- Delivered across Sydney
- Bond and fees shown before you pay
- Never swapped to a lesser car
The 488 is where Ferrari put turbochargers back on a mid-engined V8 for the first time since the F40, and the result is a car with nearly half as much torque again as the 458 it replaced. It is quicker everywhere, quieter at the top, and far more forceful from low revs. GTB coupe or Spider with the folding hard top, it is confirmed by request for your dates and not kept on a lot.
Check 488 dates
Tell us the dates and whether you want the GTB or the Spider. We confirm the car can be secured and the full price before you pay.
Specifications
| Model | Ferrari 488 GTB / 488 Spider |
|---|---|
| Years built | 2015-2019 |
| Engine | 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 |
| Power | 492kW |
| Torque | 760Nm |
| 0-100km/h | 3.0 seconds |
| Gearbox | Seven-speed dual-clutch |
| Drivetrain | Rear-wheel drive |
| Roof | GTB fixed; Spider folding hard top |
| Seats | 2 |
| Tier | Supercar |
Read the torque figure first. Seven hundred and sixty newton metres in a rear-drive car that
weighs little more than a large sedan is the whole personality of the 488, and it is the reason
the car feels so different from the 458 despite sharing its basic shape. The turbochargers cost
it the top-end scream and gave it a mid-range that no naturally aspirated V8 of this size could
match.
What It Is Actually Like in Sydney
The turbos changed the character, not the speed
Ferrari spent a great deal of effort making the 488 feel like it has no turbo lag, and on the
road it very nearly does not. The throttle response is sharp, the engine picks up from low revs
without a pause, and the delivery is managed gear by gear so that the full 760Nm is only released
in the higher ratios. The effect is that the car feels ferociously strong everywhere rather than
peaky, and it does not need to be revved out to be fast. In third gear on the M4 at 80km/h a
squeeze of the pedal produces the sort of surge the 458 needed 7,000rpm to deliver.
What you lose is the noise. It is still a loud V8, but the shriek that made the 458 famous is
gone, replaced by a deeper, harder note with a whistle of induction under it. Some people prefer
the new voice. Most people who have driven both admit the old one was better and the new one is
faster, and that is a fair summary of the whole car.
760Nm on Sydney roads is more than you can use
This is the point on which honesty matters most. The 488 reaches the legal limit on any road in
New South Wales before it has finished second gear, and it does so with a violence that takes a
few attempts to get used to. On a damp road the rear tyres will spin in third if you are careless.
The traction control is superb and will save you, but it is doing real work, and you will feel it
cut in far more often than in a naturally aspirated car with the same power.
The practical consequence is that the 488 is a car you drive at a fraction of its ability
almost all the time, and the pleasure is in how it behaves at that fraction: the steering, the
brakes, the way it changes direction, and the knowledge of what is in reserve. On a road like
Bells Line of Road between Kurrajong and Bell the reserve is enormous and a good driver will use
perhaps a third of it. That is enough.
The Spider, and what the roof costs you
The 488 Spider's hard top folds in two pieces behind the seats and the car is fully usable with
the roof in either position. Roof down, the turbo V8 is a great deal more present than it is in
the GTB, and the Spider recovers some of the drama the turbos took away simply by removing the
insulation between you and the engine. Roof up, it is as quiet and weatherproof as the coupe.
The costs are small and real. The Spider carries extra weight in the roof mechanism, its rear
deck is solid rather than glass so the engine is hidden, and there is a little less space behind
the seats. On the road the difference in feel is slight. In the driveway the Spider draws a bigger
crowd, which for a lot of bookings is the deciding factor.
Where the car makes sense
Not the CBD, and not a lap of the eastern suburbs at walking pace, though it will do both
without complaint. The 488 earns its rate on a road with room: the Royal National Park loop, the
Old Pacific Highway early on a weekday, the run over Sea Cliff Bridge and down the coast, or
the climb up Bells Line of Road with a stop at Mount Tomah. Even at legal speeds those roads let
the car show what the torque and the chassis are for.
Things You Should Know
It is the quickest car on this page and that cuts both ways
Three seconds to 100km/h is genuinely fast in absolute terms, and in a rear-drive car with
this much torque it asks for respect. The 488 is not difficult, but it is unforgiving of a heavy
right foot at the wrong moment in the wrong conditions. If you have driven all-wheel-drive
supercars and nothing else, expect the rear to feel livelier than you are used to. Leave the
manettino in sport, keep the traction systems on, and be gentle in the wet.
The same speed makes the car unusually good at the boring parts of a hire. Overtaking a truck
on the Hume takes a moment and no planning. Merging onto the M1 from a short ramp is effortless.
It sits at the limit with the engine barely working and the cabin quiet enough for conversation,
which makes a long drive to the Hunter or the Highlands a much easier proposition than in an
older Ferrari.
Fuel, tyres and the costs you do not see
A twin-turbo V8 producing 492kW uses premium unleaded at a rate that will surprise anyone whose
daily car is a hybrid, and on a driving weekend a tank a day is a realistic budget. Tyres on a car
like this are wide, soft and expensive, and a launch from a standstill or a burnout leaves a mark
that is very visible at return. Drive it hard on the road by all means; drive it stupidly and the
bond conversation is not one either of us wants.
Luggage is a front boot for two soft bags. The car is wide, the nose is low, and a front-axle
lift may or may not be fitted depending on the specific car secured, which the confirmation will
state. Steep driveways, speed humps and shopping-centre ramps are the most common places for
first-day damage, so approach all of them slowly and at an angle.
The price, and what is being confirmed
The 488 is offered from $2,500 a day for either trim, which places it at the top of the
Ferrari range on this site and alongside the McLaren 650S in the wider list. That reflects both
the car and the difficulty of securing one. It is confirmed by request only: send the dates, tell
us GTB or Spider, and we come back with whether the car can be secured and the full total,
including the bond and any delivery, before a payment is taken. If it cannot be done for your
dates we say so directly.
Choosing the Trim
488 GTB
The coupe, and the version a driver chooses. Lighter, stiffer, with the engine visible under
glass and a quieter cabin on a motorway leg. If the booking is about the road and the photographs
are of the car rather than of you in it, this is the trim. It is also fractionally the easier of
the two to secure, because more of them were sold.
488 Spider
The same mechanicals under a folding hard top that stows behind the seats in a short sequence.
Roof down it gives back much of the engine noise the turbos took away, and it turns a coastal
drive or a warm-evening arrival into a different experience from the coupe. The engine is hidden
under a solid deck and there is a little extra weight, neither of which you will notice from the
driver's seat. For a wedding, a milestone birthday, a formal or a long weekend in summer, the
Spider is the one most people ask for.
Who Books This Car
The 488 attracts two kinds of enquiry. The first is from people who have driven a 458 or a
Huracan and want the next step in pace: they usually ask for the GTB, mention a road by name in
the first message, and book a weekday so the roads are empty. The second is from people planning
an occasion who want the most current-looking Ferrari they can put in a photograph: they ask for
the Spider, red, and a Saturday delivery to an address near the water.
It is less often booked as a first supercar, and that is the right instinct. For someone who
has never driven anything with this much torque through the rear wheels, the Huracan's all-wheel
drive is a more forgiving introduction and the 458 is a more characterful one. The 488 is the car
you book when you already know what you are doing and want more of it.
If pure pace with a racing-car feel is the brief, the McLaren 650S is the twin-turbo rival
built the same way and feels lighter and sharper. If the weekend looks wet or the driver is less
experienced, the Lamborghini Huracan is the car we would honestly steer you towards.
Still deciding? The 458 and 488 compared sets it beside the naturally aspirated car it replaced, and 488 or McLaren 650S weighs it against the twin-turbo rival you can book today. Planning a wedding arrival? Ferrari wedding car hire covers the day itself.
Still deciding? The 458 and 488 compared sets it beside the naturally aspirated car it replaced, and 488 or McLaren 650S weighs it against the twin-turbo rival you can book today. Planning a wedding arrival? Ferrari wedding car hire covers the day itself. New to the car? Driving a 488 for the first time walks through the first hour behind the wheel.
If the Ferrari 488 is booked
We never move you down a tier. If your dates are taken, these are the supercar cars we will offer instead, and we will tell you plainly if none of them is free rather than substituting something lesser on the day.
McLaren 650S Coupe
- 478kW
- 3.0s
- RWD
- Carbon tub
- $2600/day
Twin-turbo V8 in a carbon chassis. The quickest car on the list and the one that feels most like a racing car with number plates.
Lamborghini Huracan
- 449kW
- 3.2s
- AWD
- 2 seats
- $2500/day
Naturally aspirated V10 and all-wheel drive. The most dramatic car we run and the most forgiving supercar in the wet.
Want twin-turbo pace you can book today?
The McLaren 650S is a twin-turbo V8 in a carbon tub with the same kind of thrust. Tell us the dates and we price it alongside the 488.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Ferrari 488 actually available for my dates?
It is confirmed by request. We source the car against the dates you send, confirm it is secured, and only then take payment. We do not keep it sitting ready and we do not take money for a car that is not yet locked in. If the dates cannot be covered we tell you at once and offer the nearest car we can genuinely put in your driveway.
How old do I need to be?
Twenty-five, holding a full unrestricted licence that is checked in person at handover. The 488 is on the Supercar tier, and the minimum driver age across that tier is 25 with no exceptions and no young driver cover. Each additional driver must be named on the booking and satisfy the same requirements or they are not covered to drive.
GTB or Spider?
The GTB is the coupe: lighter, stiffer, and with a glass panel over the engine. The Spider has a two-piece folding hard top that stows behind the seats and a solid engine deck. The GTB is the driver's pick; the Spider is the one for coastal roads, warm evenings and any booking where the arrival matters. Tell us which and we source that trim.
Can it be delivered to me?
Anywhere in the Sydney metro. The delivery charge depends on the distance and appears as its own line on the booking. Rose Bay, Chatswood and Sutherland are all regular. For the 488 we hand over on flat ground where possible, because the nose is low and a steep driveway is where most first-day damage on a car like this happens.
What about the bond and the excess?
A security bond is pre-authorised on the named driver's card, meaning it is held and not charged, and it is released once the car is back as it left. A damage excess caps your exposure if there is an incident. Both figures for this specific car are given with the quote and confirmed before you pay anything, so there is nothing to discover on the day.
Is it safe to drive in the wet?
With care. It is rear-wheel drive with 760Nm, and the traction systems are excellent but they are not all-wheel drive. Leave the manettino in the wet setting when the road is damp, be gentle with the throttle out of corners, and it is perfectly manageable. If the forecast is poor for the whole weekend, the Huracan's all-wheel drive is the more relaxed choice.
Is it louder or quieter than the 458?
Quieter at the top and deeper lower down. Turbochargers sit in the exhaust path and take the edge off the high-rev scream the 458 was known for, so the 488 has a harder, lower note that builds into a roar rather than a shriek. It is still very loud by any normal standard, and the Spider with the roof down leaves nothing out.
Can I take it to a track?
No. Circuit use, track days, drag racing and any timed or competitive driving are excluded on every car we arrange, without exception. Public roads only, and the good news is that Sydney has some of the best within an hour: Bells Line of Road, the Old Pacific Highway and the Royal National Park loop.