Rumours of Ferrari building a ‘Speciale’ version of the 488 have been swirling around for some time, and they may now be confirmed based on this photo posted by Spanish publication Motor.es.
In the photo, we see two partially covered Ferrari prototypes, both of which sport the same headlight design as the 488. However, the car on the left features a completely different front bumper, one that appears to be influenced by the 458 Speciale, the hotter version of the 488’s predecessor.
Previous spyshots of a 488-based test mule reveal some tweaks at the front as well, although the applied camouflage makes it hard to spot the details. However, we can now see the bumper abandons the two “fangs” in the middle as on the current 488, and will instead have both sides of the intakes meet up instead. Said intakes also come with a sharper profile too.
The covers on the hood could also be hiding deep front air vents on the bonnet, another cue seen on the 458 Speciale. On a related note, expect more power to come from the 3.9 litre twin-turbo V8 engine, which currently makes 670 PS and 760 Nm of torque in the regular 488.
Next year’s Geneva Motor Show will certainly be the perfect place for Ferrari to introduce an even more potent version of the 488, should it ever become a reality. With competition from the McLaren 720S and Lamborghini Huracan Performante, we reckon the Italian carmaker wouldn’t want to be left chasing.
GALLERY: Ferrari 488-based test mule
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Ferrari middleweight sports cars took off with the 200 digits. cars like 250GT). then 275GTB. then 288GTO, homologated for Group B racing. then it became 308GTB/GTS, 328.. next was 348. then 355. then 360 Modena, along with the special version of Challenge Stradale. then came the very serious 430, followed by 458 and the last one in front of us – F488. will the next model move into 500 digit territory? since there was the 512 (facelifted Testarossa), then 550 Maranello and last 599 in the supersports GT category. Will it be?
Ferrari’s naming convention changes all the time. 458 is for ‘4.5 liter, 8 cylinder’ while 488 is for cc per cylinder. Even for hotter versions, there were never any fixed name: 360 Challenge Stradale, 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale. It is basically impossible to predict what is the name of their upcoming models.
They finally rectified the front, thr 488gtb was not a pretty car up front, compared to its predecessor
Most people thinks the front is not great looking, but still acceptable. The main eyesores are the side intakes and those door handles.