Have you ever dreamt about being a racing driver? If yes, and you feel you have enough means to afford yourself a huge bunch of speed, comfort and delight, costing more than $250k, then new supercar Ferrari 458 Italia is obviously designed for you. It’s a real sports car from Ferrari, developed as a replacement for the F430. The car itself was obviously developed out of the Millechilli Concept, presented in 2007 as a mock-up. The most essential thought of the concept was to create an efficient car with perfect performance, keeping it very technically stuffed and very light. It goes without saying, the idea worked.

Ferrari 458 Italia was unwrapped in September 2009 at the Frankfurt International Auto Show revealing this all-new two-seat sports car powered with V8 direct injection engine. It’s built on the totally new platform having a lighter body (mostly made of aluminum thus stronger), lower emissions and unbelievable performance. The United States are expected to get acquainted to the model in late 2010.

So, let’s start with the outfit. The Ferrari 458 Italia looks like a fast racing track-worthy car. Still, its electronic equipment provides a driver with safety anywhere, even driving over wet asphalt with leaves on it is safe. Even in this case you can admire the scenery without any fear.

Strong aerodynamic design provokes to sit at the driving seat and rush along the road. Besides, can you believe that the Ferrari 458 top speed is 325 km/h (202 mph)? The special aerodynamic body shape helps a lot with this by effectively channeling atmospheric air through the narrow gitters under the hood and special hollows on the backsides. As well as avoiding excessive wind intake, the Ferrari 458 Italia is successful in channeling the air that feeds the engine, and no doubt adds some special thrill to the design of the car.

The distinctive sports car is obviously designed for those who are not afraid of being unlike and different. It provides the owner with the feeling of total uniqueness and royalty. To tell you the truth, the Ferrari 458 price is also royal, it starts from the $250k but the sports car is really worth it! In fact, the whole appearance of this marvelous sports car is thoroughly considered and perfectly designed: headlights, rear lights, exhaust pipe are both very efficient technically and pretty to look at.

So, what can we find under the hood of a Ferrari 458 Italia? At first, an entirely new 8V direct injection engine with a maximum of 9,000 rpm and a huge torque of 540 Nm available at 6000 rpm. Moreover, 80 per cent of the engine power is available from 3250 rpm, which is very impressive. And even more: the compression ratio is as high as 12.5:1 and maximum power output is 570 CV – it’s a real record for a road car. Thus it’s possible to foresee 325 km/h as a Ferrari 458 top speed with a 3.4 sec acceleration. By the way, the Ferrari 458 Italia demonstrates an environmentally friendly behavior with 13.7 l/100 km fuel consumption and 307 g CO2/km emissions.

The most important feature of a sports car is an efficient brake system. So, let’s explore the one of the Ferrari 458. The ABS featured here demonstrates great results along with the brake system: braking distance is only 32.5 meters with 100-0 km/h and 128 meters with 200-0 km/h. Such efficient results became available with the optimization of Bosch control logic and evolution of Ferrari’s Pre-Fill logic system. They both allow reducing response time of the brake system thus saving the most important split seconds for more accurate brake control.

After all these specs you don’t think Ferrari 458 price of $250k is too much for it, do you? The interior of the Ferrari 458 is sporty and ergonomic as well. It embraces a driver with comfort and usability as almost all necessary controls are built into the steering wheel. Excited to know the opinion of world F1 champions about the Ferrari 458 Italia? Here are the words from Michael Schumacher: “It’s a beautiful ,innovative car with new aerodynamics, suspension, gear box and engine. […] It’s a big step forward, and it’s just I feel it’s remarkable”.

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 (front/rear): 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 s
• 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