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Ferrari massages 458 to create 488 GTB

  • Magazine Feature Article
  • 15AUTD05_03
Published May 01, 2015 by SAE International in United States
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  • English

Ferrari engineers have further refined the 458 Italia model with a new turbocharged and downsized engine and revised aerodynamics to create the 488 GTB.

The company downsized its all-new dry-sump V8 not only for emissions, but also to increase engine power by turbocharging, explained Michael Leiters, Ferrari's Chief Technical Officer. The headline figures for the 3902-cm3 engine are 493 kW (661 hp) at 8000 rpm and 760 N·m (561 lb·ft) peak torque in seventh gear. “It's very important with a downsized turbo engine that the performance and response is the same as a naturally aspirated engine, with no turbo lag.”

To achieve that, Maranello's engineers fine tuned the sizing and tuning of the turbos, including lightweight titanium-aluminum (TiAl) twin scroll turbines for minimum inertia and using ball bearing mounted shafts specially designed by IHI for this installation. Leiters explained that the equal-length inlet manifolds not only helped with turbine response but, together with the flat plane crankshaft, retained Ferrari's distinctive engine note. “We're very proud to have created a typical sound you'd expect from a Ferrari.”