The new Liberty Walk (and other) aftermarket kits for exotic cars are cool, but these Ferrari 488 factory race cars do widebody better.
The difference between what Ferrari does and what an aftermarket tuner does is that these factory versions are built with form (and regulations) completely dictating function. These GT3 and GTE cars from Ferrari look the way they do because they need to work on a race track.
As for the technical details, Ferrari explains that these things are basically the same as their 458 predecessors, only with added turbocharging. Also the front splitter looks completely beyond ridiculous huge at this point.
The GTE version is built for Le Mans, where the 458 won the top GT-level class in 2014. It’s the one with the multicolor paint scheme.
The GT3 version is built for just about every other major sports car racing series other than Le Mans. It’s the one with the all-red paint scheme.
As we explained in our class-by-class guide, GTE used to be called GT2, which was the series that took over from the way-too-expensive GT1 class. GT3 is like GTE only a bit more standardized and affordable.
Both of these cars are wildly fast, however, and I highly encourage someone to pick one up to hardpark at your next car show. You can’t let Liberty Walk have all the fun.
Photo Credits: Ferrari
Contact the author at raphael@jalopnik.com.