The Ferrari 488 has left the stage after the final year of GTE with the car’s GT3 version set to be phased out too as more and more of the bumper order book for the successor 296 GT3 is fulfilled.
The 488 with a 3.9 litre turbo V8 replaced the hugely successful Ferrari 458 in both GTE and GT3 form with a significant difference coming with the new platform, the 488 became the first car that could be readily converted to and from GTE and GT3 spec for a fully-legal car in either formula.
The GTE version of the car made its race debut at the Rolex 24 Hours in January 2016 with a pair of cars in the hands of Risi Competizione and Scuderia Corsa, the latter scoring the better result, 4th in GTLM.
March 2016 saw the debut of the 488 GT3 in the Australian GP-supporting rounds of the Australian GT Championship around Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit, the first car entered by Random Vandals Racing for ex F1 racer Andrea Montermini and Benny Simonsen.
Across its career the 488 GTE took part in 119 races, scoring no fewer than 55 wins ( a 47% success rate!) and 114 further podium finishes across the FIA WEC, IMSA and ELMS.
In GT3 spec across all major and minor Series the 488 contested 585 races in original spec, a further 400 in Evo 2020 form scoring 322 race wins in original form, and a further 225 in Evo 2020 spec.
The 2020 Evo saw attention paid to front aero, vehicle systems and ergonomics.
Roll all of those results together and the total across GTE and both GT3 specifications since 2016 is 1105 races and 602 wins, very substantially better than 50%!
Those numbers include several very significant race and Championship wins.
AF Corse’s 488 GTEs took two Le Mans wins in GTE Pro in 2019 (pictured above) and 2021, after Risi’s new car had taken the fight to the brand new Fords in 2016! There were three WEC GTE Pro Championship wins too in 2017, 2021 and 2022.
GTE Am wins at Le Mans went to JMW’s brand new car, on its racing debut, in 2017 (This car making history as the first car delivered as a GT3 to win at Le Mans), the car converted in the days before with AF Corse taking another GTE Am class win in 2021. GTE AM Championships went to AF Corse 488s for threee consecutive seasons 2019/20, 2021 and 2022.
2019 also saw Risi take a win at Petit Le Mans in GTLM.
In the ELMS there were a trio of titles, all for different teams, JMW in 2017 a season that saw the title taken as the team transitioned from their 458 to the 488 after Le Mans, 2019 saw the AF Corse-supported Luzich Racing team take the title and 2021 saw Iron Lynx take the honours.
All in all the GTE version of the car took 12 Driver’s teams and manufacturers titles from 2016 – 2023.
The numbers in GT3 were significantly larger and there were more big race and Championship wins.
That total included a pair of GTD Championships in IMSA in 2016 and 2017 for Scuderia Corsa (the former with the season started at Daytona with a 458). The IGTC Drivers Championship in 2021 alongside an overall win at the Spa 24 Hours, a 2017 win at the Bathurst 12 Hour and class wins too at Sebring and at Petit Le Mans (x2)
Add in too 25 + overall and class titles in GT World Challenge Europe, a trio of Asian Le Mans Series titles (below the HubAuto car that took the title i 2019/20) and multiple titles too in GT World Challenge America and Asia all contributing to a total pd 107 Championship wins (73 for the original 488 GT3 and a further 34 for the Evo 2020 version).
The 488 will end its career as one of the most widely successful GT cars of the modern era.
