Ferrari 458 Italia Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Ferrari 458 Italia
Prices: £169,545 – on the road
Insurance Group: 20
Emissions: 307g/km
Performance: Max speed 202mph / 0-62mph 3.4s
Fuel Consumption: (combined) 13.3mpg
Safety: ABS, Traction Control, Stability Control
Dimensions: length/width/heightmm 4527/1937/1213

MARANELLO MAGIC

Our Rating: 7.7 / 10

Lots of people dream of owning a Ferrari and thanks to the 458 Italia, there will be a few more. Steve Walker reports.

A 570bhp mid-engined sports car from Ferrari would have been enough to satisfy most but the 458 Italia happens to be gorgeous as well. There are lots of highly desirable destinations for a car budget of over £150,000 but with this package of engineering and design, Ferrari has assembled a compelling case for sending it to Maranello.

Like any car manufacturer, Ferrari has had its ups and downs over the years. There are models which are revered as classics and those which are routinely shunned but in recent times, it’s been on something of a roll. Enzo, F430, 612, 599, even the California was warmly received by those who appreciated the need for it. It looked like the brand could do no wrong but was it building towards crescendo or catastrophe? The answer came as the covers fell from the 458 Italia and applause surged in the air.

It’s interesting that the period which may soon be looked back on as one of Ferrari’s greatest took place at a time when supercar manufacturers were under increasing strain. Growing environmental concerns and, latterly, major financial upheaval are not the preferred back drops against which to retail high performance sportscars costing north of £150,000. In the build-up to the arrival of the 458, Ferrari must also have been feeling the squeeze from a number of rival products dropping into the top end of the sports car market. Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz were all flexing their muscles in the sector and McLaren had announced its MP4-12C follow-up to the mighty F1. Looking at these factors and then at the 458 Italia, the only reasonable conclusion is that Ferrari thrives under pressure.

Mounted at the heart of the 458 is a phenomenal V8 engine. Based on the same block as the unit in this car’s F430 predecessor, it’s boosted to a 4.5-litre capacity and revs to a spine-tingling 9,000rpm. The maximum power output of 570bhp is achieved on that rev limiter and it’s enough to transport the 458 through the 0-62mph sprint in 3.4s. Guaranteeing the car’s supercar status are the facts that it will pass 124mph in 10.4s and reach a top speed on the scary side of 200mph.

Power is sent from the mid-mounted engine to the rear wheels via Ferrari’s double-clutch gearbox marshalled by wheel-mounted paddle shifters – there’s no manual option. Helping to get it all onto th

It’s a sad reality that most people will never drive a Ferrari 458 Italia and will have to make do with marvelling at it on magazine covers and motorshow stands. It’s a beautiful car, so there are worse ways to while away some time but there’s also function in its exquisite form. Stylists Pininfarina sculpted the bodywork around the various cooling and aerodynamic constraints laid down by the engineers.

The rubber wings inside the frontal air-intake are designed to deform at high speed, closing off the radiator for improved aerodynamics. At lower speeds when more cooling is needed, they allow the air in and it exits through the wing vents at the side of the avant-garde front light clusters. The gearbox and clutch are cooled by the intakes on the elegantly elongated tail, with the air exiting through its mesh sections. Signature styling features include the windscreen that plunges down below the bonnet line and the trio of exhaust pipes flanked by the super aggressive rear splitter. In total, the 458 bodywork produces 140kg of downforce at 124mph with a drag coefficient of just 0.33Cd.

The interior is pared down and intensely focused on the business of driving. Steering column stalks have been eliminated, with the controls placed on the steering wheel itself along with the engine start button and the settings for the stability control system. There’s a definite Formula One feel to the wheel as a result, but owners won’t be able to take it off and carry it around with them.

The market for sportscars costing over £150,000 isn’t particularly vibrant at the moment but the 458 Italia should have the requisite wow factor to compete with the best of the rest. The Ferrari name still carries enormous weight and there will be little chance of its profile waning while it can churn out products like this. McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Porsche and Lamborghini all have vehicles that could be deemed alternatives to the 458 and that’s a buying decision that any petrolhe