The engine has been revised in depth with the introduction of solutions inherited from the 488 Challenge race car, including Inconel exhaust manifolds, a lighter crank and flywheel, titanium connecting rods and an intake plenum in carbon fiber. Eighteen out of the ninety kilograms of weight reduction come from engine re-design.

The 488 Pista engine is the first roadgoing V8 whose turbochargers are mounted with a speed sensor, a device first implemented on the 488 Challenge. This sensor feeds the ESP control unit with information on the rotation speed of each turbocharger, a leading indicator of boost and therefore torque. The ECU can therefore anticipate torque variations and regulate the wastegate more precisely.

The 488 Pista aerodynamics packagte has been redesigned in depth, with particular attention to thermal management. The first noticeable difference is that the side air intakes have lost their horizontal fins. The engine air intake has been relocated at the very back of the rear fenders, on both sides of the rear wing, freeing up space for a larger intercooler, and benefiting from a colder air flow which enhances thermodynamic efficiency.

The lateral air intakes are now entirely devoted to charged air cooling. The intercoolers are only 7% larger than the GTB components, while with the 488 GTB aero package, they would have had to grow by 25%.