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26/11/2025
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO - 2021
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO
The new turbocharged Ferrari Berlinetta made its debut in the GT3 and GTE categories in 2016. It was with the 2018 update that it achieved its best results, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice in the GTE Pro category.
The 488 replaced the 458 on the road and in GT racing competitions, introducing a 3.9-litre twin-turbo engine (increased to 4 litres in the racing version) replacing the previous car's 4.5-litre naturally aspirated engine. The result was a GTE car, homologated according to FIA regulations, that was entered by the AF Corse team in the WEC (World Endurance Championship) in the GTE Pro category (and then in the GTE Am category by other teams). The car brought Scuderia Ferrari the Manufacturers' title in this category in 2016 and 2017, when James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi also took the Drivers' title with three wins (6 Hours of Nürburgring, Circuit of the Americas and Fuji), three second places and one third place, only missing out on the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in Mexico.
The “Evo” version is scheduled to be introduced in 2018, two years after the launch of the 488 GTE.© IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.
The FIA introduced a two-year calendar for the following two seasons. The 2018–2019 calendar included two editions of the Spa 6 Hours and the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Ferrari 488 GTE Evo made its debut at the 6 Hours of Spa, featuring a range of technical and aerodynamic improvements designed to make it more competitive and delay the arrival of a successor. A successor is not due to arrive until 2023 with the 296 GT3, effectively skipping the intermediate generation of the road version, the F8 Tributo.
1. The main difference between the Evo and the original 488 GTE is the absence of pitch control deflectors on the nose, which were removed after several wind tunnel tests.
2. Compared to the street model 488, the air intakes in the upper part of the flanks are larger and better designed to optimise airflow.© IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.
But the 488 GTE Evos didn't perform well in their first race at Le Mans, where the principal team's cars finished only fifth and seventh in their respective categories. They made up for it in the second race at the Circuit de la Sarthe, held in June 2019 and which counted as part of the 2018-2019 championship: the Ferrari Berlinetta even secured a victory that complemented the success achieved at Silverstone ten months earlier and earned the AF Corse team second place in the overall category standings.
1. On the 488 GTE Evo, the extractors mounted at the rear are larger and more prominent.
2. The design of the carbon spoiler has been slightly modified, while retaining its overall shape.
3. The V8 twin-turbo engine has been thoroughly redesigned compared to the standard unit. The displacement has been increased from 3,902 to 3,996 cc. Power, limited by regulations introducing a ‘balance of performance’, has been reduced from 670 hp to around 600 hp.© IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.
Beginning in September at Silverstone, the 2019–2020 season ended in November 2020 in Bahrain. The AF Corse Ferrari only won at Shanghai, again with Calado and Pier Guidi, but achieved second place in its category at Le Mans.
A. On the Ferrari 488 GTE, the rear lights are identical to those used on the series-production car, but the aerodynamic extractors located next to them have been replaced by black grilles.© IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.
The 488 GTE Evo won the GTE Pro championship again in 2021, with three consecutive victories for car no. 51 in Portugal, Le Mans and the second of two consecutive races in Bahrain. At Le Mans, Pier Guidi and Calado, with Frenchman Côme Ledogar as third driver, finished 20th overall, just ahead of the Chevrolet C8 R of the official Corvette Racing team.
B. From left to right, Battistino Pregliasco, director of the AF Corse team, and drivers Côme Ledogar, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, winners at Le Mans in the GTE Pro category in 2021.© IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.
The AF Corse 488 GTE Evo won the WEC championship again in 2022, but not Le Mans, where the No. 51 car with Calado and Guidi, joined by Daniel Serra (already third driver in the 2018 and 2019 editions), had to settle for second place in the category, while Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Davide Rigon finished third in the No. 52 car. The GTE Pro category was discontinued in 2023.
C. In 2021, the AF Corse team's Ferrari 488 GTE No. 51 won at Le Mans, in addition to victories in Portugal and the second round in Bahrain.© IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.
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