Ferrari unveil new 488 GTE and GT3 cars at Finali Mondiali

Ferrari have taken the wraps off their latest GT race cars at their annual 'World Finals' (Finali Mondiali) event at the Mugello circuit in Italy.

Deliveries of the cars, developed by Ferrari GT partner Michelotto and based on Ferrari's 488GTB road car, will begin in 2016 with their competition début slated for January's 24 Hours of Daytona.

"We will probably début there, and although it has not been decided yet, it is our goal. Then we will enter all the important races, starting from the ones in the US and then in the WEC," said Ferrari’s GT and Corse Clienti racing director Antonello Coletta. “We still have some pivotal [test] sessions scheduled in our path towards the Daytona 24 Hours." 

Both Prancing Horses are powered by variants of the Italian manufacturer's 3.9 litre V8 engine, the GTE featuring a race prepared unit as opposed to the GT3's production-based engine, although the pair will produce considerably less power than the road car's output of 660 horsepower to meet racing regulations.

The 488 GTE will also feature less aero than the GT3 variant, in line with the FIA and ACO's new regulations for GTE cars.

"This new aspect has led to a series of studies we started a while ago. We had to analyse fuel consumption, the engine’s ECU mappings and lots of work has also been made on the aerodynamic front," said Coletta. "The aero study behind this car is much more refined compared to the previous model."

Ferrari expect to produce 150 cars within the car's lifetime, with the GT3 variant eligible to compete in over 20 championships worldwide.

The new car was unveiled by Ferrari's GT driver roster on Saturday before being demonstrated on track the following day.

Also in action at Finali Mondiali was Ferrari's Formula One team. Drivers Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Esteban Gutierrez and Marc Gene all took to the track in Grand Prix cars for a high speed demonstration with pit stops and donuts.



Images: Ferrari Media