Following the public launch of the Ferrari 488 GTB road car, a Ferrari spokesperson confirmed that a racing derivative would be announced in the near future. In August 2015, spy photographs taken at the ACI Vallelunga Circuit revealed a heavily camouflaged prototype under development, with observers noting significant aerodynamic and structural differences compared to the outgoing naturally aspirated 458 Italia GT cars that had dominated the GTE category from 2011 to 2015.
Ferrari formally launched the 488 GTE at the 2015 Finali Mondiali event held at the Mugello Circuit, presenting it alongside the companion 488 GT3 customer racing car. At the launch, Ferrari confirmed that the engine carried over from the 488 GTB was the central development — the twin-turbocharged 3.9-litre V8 replacing the high-revving 4.5-litre naturally aspirated unit used in the 458 programme. The 488 GTE was designed to be convertible between LM GTE factory specification and Group GT3 customer specification, giving the platform dual-purpose flexibility.
The car made its race debut at the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona, fielded by the Scuderia Corsa and Risi Competizione teams.
On 13 November 2017, Ferrari Competizioni GT technical coordinator Ferdinando Cannizzo confirmed that both the 488 GTE and the 488 GT3 would receive Evo upgrade packages targeting improved reliability and aerodynamic performance optimisation. The 488 GTE Evo completed its shakedown test at Ferrari's Fiorano Circuit on 30 March 2018. Subsequent wind tunnel testing at the WindShear facility led to the removal of the front dive-planes that had been present on the original specification car. Cannizzo indicated at the time of the announcement that the platform could remain competitive through to 2021 via a potential second Evolution rather than Ferrari needing to develop an entirely new car.
The 488 GTE entered the major international GT endurance championships in 2016, taking over from the 458 Italia GT2 which had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE class in 2012 and 2014 and accumulated multiple FIA World Endurance Championship manufacturers', team, and drivers' titles across four seasons. The 488 GTE competed across the FIA World Endurance Championship, the European Le Mans Series, and the IMSA SportsCar Championship GTLM class, fielded by both the factory-supported Scuderia Ferrari programme and customer racing teams. As a turbocharged GTE car, it operated under balance of performance regulations alongside rival manufacturers.
The 488 GTE marked a fundamental shift in Ferrari's GT endurance racing philosophy, introducing forced induction to the GTE programme for the first time. The 458 Italia GT programme had been built around a high-revving naturally aspirated V8 closely related to the road car engine. The 488 GTB's twin-turbocharged unit offered different power delivery characteristics and introduced new engineering demands for cooling and reliability over endurance distances. Ferrari's decision to build the Competizioni GT programme internally — rather than through the established partnership with Michelotto that had produced the 458 cars — also reflected an organisational shift in how Ferrari approached factory GT racing.
The Ferrari 488 GTE sustained Ferrari's presence at the top level of international GT endurance racing through the mid to late 2010s, bridging the transition from the highly successful 458 programme to a new turbocharged era. The Evo development path allowed the platform to remain competitive across multiple seasons without a full replacement cycle, demonstrating the programme's engineering headroom. The 488 GTE and its GT3 counterpart formed the core of Ferrari's customer and factory GT racing offer during a period of significant regulatory change in international sportscar competition.