Tailor Made Ferrati 488 Pista

MEMBER’S CAR: TAILOR MADE FERRARI 488 PISTA

SCD member Amir talks us through his incredible Tailor Made Ferrari 488 Pista, from the dealership in London, speccing at the factory in Maranello and finally taking delivery two years later.

Where does your passion for cars come from?

My passion for cars started when I was a kid and my parents were fed up with me as I was always talking about cars! I remember I used to buy a weekly issue of a car magazine with a page which you could cut and use as a poster, and I used to take these posters to school and stick them to the classroom wall. I remember one of the most liked posters by my classmates was the Mercedes SLR McLaren when it came out back in 2003.

What was your first supercar?

I don’t know if this counts as a supercar, but the first sports car that I had which used to make me excited and bring a smile to my face while driving was a Maserati GranCabrio in a very unique colour combination. When I first saw that car in the showroom, I knew it was the one I wanted. I bought it in 2014 and I was extremely excited to be driving home with the roof off and hearing that V8 engine. I owned that car for five years and 10,000 miles, and I have loads of memories with it, from the unfortunate, having to wait on the side of the motorway at 3 am for hours waiting for a recovery truck because I had a puncture through to much better ones like seeing my sister in the car with her wedding dress on her wedding day.

Why the 488 Pista?

The first time I heard about the 488 Pista was before it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2018. I had a 488 GTB at the time and I heard the successor to the 458 Speciale was coming out with the name Pista, which means ‘track’ in Italian. That’s all I needed to consider buying one, however, when the car was unveiled and I saw how it looked, ‘considering’ one changed to ‘desperately wanting’ one!

Tell us about the buying process.

I did not actually specifically ask for a Tailor Made allocation at the beginning. I knew Tailor Made meant I had to wait longer for the car to arrive and I wasn’t sure if my inner child was strong enough to wait any longer as it’s even a long wait for a non-Tailor-Made car. However, when I was exploring the configurator at the dealership, we tried so many different colour combinations over a few sessions of speccing and I had so many special options and requests in my mind that we eventually decided to use the Tailor Made programme. From the point of putting down the deposit to taking delivery, it took almost two years. I also had to wait seven months for the Tailor Made appointment at the factory but it was worth the wait. When I went to Maranello’s Tailor Made suite at the factory to spec the car, I asked my mother to come and assist me as she has very good taste and she is very good with colours. After speccing the car, we had lunch with Flavio Manzoni (Ferrari’s Design Director) at Ristorante Montana which is an extremely cool place for any Ferrari fan as it is the place where all the Ferrari F1 drivers eat when they are at Maranello. It was Michael Schumacher’s favourite place! Although it was a bit intense during the three or four hours we had to spec the car and choose all the colours and details, the whole experience was extraordinary. It was like a childhood dream come true. It was great to chat with Mr Manzoni during lunch, ask him about his opinion on the spec and if he would sign the Tailor Made dedication plate in my car which was a success. He was a very down-to-earth and friendly man and it was amazing to meet him in person. We also had a tour of the factory after lunch which was very cool to see the production line and understand how these cars are made.

What was your inspiration for the spec?

Ferrari’s Tailor Made programme is divided into three different segments: Classica, Inedita and Scuderia. The ‘Scuderia’ collection is informed by Ferrari’s sporting history, offering a choice of racing-derived materials, finishes and accents. The ‘Classica’ collection, on the other hand, provides a modern twist on the styling cues and features of Maranello’s iconic GTs. ‘Inedita’ introduces innovative fabrics and experimental approaches to interior car design, while still respecting the core values of the brand. My main inspiration was to go for a futuristic and innovative experimental design which is the ‘Inedita’ segment, with a hint of Ferrari’s sporting history which is the ‘Scuderia’ segment, as this car is supposed to be a track car so it should have a connection with Ferrari’s racing history, hence I chose the squared pattern seats with the Scuderia Ferrari shields as a homage to Ferrari’s racing history. There were so many different specs that crossed my mind during the seven months I had to wait for my Tailor Made appointment. Basically I was changing my mind every week. The initial spec of this car was supposed to be very different and much crazier than this, but I am happy it did not materialise as it would have been too much.

Tell us about the speccing process before you went to the factory.

Before I went to the factory to spec the car, the first thing I wanted was a Ferrari with a very rich and strong blue Alcantara interior, but the problem was I didn’t know every single available colour that I could use until I went to the factory, and believe me, I was a very confused man when I was there as the only limit was my imagination! Moving on to the exterior, I always had a soft spot for Blu Elettrico so the best way to match the interior was to have a Blu Elettrico stripe on the exterior. I had to find another colour for the stripe and I thought the best way to compliment the blue is to have a yellow central stripe and yellow outlines on the outer blue stripes. My favourite colours are yellow and blue so I could have been biased. I also wanted a carbon fibre rear spoiler but my dealer enquired and it was not possible as it was exclusive to the Pista Piloti, but I was still hoping that, maybe at the factory, we could make it happen. The last thing I chose was to have a flat grey exterior paint as I already had two popping colours on the stripe, so I had to find a neutral colour that I not only like, but that also compliments the blue and yellow. I initially knew two Ferrari flat greys which I was considering, Grigio Scuro and Grigio Medio, but I was not keen on any of them as Grigio Scuro is really dark and Medio is really bright, so I was hoping I could find what I was looking for when I was at the factory.

Tell us about finalising the spec at the factory.

When I was at the factory, I told them I wanted a flat grey colour but don’t like either Grigio Scuro or Grigio Medio for the mentioned reasons. They told me there are no other similar colours and advised me not to use the blue on either Medio or Scuro as these two colours have green pigments deep in the colour and blue would not look nice with them. Basically, I had to change my whole spec and I wasn’t happy until someone went to the back room for a couple of minutes while I was deciding what to do, and came out with a tiny colour sample called Grigio Nardo. I instantly said it was the exact colour I had always imagined the car in, and everything was sorted.

I chose Blu Elettrico and Giallo Modena for the stripe which I already had in mind. I always thought Blu Elettrico would look amazing against a flat grey because of the contrast between the depth of the two colours. It is actually a custom stripe with a yellow outline on the outer blue stripe and a much thinner yellow central stripe compared to the basic stripe. The central stripe’s width was reduced to match the width of the Ferrari logo on the front so there is more continuity along the length of the car. The engine bay is full carbon fibre and the pinstripe on the engine is Giallo Modena instead of Rosso Corsa to match the whole theme of the car.

I asked again for the carbon fibre rear spoiler which was still not possible, so we went for the closest colour match to carbon fibre, which is Canna Di Fucile, for the rear spoiler and chose Canna Di Fucile Opaco for the wheels, which is the matte finish to match with the rear spoiler. The interior is full of matte carbon fibre as I prefer it to gloss on this specific car. The interior colour is Blu Super Elettrico Alcantara with Giallo Modena leather on the edges, a great match for the stripe on the exterior. The upper dash is Charcoal Alcantara, and the back wall is also Charcoal Alcantara mixed with a special fabric called Grey Superfabric Trilobato which is also used on the floor mats and the floor area — a surprisingly pricey option. I also went for the four-point safety harness instead of the normal belts for obvious reasons, it’s a track car! Another interesting feature on the interior is the Tailor Made dedication plate signed by Flavio Manzoni.

Are you happy with the result?

I saw a photo of the car first before actually seeing it and I was a bit disappointed and stressed about how it would look in person, but when I saw it for the first time I was extremely excited and couldn’t stop looking at it. Everyone seems to like it and the car gets a lot of attention at car shows and events and I am really glad this is the case. The only thing I might add is the front camera as I had it on my 488 GTB and it was quite useful, but it looks a bit odd from the outside.

What is it like to drive and live with?

It is incredible to drive especially on track or on twisty country roads. It is extremely fast and you can’t really get enough until the ‘Low Fuel’ warning stops you. That said, it is amazing how comfortable these new generations of supercars are. You can drive them every day if you want to, they’re so easy to live with. The engine power and acceleration are remarkable. I always felt the engine sound was not enough but recently after doing more miles, I feel the exhaust is opening up because it sounds much louder and is more than enough now. The gearbox is a masterpiece as it is in all modern Ferraris, it’s so instant. The handling and braking give me so much confidence in the car while driving fast. I have owned other supercars, but in terms of pure driving experience, nothing comes close for me, especially driving fast on track. Overall it just makes me feel so excited and motivated to wake up every morning so I can drive it. Unfortunately, the weather in the UK doesn’t always agree with me, but hopefully this summer will be a good one.

What have you done with the car so far?

I have done 1,000 miles so far with hopefully many more to come. I have been to a few events already including SCD’s season opener at Goodwood which was fun. I have also been to Supercar Fest where I did the runway with 21 other 488 Pistas which was a great experience.

Any plans going forward?

I’ll be going to the SCD secret meet, Grantley Hall garden party and Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court. I’ll also be doing the SCD secret meet road tour and hopefully many more if the Covid situation gets better around Europe.

Is it a keeper?

Definitely! I am considering a classic Ferrari or Alfa Romeo at the moment to add to the collection, I am very emotionally attached to this car so I don’t know if I can ever sell it.