First time here, don't hate
BAP_Shockz's Car of the Week Experience
This week's car is the Ferrari 458 Italia '09
Starting from the top, I reckon.
I'm not exactly a famous guy. Hell, you wouldn't stop me walking past you and then ask for my autograph. But if there's one thing I love more than anything, it's driving. Ever since I was 5, sitting in my dad's Ford Laser, I've always loved cars. I drove them in video games, and now I get to drive cars for real. It's surprising how fast time flies when you have fun doing what you love.
Now, Ferraris are rare where I come from. Within my short and pathetic life leading up to now, I can count the number of Ferraris I have seen on the streets using both my hands. I've always enjoyed ogling at 'em when I see them, though. They're perfectly designed and are beautiful in every possible way. Not to mention, they go like stink too. So, imagine my surprise when Ferrari decided to allow me to drive one of their best and fastest masterpieces on the road.
Y'know, this thing.
Of course, they flew me out to Spain for this. I'm not arguing, all my expenses were paid for, so my job was to just push this thing to my limits. Spain has some of the best driving roads I can think of, and it's no more obvious than it is here. It still surprises me though, how Ferrari were generous enough to allow me, a relative nobody in the driving world, to have a free ride in one of their crowning achievements.
So, as I sat there, getting ready to pull off in a cloud of smoke, I pinched myself. Multiple times. They all hurt, so I'm pretty sure I'm not dreaming.
I set off at a snail's pace, gradually picking up speed as I get acquainted with the car. What I then realized was that this car is a pussycat at low speeds. It's so easy to drive it scares me somewhat. To me, supercars are usually a wet dream, a fantasy, incredible to drive fast, and yet hell for everyday use. This thing though, it's certainly something else. However I found out that this car does have some mild understeer at moderate speeds, although it's not really troubling. Getting comfortable with the car, I increase my pace, and put the foot down......
The sensation is something I can only describe as something James May may have said before, a sort of fizzy feeling "down there". This thing.......picks up speed, like a homeless guy picking up money falling from the sky. It's that fast. Even at this speed it's still manageable, it's not difficult to drive fast at all, as long as you know what you're doing. The 458 grips at every corner, and it keeps gripping. It's sublime, majestic, fantastic, and everything in between. I spent a good 4 hours driving this car to my limits, until the tires finally wore out. When I pulled into the pits to call it day, I took a few steps back just to admire this car, there is just something about it that draws me in further. Not to mention I didn't crash it, which was the one thing I dreaded going into this.
Imagine my surprise and extreme happiness when they then asked me to take part in a 2-lap exhibition race at the world renowned Autodromo Internazionale Monza circuit, in Italy. I was to fly there immediately, and take part in the race tomorrow. Of course I'd say yes, I mean, who in their right mind would say no to that?
The next day.....
Sunlight penetrates my eyes as I am sitting in the cockpit of the very same 458 that I was driving around Sierra, now in Monza. Luck wasn't completely on my side however, as due to my late entry, I was to start....at the back of the 10-car pack. Not to mention it was a rolling start, which means whoever was in 1st place, would have created a sizable lead by the time I'd have caught up. It was a challenge I'd have to face head-on, and that means I'd have to drive like a hooligan.
The race started, and directly in front of me was a 70's Plymouth Superbird (the hell is it doing here?). Obviously an easy task for the 458, I also overtook another Ferrari, a 512BB, that was in front of the Superbird. Within the first lap, I had already overtaken 3/4 of the grid, and was hot on the heels on 2nd place, a Zonda C12S. The rabbit in front, a KTM X-Bow R, had already been ahead by 5 seconds by the time I'd caught up to 2nd.
During the 2nd lap, I pushed the 458 like never before after overtaking the Zonda, and was catching up fast to the X-Bow. During the race, I felt like I could always push the car through any corner, and it would go wherever I wanted it to. I could use the full width of the track and go faster through any corner. This was definitely a car that is fantastic on the track, as it is on the road. The more I drove it, the more I fell in love with it. Right, final hairpin, I'm about 1 second behind as we exit the straight leading into the hairpin. Feeling brave, I put my foot down the moment I exited the fast hairpin into the final stretch to the finish line. I was hitting 160mph, but.......
It wasn't enough. The X-Bow beat me to the line by 6 tenths of a second. Considering I had started from the back of the pack, it was a commendable effort, but I can't help feeling I could have done better. Ferrari were mighty impressed with what I had done though, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
Throughout the 2 days I have spent with this car, I had fallen in love with it over and over again. It just kept impressing me, with it's sublime road handling, and it's feral prowess on the track. I'm not a very fast driver, but if this car can make the Average Joe look like Michael Schumacher (Get well soon, Schumi!), then I'm sold. As for this thread, Beater or Sleeper, I think the answer is fairly obvious, wouldn't you say so? A great experience, and a solid package.
Overall score: 9/10
Would be nice to see some GTP people come over our way sometime.
). Fun racing I do see, and that is what matters to me, I hate doing endless laps against nothing (unless they're car testing laps). And some members have raced for so long, I think they can't call themselves "rubbish" anymore because they've actually gotten good! 
