The Ferrari World Finals at Mugello over the weekend saw the public debut of the GT3 and GTE racing versions of the new Ferrari 488.
The two race versions are powered by a 3.9 litre V8 turbo with an all-new six speed gearbox. Unusually, but not uniquely the base car for both versions is near identical with electronic systems and aerodynamic packages the major points of difference.
Whilst the cars (in both GTE (IMSA GTLM) and GT3 (IMSA GTD) form) are due to make their racing debuts at the 2016 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, there is no formal confirmation as yet of the car’s entries with Risi Competizione and AF Corse in the running for likely first outing runs for the GTE version.
In common with Porsche’s 2016 GT3 offering though there is still crucial testing to be completed before a Daytona debut for either or both versions is confirmed.
The 488 is a crucial motorsport product for Ferrari’s Corse Clienti and builders Michelotto, the current 458 likely to most commercially successful GT3 racer of all and the new 488, across GTE and GT3 versions forecast for a c.150 car production run across the 488’s c.5 year production cycle.
