BLACKBOOK The unspoilt beauty of Devon’s Dartmoor provides the backdrop to the newest prancing horse TRIED & TESTED A Drive to Remember ANDREW WRIGHT puts the new Ferrari 488 GTB through its paces on the roads of England’s Dartmoor At the crossroads, it is impossible to see which way to go. The thickening fog is swirling within the deep shafts of light from the headlamps; the V8 makes a low burble from behind. Dartmoor is one of the most atmospheric places in Britain, a raw and ragged moorland with an entirely discrete climate. We are lost, there is no mobile-phone reception and night is closing in all too fast. We are here to explore the Ferrari 488 GTB, spiritual successor to the 1970s favourite, the 308 GTB. More than merely sharing those iconic letters, the 488 enjoys much of the 308’s design ethos with a delightfully slender waistline, cab-forward urgency, circular rear lights and those considerable air intakes sculpted into the rear wings. The cockpit is intimate and completely driver-centric. Critical information is all presented within the deep instrument cluster and most of the controls sit on the steering wheel, F1-style. Resorting to the car’s satellite navigation, we plough on through the mist along the undulating, single-width tracks, no mean challenge in this nearly two-metre-wide supercar. The 488 snarls and tugs, seemingly keen to leave this mythical place. Finally breaking out of the fog, it feels freed and proves to be a very focused machine indeed. It is responsive and incredibly engaging. Some might bemoan the loss of a normally aspirated engine, yet the new twin turbo 670 PS, 3.9-litre V8 is always eager. There is a delicious amount of torque delivered from the lower rev range IAN BICKERSTAFF 32 DEPARTURES-INTERNATIONAL.COM CONTACT PLATINUM CARD SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS
FROM TOP: IAN BICKERSTAFF, MARK ASHBEE without a noticeable turbo lag. It picks up ferociously and as the rev-counter needle heads toward the red line, a quick up-change with the paddle shift starts the climbing soundtrack again … and again. It begs to be worked hard, and the forward vista from its ample windscreen simply beckons the road ahead. Revisited in daylight, the sprites and the pixies have retreated into another world and Dartmoor’s eeriness is replaced by the theatre of the tors, those craggy outcrops and hilltops. The drama is matched by the spectacle and pomp of our red Ferrari as its sound resonates across the valleys and off the rocks. The 488 GTB has so much more to offer than any regular road will allow. There is a directness and immediacy to the steering and it pulls its nose into corners with gusto – a sharpness perfect for track work – and the power is immediately on tap to dispatch the next straight as quickly as possible. It is an enticing blend of supercar and genuine F1 pedigree, yet for all its noise and bravado, it also has a gentler side. Having added hundreds of kilometres to the odometer, our 488 GTB has proved to be an admirable grand tourer. Conversation is easy over the steady exhaust note, and with the suspension set to Bumpy Road, it is remarkable in the way it tackles the twisting ribbon of road with such surprising suppleness. It’s not hard to see why Dartmoor has a rich, dark history: look at any same view twice and it will have transformed within seconds due to the constantly churning light and cloudscapes. Ferrari has an emotive past too, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, and the 488 GTB is the company’s new and exciting chapter. After such intense driving – like Dartmoor itself – the 488 won’t be forgotten for many reasons: its looks, that enchanting engine and its fine ride will earn it a place in Ferrari folklore. ferrari.com ♦ POETIC PROPERTY J ust east of Dartmoor on the banks of the scenic Exe Estuary, lauded British chef Michael Caines’s Lympstone Manor posits one of the area’s most pleasurable places to stay. The look of its 21 grey-and-blue-toned rooms are carefully orchestrated feats of design inspired by – and named for – birds native to the region, while a trio of dining rooms, with their soft, cool hues and dripping chandeliers, have all the opulence of a Victorian parlour. The latter are the fitting setting in which to savour Caines’s sumptuous seasonal dishes such as quail tartlet with black truffles and smoked bacon, braised turbot with mussels and tomato sauce, or a dessert of of lemon-curd and rhubarb custard – the perfect way to end a long day cruising the rolling Devon countryside. Clockwise from top left: the at Portland’s Hotel Cycle in façade Line Hotel in Manhattan lympstonemanor.co.uk —Claudia Roelke DEPARTURES-INTERNATIONAL.COM 33
