forward to renting a 488 in the future with maybe a McLaren 650S in there somewhere. Our Camaros are great machines but these super cars are a work of art with performance, looks, and sounds to match their lofty price tags.

Thanks for sharing, glad you got to enjoy the 488!

Love the R8! It may not be the fastest exotic out there, but probably one of the most stylish.

I've got an old Audi TT setting in the back of the garage that I've juiced up to around 400 awhp. While I still think the Camaro is an overall better car, launching the TT with AWD and a big turbo is a whole different experience. Hard to beat the TT out of the hole with the right tires on it. And the TT can be made to handle well with just a few simple mods.