Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo – a lap of Silverstone on ice

It’s a big number, isn’t it? Despite being founded by the most disorganised bunch of human beings I’ve ever met – and Harry – evo has reached its 300th issue in rude health. It’s no wonder we’re all feeling a little self-reflective. From a personal point of view, I wanted to mark the occasion with something significant. Something that spoke to evo’s cultural influence as a pure, detail-obsessed place for car enthusiasts to gather and celebrate all that’s good and lampoon all that’s bad. A place where driving dynamics and excitement are prized above all else and where the chassis and powertrain engineers and test drivers are the stars, not some corporate high-up talking about mobility and platforms and all that important-sounding but ultimately dull stuff that other magazines seem unduly fascinated by.  

Features bubbled away in my mind for months. Absolute classics, I can assure you. Some dealt with the glories of the past but felt a little too self-indulgent and regressive. Others embraced the cars and technologies that will inform the next 300 issues but seemed too grandiose in reach and a little worthy. Then Ferrari called. ‘Want to drive a 488 Challenge Evo on a frozen lake?’ they asked. Before I could even say ‘Sounds nice, but what’s the point?’ I’d accidentally replied ‘Oh bloody hell, yes. YES!’ So what follows isn’t very significant. It’s not a ‘think piece’. It’s about doing something just because it’s bloody good fun. You might call it The Thrill of Driving in its purest form. Yes, let’s go with that. Sounds like it was planned.  

This, then, is what it’s like to drive a Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo with studded tyres around a replica of Silverstone’s GP circuit cut into the surface of a frozen lake. If you’d like to reward yourself with the full length version of Jethro’s story you can order a copy of evo 300 here. Enjoy.