AUTOCAR AWARDS - The Storming Ferrari 488 GTB takes the maximum 5 Star award at this year's ceremony.

• “The best chassis in the business meets the best turbocharged engine”

Ferrari’s Chief Test Driver, Raffaele de Simone, collected an award for the Ferrari 488 GTB from Autocar at Silverstone Circuit last night. 

The award was for the 488 GTB achieving Autocar’s maximum 5-Star rating in their comprehensive Road Test which includes an extensive evaluation of the car on road by the Autocar editorial team, as well as performance testing at MIRA in Northamptonshire. 

With a time of 1’8.0” around the MIRA handling circuit, the 488 GTB was 0.3 seconds quicker than the 458 Speciale around the same circuit. But the most notable aspects of the Award are the summary comments from the Autocar Editorial team:

“Ferrari’s greatest achievement with the 488 GTB is not simply how fast it goes. Nor is it how it has integrated turbochargers onto its mid-mounted V8 yet retained far more character than any other manufacturer has tried artificially aspirating its engines. 

Nor is it that it has given the 488 all the track poise and agility of the 458 Speciale which went before it.”

“No, the feat is how all of the above have been melded into what is undoubtedly today’s greatest supercar. “World-beating. Likely to be benchmarked and copied – much like the 458 Italia.”

Ferrari also collected the trophy for Britain’s Best Driver’s Car at the Autocar Award ceremony last night, an accolade which the 488 GTB won at Autocar’s traditional “Handling Day” test at Snetterton in October last year.

The 488 GTB is Ferrari’s first mid-engined turbocharged supercar since the Ferrari F40 and retains that car’s extreme driving performance and excitement, while maintaining unprecedented levels of usability and practicality. 

With the Ferrari Genuine Maintenance package that covers all major servicing costs for 7-years, the 488 GTB is a world-beating supercar that can be driven every day.