There would be a real risk here of assuming, because the 488 GTB shares its adaptive dampers and steering rack with the 2014 458 Speciale, that the 488 will feel like a Speciale-plus.
But far from it. The 488 is closer to the regular 458 Italia, in that it’s a more rounded car with a softer, broader appeal than that of the Speciale – albeit with much of the latter car’s responses and poise.
Its ride quality is deft and forgiving – at least if you put the dampers in the Bumpy Road setting that they only default to in the chassis’ Wet mode (which keeps a firmer hold on wheel slip and is careful about which gear it puts you in).
Bumpy Road is the appropriate mode for more or less any road in the UK, where the 488 rides without the ultimate compliance of a McLaren 650S, but better than any other outright supercar.
The Ferrari’s body movements are, nonetheless, still impeccably well contained. And because visibility is pretty good, the scuttle low, the brakes easily modulated and secure and the gearshifts instantaneous, the 488 is an easy car to drive on the road and not intimidating in the slightest.
On the road, too, even its two-turns steering resists feeling overly sharp for the most part. It has a curious lightness but is at least consistent, and you easily become used to the way it does things, resulting in a pleasingly natural flow and rhythm to road driving.
