Ferrari’s 911 GT2 RS fighter leaked

You just know Ferrari is getting fed up with Porsche taking all the junior supercar glory when its own fan page promises this year’s new 488 special will be faster than a LaFerrari.

The track-focused coupe is promising everything from an engine that’s 10 per cent lighter to carbon-fibre wheels to a bodyshell that’s 20 per cent more efficient through the air.

After attending a private viewing of the car, a Ferrari Photo Page member uploaded some sneaky images from its presentation, including a video.

There are even strong hints that Ferrari will revive the GTO badge for the supercar, even though the presentation indicated it was a “New V8 Sports Special Series”.

The GTO badge has never been used on a Ferrari production car, with the exception of the ultra-low volume 599 GTO. It has traditionally been a racing car name, with the only other Ferrari GTO racers being the highly sought-after 250 GTO and the 288 GTO.

It will be a direct linear successor to cars like the F430 Scuderia and the 458 Speciale -- effectively a like-for-like replacement for the lamented 458 Speciale, one of the great sports cars of all time, though with more power, more torque and more speed at every point in its envelope.

The leaked imaged show Ferrari claiming the GTO will have the most powerful V8 engine it has ever put into production, with the 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 taken almost entirely from the 488 Challenge race car.

The Ferrari presentation goes on to mention it’s likely to punch out 522kW of power and, without going into specifics, a lot more torque than standard.

It will retain the road car’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, complete with a revised slide control management set-up and tighter differential setting.

The leaked documents show there will be big jump in the amount of carbon-fibre used around the car, with the lightweight material now found on the bonnet, rear spoiler, bumpers, dashboard and big swathes of the interior.

The carbon-fibre wheels, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber, are said to save 40 per cent in weight over the forged alloys on the standard car.

The material move isn’t just for weight, though, with the low-volume nature of the GTO allowing Ferrari to sculpt the body even better for airflow, with the slides suggesting a 20 per cent improvement in aero efficiency over a standard car that already delivers 325kg of downforce at 250km/h.

It will be loud inside, if its go-faster predecessors are any guide. Ferrari will likely remove any heavy sound deadening from the cars, including such niceties as carpets, while even the glass will be shaved down to save weight.