Ferrari 458 Italia

MeanGreenZ28 · July 28, 2009

OH WHEN WILL THE SEXINESS STOP!!!????!!!! lol

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleD...608&IsPgd=0

Ferrari’s compact V8 supercar gets new name, more powerful engine, clever gearbox and more performance yet is kinder to the environment. And it's here in mid 2010. By JEZ SPINKS.

Ferrari 458 Italia

The world’s most famous red sports cars are continuing their quest to become ‘greener’ with a new supercar that is kinder to the environment than its predecessor.

Ferrari has released pictures and details of its stunning new 458 Italia, a car that is more powerful yet more fuel efficient than the F430 it will replace in 2010.

Ferrari’s new F458 Italia features a redeveloped version of the F430’s V8, with direct fuel injection and a new seven-speed dual-clutch auto (borrowed from the Ferrari California convertible) to help lower fuel consumption from 18.3 litres per 100km to 13.7L/100km.

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.

The new Ferrari's mid-engined V8 produces more power than even the race-focused, circa-$600,000 F430 Scuderia, with 425kW produced at a stratospheric 9000rpm. That's 500rpm higher than the 430 to make it Ferrari's highest-revving road car yet.

There's no shortage of torque, either, with 540Nm arriving at 6000rpm.

Ferrari says F1 legend Michael Schumacher helped to fine-tune the handling of the 458, which the company says delivers even greater levels of cornering grip and superior stopping power to its predecessor.

The sleek, 4.5m-long 458, the latest Ferrari to be designed by Pininfarina, takes design cues from the Enzo, though is also reminiscent of the fabled McLaren F1 supercar of the '90s when viewed from side-on.

Maranello's latest masterpiece, however, offers plenty of its own design highlights.

Ferrari 458 Italia Ferrari 458 Italia Ferrari 458 Italia Ferrari 458 Italia

The front end features radical vertical LED headlights, the flanks are dominated by dramatic sweeping creases and muscular rear haunches, while the rear end is dominated by a triple-pipe exhaust system and F1-style rear diffuser.

A European source told Drive the distinctive exhaust layout contributes to both improved emissions and a unique engine note through only the larger middle pipe being employed up to 3000rpm with the other two joining above that rev point.

The F430’s quad circular tail-lights also make way on the 458 Italia for single round lights either side.

Supercar enthusiasts will be pleased to see that the mid-engined V8 is still visible through the rear glass window.

The 458 is cleaner-looking than the F430, with clever aerodynamics - honed in Ferrari's F1 wind tunnel to help suck the supercar to the road - allowing Ferrari designers to dispense with the prominent air scoops of the outgoing model.

The single front grille and air intake opening also features flexible "aeroelastic" wings that, when speeds rise, bend to close up the intakes and reduce drag for higher speed and improved fuel efficiency.

Ferrari hasn't released any interior photos yet but says the 458's "new kind of steering wheel and dashboard" are inspired by its grand prix cars. There will certainly be a new version of the steering-wheel-mounted Manettino switch, which allows drivers to alter a number of car settings.

European motoring media had been expecting the new verson of Ferrari's best-selling model to be called the F450, but the company has reverted to an old naming system that started with the 308 in the early ’70s and is based on the car’s engine size and cylinder count – in the 458’s case, the 4.5-litre V8.

The 458 Italia will makes its public debut at September's Frankfurt motor show.

As with predecessors, further variants of the 458 will emerge over the next few years - including a Spider (convertible), Scuderia and (track-focused) Stradale versions.

Ferrari told Drive in 2008 that it was developing hybrid technology that it could apply to future models, though the 458 is not expected to be offered with a petrol-electric drivetrain or turbocharged V8 petrol engines also under development.

Ferrari 458 Italia

Price: $520,000 (estimated)

Engine: 4.5-litre V8

Power: 425kW at 9000rpm

Torque: 540Nm at 6000rpm

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption and emissions: 13.7L/100km and 320g/km

Weight: 1380kg

0-100km/h: 3.4 seconds (claimed)

MasterDon · July 28, 2009

you're right...it is quite pretty...much improved from the f430's design...looks a little zonda-ish from some angles,but it aint such a bad thing

and zero to sixty in 3.4 secs!!!...thats even faster than an enzo!...cant even imagine how fast their next hypercar would be like now...roll out the f70 ferrari!!!

kotte mafia · July 29, 2009

this is one sexy car .....

zonda · July 29, 2009

Thats just a photoshop work

Edited July 29, 2009 by zonda

MasterDon · July 29, 2009

Thats just a photoshop work

true it is photoshop...BUT it was released by ferrari themselves...it aint no outsider artists impression...so we can rest easy knowing that the end product will look very much like this.

zonda · July 29, 2009

true it is photoshop...BUT it was released by ferrari themselves...it aint no outsider artists impression...so we can rest easy knowing that the end product will look very much like this.

anyway luv the door handle more like a speeding bullet

zonda · July 29, 2009

anyway luv the door handle more like a speeding bullet ...............but hates the exhausts

GTAm · July 29, 2009

I'm in lurrrrrve :rolleyes:

GTAm · July 29, 2009

Love the details and those wheels are the sexiest!

MasterDon · July 29, 2009

I'm in lurrrrrve

Love the details and those wheels are the sexiest!

ahhh..we think alike,you and i....great minds an' all that...lol

yep...the other forums have been producing genarally positive comments as well...most seem to like how they kept it simple unlike the busy looking 430.