- [Host] Back in 2011, we named the Ferrari 458 Italia
our best driver's car, trumpeting to the world
that the supercar bar had been raised.
Since then, Ferrari has replaced the 458
with the much more powerful and turbo-charged 488 GTB.
How much more power?
101 screaming Italian stallion, bringing the total
up to 661 horsepower.
It's still mid-engine, still rear-wheel drive
and I'll shut up so you can watch the lap.
- Whew!
Got a bunch of heat coming from somewhere, let me tell you.
Close ratios.
Little pushy in the middle.
Takes a lot of steering effort.
No, takes a lot of break effort.
Hard to shift in the corners with those panels.
I talked about marrying the Cayman.
This car is your mistress.
This is the car that you're so passionate about,
you have those dreams at night.
This is the car that, when you open the door,
it meets you in a negligee with incense, wine, and candles.
This car is so bloody powerful
that I had to adopt a whole different driving style.
It accelerates so quickly that I need
to apex a lot later.
In other words, square the corners off more
to straighten the exit.
And then it just comes ripping off the corners.
The turbos on that Ferrari V8
give it a big, fat torque curve.
I cheated, I used a stability control.
It's called the CT Off Mode.
It allowed me to do these beautiful drifts,
or it was doing them.
I'm not sure if I get the credit.
The breaks, I didn't find confidence-inspiring.
Mostly I just had to break earlier
than I really wanted to, probably because
I was going so bloody fast.
The acceleration is outrageous,
and the car is a thrill.
Let it be your mistress.
- [Host] One minute, 31.68 seconds
is not just a fast lap.
It's about one second off cars
like the McLaren P1, and the Dodge Viper ACR.
The 488 is two seconds off of the Porsche 918 Spyder,
the current lap record holder at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Needless to say, the Ferrari was the quickest car
of this year's competition.
Raw speed on a track is one thing,
but this is best driver's car.
The 488 GBT won that, as well.
Congratulations to Ferrari
for raising the supercar bar one more time.