EVERY once in a while Ferrari gathers a select group of special customers and dealers and clues them in as to what’s in the pipeline.

Journalists are not welcome. Nor, come to think of it, are people with smartphones who take pictures of the presentation and post them online.

Whoever did this might well be on some sort of list now at Maranello. But we have them to thank for giving us a glimpse of a faster, lighter, more extreme Ferrari 488 that’s expected to arrive at the Geneva motor show in March.

In other words, expect power to jump from the 488 GTB’s current 492kW to somewhere in excess of 522kW. It’s hard to see Ferrari being able to resist topping the 537kW output of the McLaren 720S, especially as Woking is known to be working on an even quicker version of that car. The Ferrari’s engine is set to be a development of the 488 Challenge car’s lump. This is some ten percent lighter than the production car motor, and the presentation promised a “unique track-like sound.”

Given that the Huracan Perfomante leveraged much of its ability through smart aero work, Maranello have been working the wind tunnel hard with this car. A GTE-look rear diffuser and more efficient front ducting help increase aero efficiency by a claimed 20 percent. In addition to this, other dynamics have been tweaked such as an even sharper steering ratio, a more aggressive transmission calibration, and the ESC has been revised to offer track day drivers more options at the limit of grip.