Ferrari GTC4Lusso T Bows in Paris With Turbo Power, RWD
The daily driver Ferrari
Ferrari likes to call the GTC4Lusso T "a new concept of car." To the rest of us it looks a lot like a GTC4Lusso with a turbocharged V-8 engine instead of a naturally aspirated V-12, and rear-wheel drive instead of all-wheel drive. Which is basically what it is.
The GTC4Lusso T is powered by an evolution of the 3.9-liter twin-turbo V-8 that's already in service powering the 488 and the California T. In the Lusso T it develops 602 hp at 7,500rpm, and 560 lb-ft of torque between 3,000 rpm and 5,250 rpm. By comparison, the 6.3-liter V-12 in the Lusso develops 680 hp at 8,000rpm and 514 lb-ft of torque at 5,750rpm. And that suggests how differently the two cars will be to drive.
Ferrari chief marketing and commercial officer Enrico Galliera says the Lusso T will appeal to Ferrari customers who want a daily driver. As in the 488, the engine's Variable Boost Management varies the amount of torque delivered in different gears, ensuring smooth low-end response and strong acceleration through the rev-range. And because there's more torque the Lusso T runs taller gears than the V-12 Lusso, improving fuel consumption and increasing driving range by 30 percent.
The Lusso T eschews the innovative all-wheel-drive system of the Lusso in favor of a simpler, lighter rear-drive setup that helps save 396 pounds compared with the V-12-powered Lusso. The four-wheel steer setup, MagnaRide dampers, and Side Slip Control system have all been recalibrated to suit, and this, combined with increased rearward weight bias - 46/54 percent front/rear - gives the Lusso T even sportier dynamics, says Ferrari.
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by cars. My father was a mechanic, and some of my earliest memories are of handing him wrenches as he worked to turn a succession of down-at-heel secondhand cars into reliable family transportation. Later, when I was about 12, I’d be allowed to back the Valiant station wagon out onto the street and drive it around to the front of the house to wash it. We had the cleanest Valiant in the world.
I got my driver’s license exactly three months after my 16th birthday in a Series II Land Rover, ex-Australian Army with no synchro on first or second and about a million miles on the clock. “Pass your test in that,” said Dad, “and you’ll be able to drive anything.” He was right. Nearly four decades later I’ve driven everything from a Bugatti Veyron to a Volvo 18-wheeler, on roads and tracks all over the world. Very few people get the opportunity to parlay their passion into a career. I’m one of those fortunate few.
I started editing my local car club magazine, partly because no-one else would do it, and partly because I’d sold my rally car to get the deposit for my first house, and wanted to stay involved in the sport. Then one day someone handed me a free local sports paper and said they might want car stuff in it. I rang the editor and to my surprise she said yes. There was no pay, but I did get press passes, which meant I got into the races for free. And meet real automotive journalists in the pressroom. And watch and learn.
It’s been a helluva ride ever since. I’ve written about everything from Formula 1 to Sprint Car racing; from new cars and trucks to wild street machines and multi-million dollar classics; from global industry trends to secondhand car dealers. I’ve done automotive TV shows and radio shows, and helped create automotive websites, iMags and mobile apps. I’ve been the editor-in-chief of leading automotive media brands in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States. And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. The longer I’m in this business the more astonished I am these fiendishly complicated devices we call automobiles get made at all, and how accomplished they have become at doing what they’re designed to do. I believe all new cars should be great, and I’m disappointed when they’re not. Over the years I’ve come to realize cars are the result of a complex interaction of people, politics and process, which is why they’re all different. And why they continue to fascinate me.Read More