According to this post on the HP, Ferrari supplied Autocar with a 488 GTB wearing a set of non-stock Michelin Pilot Sport cup 2 tires. That was apparently enough to set the magazine off, and they scrapped the figures they recorded. Do you think they went too far?

 

I wonder if Autocar will get blowback from this?

 

Ferrari has a LONG history of playing games with tests. In fact, they usually won't even provide cars for tests without techs being on-site so as to ensure the car is performing optimally. And, the supercars/hypercars? Ferrari generally won't even provide one. Owners have, on occasion, lent their cars, but they risk the ire of SpA.

I can understand wanting to make sure the car is performing as it's supposed to, but I think SpA hasn't exactly been straight up with the public, either. Often, the cars that roll out of the factory don't perform as promised/tested. Gross weights are often way off. Bhp numbers seem to be lower. And so on. So, it's hard to really be confident in any published numbers.

That said, who's really approaching these limits on the street, anyway? I mean, it's one thing to know you've got the statistics under your belt, but it's another to actually put them up against someone in an uncontrolled environment. So, it's cool to throw out figures at C&Cs, but you also risk jail time if you do much more than that.

I suppose this whole issue is dependent upon the magazine doing the testing. What rules did they lay down? Are they being observed or not? Ferrari also has a long history of gaming rules, and in an effort to keep Ferrari honest, I don't think it's unfair of the magazine to refuse the results. Maybe better to have put a very large asterisk by the results to avoid the confrontation, but I respect them for their decision.

I've owned multiple Ferraris for >20 years. I don't own them because they're the absolute fastest car on the road. Frankly, I don't even care about that. They put a smile on my face when I drive them, even though the ownership experience can be a challenge. Nevertheless, this is all going to blow over and not exactly a huge surprise to me.

CW

 

"I've owned multiple Ferraris for >20 years. I don't own them because they're the absolute fastest car on the road. Frankly, I don't even care about that. They put a smile on my face when I drive them...."

Well said and I feel the same way. I don't understand the current performance numbers competition with the car media these days. I'll never lap the Nuremberg Ring in 7 minutes, so why do I care if my Ferrari can (or can't)? Fast is fast, and all of these cars are really fast these days. For me, the most important thing is the driving experience. Autocar could have easily threw a set of oem tires on the car if they were that worried about it.

 

Got a kick out of that. Nuremberg does have a street track called the Norisring, but you're thinking of Nurburgring. They are hours apart. You need to get out of SoCal once in awhile.