Ferrari and Porsche announce new cars for the wealthy track addict

Less weight, more power, more money: the new 488 Pista and 911 GT3 RS.

 

 

 The Geneva Motor Show is just around the corner, and Porsche and Ferrari both have something special up their sleeves. Yes, it's a pair of track-focused supercars that promise to lap faster and thrill more than anything either company has built in the past. Meet the new 911 GT3 RS and 488 Pista, two cars that herald the end of the "regular" production models they're derived from—in this case the 991 generation Porsche 911 and the Ferrari 488, each of which is due for replacement in the near future.

In the red corner, from Maranello, Italy, weighing in at 2,800lbs...

We'll start with the Ferrari. The 488 Pista is the latest in a line that started with the 360 Challenge Stradale back in the early 2000s. Pista is Italian for track, and that's what this car has been optimized for.
It's not a race car, but it does incorporate a lot of the lessons that Ferrari has learned racing the 488 GTE and 488 GT3. In fact, Ferrari says that the Pista "marks a significant step forward from the previous special series... for the level of technological carry-over from racing."
The 488 GTB road car was already pretty special, but Ferrari obviously needed to outdo itself with this one. So the Pista has been on a diet, losing 199lbs (90kg) for a dry weight of just 2,822lbs/1,280kg. The body has even more advanced aerodynamics, including new diffusers at the front and rear that increase downforce by 20 percent over the standard car.