Forty-three years on, Ferrari is replacing the current incarnation of the breed, its six-year-old F430, with a brand new car, the 458 Italia, which will debut at the Frankfurt motor show this September.
Its coachwork has been designed by Pininfarina with not just a wind-cheating shape, but also deformable wings over the radiators, which close off the intakes at speed to cut drag. The company claims the car produces 308lb of downforce at 124mph.
The 4,499cc V8 engine uses the direct fuel-injection first seen in a Ferrari on last year’s California model. Unlike the California, however, the 458 uses a flat-plane crankshaft for faster acceleration and optimised breathing albeit at a slight expense of engine vibration. Telegraph.co.uk
The compact, two-seater supercar’s CO2 emissions have also been lowered to 320g/km.
Ferrari hasn’t lost its performance focus, though, for a car that will reach Australia in mid 2010 with a price tag in excess of $500,000.
The quick-shifting transmission teams with the bigger, 4.5-litre V8 and lightweight aluminium body to boost the 458 Italia’s performance.
Ferrari claims the 458 will sprint from 0-100km/h in a remarkable 3.4 seconds – more than half a second quicker than the F430 – and reach a top speed of 325km/h. 3AW
Delivering the 4.5l V8’s madcap power figures to the rear wheels is a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (actually the California ‘box in fact) which has been significantly redeveloped for the Italia’s mid-engined application.
Ratios are all new, whilst Ferrari’s fabled E-Diff keeps things neat (okay, neatish) at the rear when acceleration under power. Other F1 style technologies include F1-Trac skid control and a brilliant deceleration aid called ‘prefill.’
What prefill does is actuate the calliper pistons to move the brake pads closer to their disc surface contact points the moment a drive lifts from the throttle, pre-empting deceleration. The net result is a truncated 32.5m emergency stopping run from 100km to standstill. Wheels24.co.za
Ferrari 458 Italia – Technical specifications
Dimensions
Length 4527 mm (178.2 in.)
Width 1937 mm (76.3 in.)
Height 1213 mm (47.8 in.)
Wheelbase 2650 mm (104.3 in.)
Dry weight 1380 kg (3042 lbs)*
Weight/power ratio 2,42 kg/CV (7.16 lbs/kW)
Weight distribution fr/r 42%/58%
Engine
Type V8 – 90°
Displacement 4499 cc (274.5 cu in.)
Maximum power 570 CV (425 kW)** @ 9000 rpm
Maximum torque 540 Nm (398 lbs/ft) @ 6000 rpm
Specific power output 127 CV/l
Compression ratio 12.5:1
Tyres
Front 235/35 ZR20 8.5”
Rear 295/35 ZR20 10.5”
Performance
Maximum speed >325 km/h (>202 mph)
0-100 km/h - 3.4 sec
Fuel consumption + emissions
Fuel consumption 13.7 l/100 km
Emissions 320 g CO2/km
Gearbox
Dual-clutch, 7-speed F1
Electronics
E-Diff3, F1-Trac, high-performance ABS
With forged wheels and Racing seats
Including 5 CV of ram effect
Combined cycle (ECE+EUDC) Los Angeles Times
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