Ferrari F458 Italia

Not liking this recent trend of no 3rd pedal option in supercars. This car and the upcoming Mclaren...Otherwise I'm still iffy on the styling of the F458. I'm sure it'll grow on me and I'm sure it'll look way nicer in person!
 
exigeracer
Just a random question - why don't these journalists ever wear helmets on track tests? They're throwing the autos around just as hard as at your average trackday, where you wouldn't even consider trying to get on-track without a hardhat.
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Obviously they believe in their ability to control the car and so don't feel a great need to stick a shell over their bonce.

A friend of mine (who races in Britcar) says he only really feels the need to wear a helmet (if it wasn't compulsory, that is) to save him from the trackday heroes who haven't a clue how to behave on track.
 
Thanks for the videos Spy. Didn't know Chris Harris was now working for Evo. Big 👍 imo.
 
Jack
Thanks for the videos Spy. Didn't know Chris Harris was now working for Evo. Big 👍 imo.
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No problem petrolheads...:)

Yeah good to see Chris again,thought we lost him after the DR-debacle...!!




spyrrari.
 
More 458 news via italiaspeed.com... a Challenge(r) appears

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The first prototype of the forthcoming Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge has broken cover, the production-based racer which is set to take over as the mainstay of the Ferrari Challenge next year being caught out track testing. The images that have circulated the internet give little away although a series of racing modifications such as race wheels, slick tyres, bigger brakes, bonnet pins and Perspex sliding windows can be clearly seen. Next year the 458 Italia Challenge will mix with the outgoing F430 in the Ferrari Challenge series' in Italy, Europe and North America before becoming the sole option in 2012.

While the next-generation Ferrari Challenge racer was breaking cover last week, this year's one-make series was visiting the Portimao circuit in Portugal for its latest rounds on Sunday in what was in fact a hectic weekend of sports car racing action for Ferrari worldwide. The second round of this season’s Ferrari Challenge at the Algarve International Circuit, saw competitors in the Pirelli Trophy and Shell Cup taking to the track together in two races with different classifications.

The race day programme featured two rounds of 40 minutes each, at 9.20 and 14.05, with both classes competing in the same race with different classifications. Prior to the start of Race 1, there was a minute’s silence in memory of Loris Kessel, a Ferrari driver and dealer. Of the F430s lined up in the Pirelli Trophy, the first race was dominated by pole man Philipp Baron (Baron Service) who crossed the finish line ahead of Max Blancardi (Motor/Malucelli) and Bjorn Grossman (Autohaus Gohm.) At the end of the second leg in the afternoon, once again Philipp Baron was the first to see the chequered flag, beating Robert Pergl (Scuderia Praha) and Alexey Vasiliev (Ferrari Moscow.) As for the gentleman drivers in the Shell Cup, Oliver Morley (Motor/Malucelli) took victory in both races ahead of Tibor Valint (Warm Up.) In Race 1, third place behind these two went to Stephane Clareton (Stradale Automobile) and in Race 2, it was Dirk Adamski (Autohaus Saggio) who secured the first podium finish of his career.

The next round of the Ferrari Challenge Pirelli Trophy takes place at the historic Hockenheim circuit in Germany, over the weekend of 13 June, alongside the Italian series of the one-maker Maranello championship.

Meanwhile, three weeks after the last event was held at the Nürburgring, the weekend just gone saw the third round of the International GT Open championship taking place at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari Circuit at Imola. The F430s finished on the podium in both races: the AF Corse Ferrari F430, driven by Alvaro Barba and Pierre Kaffer took victory in the first one, converting the pole secured in qualifying on Saturday, ahead of the other Ferrari, crewed by Raffaele Giammaria-Enrico Toccacelo (Edil Cris Racing Team) and the Porsche 911 of Gianluca Roda-Richard Lietz. In the second leg, victory went to the F430 of Chris Niarcos-Tim Mullen (CRS Racing,) followed home by the Aston Martin Vantage of Lucas Guerrero-Max Wiser and the Kessel Racing team entered Ferrari in the hands of Philip Peter-Michael Broniszewski. The Barba and Kaffer crew thus left Imola heading the classification, 22 points ahead of Roda-Lietz and along with the other competitors in the Spanish series, will be back in action over the weekend of 27 June at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

Finally, Ferrari was also in race action across the Atlantic in California. After a great showing from the Brazilian Jaime Melo in Friday’s qualifying was rewarded with pole position, the F430 GT he shared with Gianmaria Bruni finished the GT category of the race in fourth place, at the spectacular Laguna Seca circuit, which hosted the third round of the American Le Mans Series. Fifth place went to the Extreme Speed Motorsports F430 GT, driven by Scott Sharp and Joannes van Overbeek, which had set the second fastest time in class during qualifying.

The Bruni/Melo car was caught up in traffic caused by one of the prototype cars on lap fifteen and also lost a few places after tangling with another car, in a race affected by strong winds and which was hard fought all the way to the chequered flag. The final reward was two important points in the championship battle. The three podium positions went to the winning Porsche 911 of Patrick Long/Jorg Bergmeister, followed by the BMW M3 of Dirk Muller/Joey Hand and the Chevrolet Corvette of Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin. Risi Competition leaves Laguna Seca in third place in the championship, heading into the next round of the prestigious series, scheduled for 11 July at Miller Motorsports Park, in Utah.
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Just when you thought the 458 couldn't look any more stunning...

Bodes well for a Stradale/Scuderia version :D
 
Watched the 5th gear vid last night. Pretty good test, and that gearchange does seem pretty amazing. Even the best DSGs around at the moment seem to have a bit of a pause when you pull the paddles, but the one in the 458 looks genuinely instantaneous, like a race car. I expect it'd make it an absolute riot to drive quickly. And so much more useable and tractable than the old "F1" gearboxes.

Given how insanely good the standard 458 is supposed to be it leaves me anticipating a Scuderia/Stradale version even more.
 
Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge? I don't want one.

That's because I want the one Eric Clapton is getting. He liked the regular 458, but politely asked (aka paid a whole lot) Ferrari to make him a one-off 458 Italia with the V12 from the 599 GTB. Gaaaaaah that thing will be bonkers...

Autoblog
When you've recorded as many platinum records, collaborated with as many big names and topped as many best-guitarists-of-all-time lists as Eric Clapton, you can get pretty much anything you want. And the ironically nicknamed Slowhand is known to have a taste for Ferraris. So much so that when he stopped by the factory in Maranello, even Ferrari couldn't pass up the opportunity to interview him.

Neither could Quattroruote, for that matter. While speaking with the Italian car-mag, Clapton reportedly professed his love for the new 458 Italia... with just one caveat: He's not such a fan of eight cylinders. Could he get it with V12?

According to Quattroruote, apparently he can, as Ferrari has reportedly agreed to build it for him, with the 6.0-liter V12 from the 599 GTB Fiorano. We'll believe it when we see it, which is pretty much exactly what we said the first time we heard the guitar riff on Layla.
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Source
 
Am I the only one who doesn't see much of a point in the swap? I mean, exclusivity and one-up-manship aside. The V12 has buckets more torque, but weighs a fair amount more... I feel that could upset the balance. Then again, if Ferrari is building it for him themselves, I'm sure they'll set it up accordingly. It'll be the closest thing to a new Enzo...

I dunno, I'm such a huge fan of the V8 that I don't think I'd want anything more!
 
To question the point is to miss the point... he's almost certainly doing it because he has the money to do so and because nobody else thought to do it first.

I suspect Eric isn't a regular at the trackdays but I'm sure a V12 will make it quite a unique experience on the road.
 
This and the 599 GTO are amanzingly beautiful cars.

I was never really interested in Ferrari but I think I have to change my opinion.
 
Well, the swap might give him loads of extra torque and a fair addition in the weight, in the rear, so it might become more funny and harder to drive on the edge of the knife.

But he might just want to start the engine by morning and hear that V12 screaming before the trip to the studio in his Sandero. He doesn't look the track day aficionado type to me.
 
Another update on the 458 Italia Challenge series...

ferrari-458-challenge-race-car_100316284_l.jpg

The Dodge Viper Cup recently laid claim to being the fastest one-make road racing series in the world, fueled by the Viper ACR-X's massive 640-horsepower, 8.4-liter V-10. But today's release of the Ferrari 458 Challenge race car, based on the 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, puts the Prancing Horse in contention with the Trofeo Pirelli series.

Sure, the Viper still has 70 horsepower on the 458 Challenge race car, since the Challenge gets a stock production car's engine, and the ACR-X has proved it's no joke in terms of handling by lapping the Nurburgring's Nordschleife in 7:22, but the 458 Italia has been hailed as one of the most brilliant road cars ever built. And that's before it got the race car treatment.

The racing version gets new gear ratios and a more tightly calibrated tune on the dual-clutch 'F1' gearbox, boosting low-end grunt and matching top-end speed to those likely to be found on a typical European circuit. It also gets a drastic weight-savings program, with the interior stripped down and the exterior body panels reduced in thickness and/or made of carbon fiber, and much of the glass replaced by Lexan.

The suspension setup is likewise sharpened for racing use, with solid aluminum bushings, stiffer springs, single-rate dampers, and center-nut 19-inch allow wheels mated to Pirelli slicks. Braking is handled by the Brembo CCM2 carbon-cermaic units also found on the 599XX and a two mode ABS system. Traction control comes from the F1-Trac system, developed to maximize performance while minimizing slip. It, too, has two modes, to be used depending on surface conditions.

One other production-car element that carries over directly to the race car, besides the engine, is the E-Diff electronic limited slip rear differential. It's the first time Ferrari has put the unit in a track-only car, indicating that the standard production 458 Italia is facing no deficiency in that department.
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Source: Motor Authority
 
Caio
No spoiller on a GT car! This is something!
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It's not the GT version, it's the Challenge one-make series car :)

That Novitec car sounds crazy, like a grand prix car. The 458 does sound great though, plenty of vids of it on youtube. Quite easily my favourite Ferrari since the 360 Challenge Stradale.
 
I guess that You guys demand a formal retraction for the mistake ,mislead by the title...here it his.:indiff:
My point, as stated in my previous post and respective quote,albeit with a mistaken illustration is that the 458 sounds and looks great...
 
So, it indeed is a genuine Ferrari and bursts into a blazing ball of fire as it should!
 
Looks like its going to be the same trend as the numerous Lambo's i've seen on fire on the net.. :P
 

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