Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO

If you want to get into racing, Ferrari has you covered. We don’t just mean with fast cars—though it has plenty of those—but with actual race cars, the latest of which is the 2020 Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO.

The Ferrari Challenge is a race series that allows mainly gentlemen drivers to strap into a race car and compete on some of the world’s best tracks. To keep things equal, drivers all use the same car. It’s a format also used by Porsche and Lamborghini, and something that we known our way in.

Meant for use in this racing series, the speedster’s design and performance have been refined to make it an even more competitive and capable car than before. Where this 488 Challenge EVO differs most from its three-year-old predecessor, itself a replacement for the track-only 458 Challenge, is its aerodynamics. The front of the car has been completely redesigned with larger intakes, including a u-shaped center intake that helps cool the vehicle’s carbon-ceramic brakes, along with a new splitter and canards. The changes give the car a more intimidating look but also improve its aerodynamic efficiency by 30 percent...

Ferrari didn’t spend all its time and effort fine-tuning the vehicle’s front fascia. In back, a new bumper features vents behind the wheel arches and engine bay to further increase cooling. With the car’s massive rear wing remains untouched, a new rear diffuser helps increase the vehicle’s downforce by 50-percent.

But the 488 Challenge EVO’s upgrades aren’t limited just to what you can see. The car’s electronic differential, anti-lock brakes, and traction control system have all been upgraded. In addition to the previously mentioned carbon-ceramic brakes, the car has also been outfitted with new Pirelli racing slicks. And inside the vehicle, there’s a more comfortable steering wheel with an integrated paddle shift and a new rearview camera. This all has been developed from the experience gained with the FXX-K EVO and the 488 GTE, which triumphed at the 24 hours of Le Mans 2019.

The 488 Challenge uses the same 3.9-liter, twin-turbo V8 as the 488 GTB road car. That makes it the first turbocharged Challenge car ever. The poweroutput is rated at aprox. 660 horsepower and 570 pound-feet of torque.

Ask Ferrari what’s the deal with the 2020 488 Challenge EVO, and you’ll be told that the Evo package applied to the 488 Challenge is here to “maximize the synergy between aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics.” We say, bring it on!