New Ferrari 488 GTB here by year's end

FERRARI's 458-replacing 488 GTB has captured the attention of a number of well-heeled Australian customers and it looks set to arrive in some high-end garages by the end of the year.

Speaking with GoAuto at the Australian Motoring Festival last week, Ferrari Australasia president and CEO Herbert Appleroth said orders for the car are at record levels and confirmed the 488 GTB will be hitting Australian streets in December.

“Since just releasing the photos, it's probably set all-time records for us with order collections, so it’s unbelievable,” he said.

“I haven't seen this level of, not expressions of interest, but orders since 2007, so pre-GFC (global financial crisis). This is something which has been the right car at the right time.

“The first car will be shown to our VIPs and to the media at the end of July and the first delivery to clients will be in December.”While it is unclear how many vehicles have been allocated for the Australian market, the demand will almost certainly outstrip supply.

Prospective buyers of the Ferrari California T – which shares a very similar engine to the new 488 GTB – faced a nearly two-year wait when the model was launched last year.

Similarly, when the 458 Italia was released in Australia in June 2010, orders were sold out until September the following year.

But Mr Appleroth said the gap between a car launching in Europe and being released in Australia is shortening, with Ferrari Australasia actively working on bringing the release dates closer to parity.

“Having Ferrari Australia being created, there's been a lot of focussing resources in reducing the gap between when cars are launched overseas, so now it's only a couple of months,” he said.

The new Ferrari will be the first production model in 23 years to feature a turbocharged engine in the middle, the last being the classic F40.

Powered by twin-turbocharged 3.9-litre V8, the 488 can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 3.0 seconds, zero to 200km/h in 8.3 seconds and on to a top speed in excess of 330km/h.

Aside from the new powerplant, revised aerodynamics and updated electronics add up to make the 488 GTB the second-fastest road-legal Ferrari to date – with only the flagship hybrid LaFerrari beating it – around the Italian supercar-maker's Fiorano test track.