Yes, I also thought about simply dropping one gear, but as this is the first time that I am working with technic gearboxes I hadn't really an idea how. I will definitely try your approach!
Looking good! Interesting though that you changed the orientation of the flag stripe mid-roof. How did you do it?
I am all in for different colors on technic cars. Wish that all brands would make their cars in many different colors. I am planning on building mine in all red and as a 488 Spider (my favorite car), not Pista.
Regarding motorization, I just want to make mine a bit faster than the usual 1:8 car with little effort and cost. But spending more than 3x the price of the car on 2xBuwizz and buggy motors? Not in a thousand years.
Yes, that was also my concern. But there are no reinforcements needed for 4 L motors, right?
If robustness wasn't an issue, an 8-speed gearbox with a removed gear for the neutral (to push it around by hand) would be the perfect fit. This would make it 7-speed, just like the real car! But I guess this will never become reality...