The New Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) Challenge Racer is the Fastest Ever

$RACE

The Ferrari Challenge racing series gives owners a place to race their identical cars against each other so drivers can really use their skills and racers to the max.

Ferrari builds a special version of each generation of its mid-engine V8 model specifically for its in-house racing series, and now there is a new Supercar.

The company debuted a Yellow 488 Challenge car during the weekend’s Finali Mondali end-of-season racing celebration at the Daytona Motor Speedway last weekend.

This new model has revised programming for its twin-turbocharged 670-horsepower 3.9-liter V8 engine to deliver power faster on the track rather than easier on the road.

The transmission’s gear ratios are lower, for better acceleration out of corners and down straights of the tracks where the Ferrari Challenge competes.

The 488 Challenge can speed from a standing start to Redline in 4 gears in only 6 secs, providing ideal performance for racing on closed circuit tracks.

A feature for the new car is that it has 3 of Ferrari’s Manettino control knobs on the steering wheel that let the driver make adjustments to the car’s electronic control systems to reflect the needs of the specific track, conditions and preference.

Ferrari’s Formula One cars use these kinds of controls on the steering wheel to let its drivers tune their racers on the fly.

The trio of Manettinos on the 488 Challenge let the driver address braking and electronic stability control. One knob is dedicated just to adjusting brake bias between the front and the rear of the car, while the other 2 are for the stability control system.

One of these knobs adjusts the threshold at which point the computer begins to intervene when it detects that the 488 is sliding, letting the driver decide exactly when it will provide assistance.

The 2nd stability control Manettino controls how fast the computer will intervene when it cuts power to help regain traction.

The other changes to the car for Challenge racing duty are aerodynamic improvements to the body designed to make it more efficient at track speeds.

The new front bumper and splitter make the 488 Challenge 7% more aerodynamically efficient at the front than the outgoing 458 Challenge EVO model it replaces, a new rear wing makes it 9% better than the outgoing car.

At Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, the 488 Challenge turned a 1:15.5 lap time, bettering the 458’s fastest lap by 1 sec.

In other news from the Finali Mondali event, the 1-Off last-ever  LaFerrari to benefit Italian earthquake relief sold for $7-M, easily topping the $4-M+ auction price of used LaFerraris that have previously hammered for.

Stay tuned…

  488, challenge, fastest, Ferrari, LaFerrari, model, race, racer, stability

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Paul Ebeling

Paul A. Ebeling, polymath, excels in diverse fields of knowledge. Pattern Recognition Analyst in Equities, Commodities and Foreign Exchange and author of “The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report” on the US Major Market Indices™, a highly regarded, weekly financial market letter, he is also a philosopher, issuing insights on a wide range of subjects to a following of over 250,000 cohorts. An international audience of opinion makers, business leaders, and global organizations recognizes Ebeling as an expert.

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