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Overview

The Ferrari 458 Italia is a mid engine sports car manufactured by the Italian car maker with the prancing horse on their logo, Ferrari Spa. The 458 Italia was the direct replacement for the Ferrari F430. The Ferrari 458 Italia entered production in 2009 and was sold as a 2010 model year car. Ferrari unveiled the new sports car on 15 September 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The 458 name comes from engines displacement 4.5 liter and the 8 cylinders.

The Ferrari 458 Italia was designed by the famous Italian design house Pininfarina. The exterior was styled for aerodynamics efficiency, producing a down force of 140 kg at 124 miles per hour (about 200 km/h). The front grille features deformable winglets that lower at high speeds, in order to offer reduced drag. The Ferrari 458 Italia was reviewed by Top Gear were Clarkson, May and Hammond praised the car for its style and performances, putting it against the Ferrari F430 in a drag race, winning by a considerable margin and lapping the Top Gear track in 1:19.1 seconds, just 0.1 slower than the Enzo.

Variants

The Ferrari 458 Italia is offered as a two seater, two door coupe and features the 4.5 liter 90 degree V8 with Double overhead camshaft (DOHC) and 12.5:1 compression. The engine develops no less than 578 hp @ 9000 rpm and a massive torque of 389 lb/ft @ 6000 rpm. The engine is matted to a 7 speed dual clutch automated manual gearbox that delivers the power to the rear wheels; final drive ratio is 5.14:1. The performances of the car are very good, reaching sixty mph from zero in a fast 3.3 seconds and traveling the quarter mile from a standstill start in just 11.3 seconds, top speed at which it will get is 202 mph (325 km/h). As for the fuel consumption the Ferrari 458 Italia returns an average of 17.7 miles to the gallon (13.3 liter per 100 km).

The Ferrari 458 Italia measure 178.2 inch (4,527 mm) in length, 76.3 inch (1,937 mm) in width and 47.8 inch (1,213 mm) in height. The wheelbase of the car was set at 104.3 inch (2,650 mm), the front track is a little wider than the rear track measuring 65.8 inch (1,670 mm) compared to 63.2 inch (1,606 mm) rear track. Factory standard tire dimensions are 235/35 ZR 20 for the front wheels and 295/35 ZR 20 for the rear wheels. Ferrari 458 Italia has a dry weight of 1380 kg with a power-to-weight ratio of 2.42 kg/hp

The Ferrari 458 Italia features a twin wishbones suspension at the front and a multi-link set-up suspension at the rear tuned for maximum road holding and superlative handling. Ferrari used a more direct steering ratio to offer the driver extremely rapid turn-in and body control whilst maintaining superior ride comfort. The 458 Italia features an cutting edge ECU that controls the high-performance ABS, providing more precise control over the logic threshold and greater efficiency, enabling the 458 Italia to come to a dead stop from 100 km/h (62 mph) in a short 32.5 meters (106.6 feet). The ECU also controls the E-Diff and F1-Trac and their respective mappings, resulting in a 32 per cent increase in longitudinal acceleration out of corners compared to previous models. The evolution of the control logic, with even faster and more accurate calculation of levels of grip, ensures even greater roadholding, better handling and ease of control on the limit.

The interior is a combination of leather for the upper and lower surfaces of the dashboard with aluminum insertions for the instrument binnacle. The original shape of the air vents was inspired by the design of Formula 1 exhaust chimneys in use up until a few years ago. The console includes two Alcantara-trimmed storage trays for small oddments.

Ferrari is offering its clients the "Carrozzeria Scaglietti Programme" that allows them to personalize their car to suit their own tastes and requirements. As with the rest of the range, there are four main personalization areas dedicated the 458 Italia: Racing and Track, Exterior and Colors, Interior and Materials, Equipment and Travel.

Additional Information

Ferrari presented at the errari Annual Dealer Meeting on 14 July 2010 the 458 Challenge, a ready to race version of the road going 458 Italia. They say that the Challenge lapped the Fiorano test track in 1:16.5, being 2 seconds faster than its predecessor and only 0.2 seconds slower than the Ferrari FXX.

Ferrari officially recalled on September 1, 2010 Ferrari all 1,248 of the 458s sold to date, for problems adhesive used in the wheel-arch assemblies and that, in certain circumstances, the glue could overheat, smoke and even catch fire. In extreme cases the melting adhesive could lead to the heat shield deforming, and hence moving closer to the exhaust, causing the wheel-arch lining to catch fire.