On this episode of Ignition presented by Tire Rack (tirerack.com)
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:15 -Johnny and Jason couldn't make it this week, so I
00:18 thought I'd help them out.
00:19 Plus, I got a Ferrari.
00:20 Woo-hoo!
00:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:40 -This is the Ferrari 488 Spyder.
00:42 And that means it has a power-retracting hard top,
00:45 which also means it's heavier and consequently slower than
00:48 the 488 Spyder.
00:49 And consequently slower than the 488 GTB Coupe,
00:52 on which this car is based.
00:54 But here's why it doesn't matter.
00:55 You see, there are two types of people who would label
00:57 themselves car enthusiasts.
00:59 Those who need numerical reinforcement that they're
01:01 faster, more powerful than the person next to them.
01:03 Those who take driving super seriously.
01:05 And then those that don't.
01:06 For the former, there's that 488 GTB Coupe.
01:09 For the latter, there's this.
01:11 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:14 -What I love about convertibles is they give you an excuse
01:17 to do away with the normal car guy posturing.
01:20 I don't have to be all serious about going fast.
01:23 I can smile and relax and just enjoy the simple pleasures
01:27 of driving a super capable super sports
01:30 car along a mountain road.
01:32 I have flip-flops on.
01:33 I have a overpriced cup of bad coffee.
01:36 I have my iPhone plugged in and Apple CarPlay working.
01:40 Hey Siri, play me some non-copyrighted music.
01:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:46 -Thanks.
01:49 I have the seven-speed automatic in automatic mode.
01:51 So I have to think about shifting.
01:53 I have a button on the steering wheel
01:54 here that softens up the dampers over the bumpy parts
01:57 of this road.
01:58 And the difference is pronounced.
01:59 It's the difference between bracing yourself for a punch
02:02 and sucking a bunch of air in and then releasing it.
02:05 It's that big.
02:06 I have another button which moves the front end
02:09 of the suspension up so I don't scrape that front bumper
02:11 on the ground.
02:12 And that's good because it looks very important.
02:15 So you have to feel for the engineers responsible
02:17 for this car.
02:18 On one hand, they have to make the coupe version, the 488 GTB.
02:22 And that has to represent and do good
02:25 on the promise of a brand like Ferrari,
02:27 representing their technical prowess
02:29 and their motorsports participation and victories.
02:31 All the stuff you'd expect with a supercar maker.
02:33 And then after that, they have to compromise it
02:41 in a way to satisfy people who want this kind of experience.
02:45 How do you do that?
02:47 Well, you don't.
02:50 Not much changes during the convertible transformation,
02:53 though it's a little harder to see you have
02:55 the same very special engine.
02:57 With two twin scroll turbos, the flat plane crank dry sump V8
03:01 makes 661 horsepower at 8,000 RPM and 561 pound feet of torque
03:06 at 3,000 RPM.
03:08 The body, too, shows the same wind tunnel testing results
03:11 as the coupe.
03:13 From the lower wing on the fascia to the rear,
03:15 air evacuates from the spaces inside the lights
03:18 and from right underneath the Ferrari badge.
03:21 An electronically controlled flap in the diffuser
03:23 automatically increases or decreases downforce
03:26 when it deems appropriate.
03:28 The suspension is the same as the coupe
03:30 with active Magner-E logical dampers.
03:32 They, the stability control, the electronically controlled
03:35 locking differential, all fall under a hub
03:37 Ferrari calls side slip angle control system, which
03:40 continuously monitors and adjusts the car's handling
03:43 and balance.
03:45 And that roof?
03:46 It's pretty tiny, borderline target even.
03:49 Notice how it separates it above the B pillar.
03:51 Most others don't.
03:53 Small size means it takes up less space when stowed.
03:56 It also opens and shuts in 14 seconds,
03:58 and you can do it while moving.
04:01 The compromise from all this amounts to a 100 pound
04:04 increase per Ferrari.
04:06 Physics dictates that it's slightly slower than the coupe.
04:10 Ferrari says by around half a second to 125 miles an hour.
04:15 But who cares?
04:16 It's a convertible.
04:17 What matters more is how the car drives and makes you feel.
04:20 a. Now we're going to take a look at the interior.
04:22 It's a little bit different.
04:23 It's a little bit more modern.
04:24 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:25 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:26 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:27 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:28 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:29 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:30 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:31 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:32 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:33 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:34 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:35 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:36 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:37 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:38 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:39 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:40 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:41 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:42 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:43 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:44 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:45 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:46 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:47 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:48 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:49 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:50 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:51 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:52 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:53 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:54 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:55 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:56 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:57 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:58 It's a little bit more sporty.
04:59 It's a little bit more sporty.
05:00 It's a little bit more sporty.
05:01 It's a little bit more sporty.
05:02 It's a little bit more sporty.
05:03 It's a little bit more sporty.
05:04 How immensely fast it is, it is absolutely ridiculous.
05:10 It isn't simply the 661 horsepower that overwhelms, but how that power arrives.
05:18 The turbos react differently depending on the gear you're in and how hard you're on
05:22 the go pedal.
05:23 In seventh, boost builds early and in full, but in lower gears, the engine artificially
05:28 limits boost, allowing it to build linearly as you accelerate so it feels more like a
05:33 naturally aspirated engine.
05:35 But in truth, it doesn't really feel like a naturally aspirated engine either.
05:41 What happens is when you tip on the throttle, you get this response like you would out of
05:45 an electric car, like a Tesla Model S. It has that immediacy to the throttle tip.
05:49 But then the longer you step on the throttle, the faster the car seems to accelerate.
05:55 The way you get pushed into your seat, that keeps happening.
06:02 These tricks the engine does with its turbos means the acceleration surprises you, no matter
06:06 the gear you're in.
06:08 It's relentless.
06:09 You can get lost in it.
06:11 But so is the handling, thanks to Ferrari's slide-slip control angle system.
06:15 That's the fancy name for the parent company controlling the adaptive dampers, differential,
06:19 and the stability control.
06:23 And what that's doing is it's trying to keep the car on its ideal path as we go along this
06:27 road.
06:29 It's trying to coordinate the car's behavior as I enter in.
06:34 And we're not driving with stability control off.
06:36 We have traction and stability control on.
06:38 I am in race mode, though.
06:40 And so it's helping change the car's attitude if I go into a corner slightly too fast.
06:45 And that's really easy when I have this amount of power.
06:50 It's not as exciting as the horsepower, but you have to admire where Ferrari puts the
06:55 driver in the car and the tools the company provides.
06:58 You have a large, open windshield afforded by not having a big, bulging hood in front
07:03 of you.
07:04 You have a large diameter steering wheel.
07:06 You don't have to turn it far or hard.
07:09 You notice, too, how quick the steering, brakes, and throttle react.
07:14 And at first, that can seem like the car is overreacting.
07:17 But what you're really doing is your inputs are too fast because you've been used to driving
07:22 cars that don't respond this quickly to everything.
07:25 This car responds quick to every input.
07:29 It's light and responsive, not twitchy.
07:32 It allows you to drive at terrific speeds without working hard, without flexing your
07:36 biceps.
07:37 You don't have to manhandle it.
07:39 You can drive without sweating because of the work you're doing on the pedals and steering.
07:46 It's mostly how fast you're going that may make you sweat.
07:51 You can talk about all the math that's happening underneath this car to make it drive the way
07:57 it does and make me feel the way it does.
07:59 But the truth is, all this stuff is happening just to make me happy.
08:04 It does that well.
08:10 It may seem reductive to celebrate something as powerful and as expensive as this Ferrari
08:15 for the simple act of making its driver happy.
08:18 It should be doing more, right?
08:19 It does.
08:21 But this contrast between the immense complexity that's led to the 488 Spyder and the simple
08:25 joys it delivers is fascinating.
08:28 Is it that different than watching this video on your phone?
08:31 What's special here, though, is that Ferrari's retained so much of what makes the 488 GTB
08:36 cool with negligible downsides.
08:38 In fact, you can make the argument that the experience is better without the roof.
08:42 Overall, though, it's a reminder that driving doesn't have to be all cool guy-mix sunglasses.
08:48 It can be simple and fun, even if it takes complex means to get there.
08:52 I would go for it.
09:19 [00:03:00] [Silence]