The car was presented in 2015, forty years after the debut of the 308 GTB – the first road Ferrari with a rear-central V8 engine.
The name 488 represents the value of the result of each single cylinder obtained by dividing 3.902cm³ (total displacement) for the 8 cylinders. Thanks to its innovative and high quality design, the 488 was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Best of the Best.