Ferrari 458 2013 News

The New York motor show in April will see the announcement of which vehicle has won the 2014 World COTY, and there looks to be a tough -- and very varied -- field of finalists.Last year's winner was the Volkswagen Golf, which also took awards in pretty well every country on the globe. But this year it could be anything from the little electric BMW i3 to the offroading Jeep Cherokee and even the Citroen C4 peoplemover, judging by the shortlist.A panel of 69 motoring experts from around the world -- including Carsguide's Paul Gover and National Motoring Editor Joshua Dowling -- will choose the winner from: Audi A3, BMW 4 Series, BMW i3, Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Ford Fusion/Mondeo, Infiniti Q50, Jeep Cherokee, Lexus IS, Mazda3, Peugeot 308 and Skoda Octavia.The 10 finalists for the 2014 World Luxury Car are the Bentley Flying Spur, BMW X5, Cadillac ELR, Cadillac Escalade, Maserati Ghibli, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Porsche Macan, Range Rover Sport and Rolls-Royce Wraith.Due to a tie, there are 11 finalists for the 2014 World Performance Car: Alfa Romeo 4C, Audi RS 6 Avant, BMW M6 Gran Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Ferrari 458 Speciale, Ford Fiesta ST, Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster, Mercedes-Benz A/CLA45 AMG, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche 911 Turbo and Volkswagen Golf GTI.A separate panel of five 'green' experts will choose the 2014 World Green Car from Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (+ Audi e-gas), BMW i3, Honda Accord Hybrid, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Volkswagen XL1.Similarly, a panel of five design experts will decide on the 2014 World Car Design of the Year, from among: BMW i3, Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Lexus IS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Volkswagen XL1.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Sydney Motorsport Park is set to host the biggest gathering of Ferraris ever seen in Australia, with the announcement of the Ferrari Racing Days festival for April 2014. Similar to the Porsche Rennsport event held at Sydney Motor sport Park in May, the three day Ferrari event will see hundreds of Ferrari road and race cars converge on the western Sydney race circuit to take part in track activities, static displays, and on-side entertainment. Ferrari Racing Days will also include the second round of the 2014 Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific (APAC) one-make series for 458 Challenge racers.   Another drawcard will be the first Australian appearance of the official Ferrari F1 show, with a genuine Ferrari racer set to take to the circuit, and no doubt aiming to beat the 1:13.6 time set by Mark Webber’s Red Bull racer at the Top Gear Festival in March. "Not everyone can own a Ferrari and not everyone can be a racing driver, but anyone can come to Sydney Motorsport Park in April 2014 to see, hear, smell and maybe even touch Ferrari Racing cars," President of the ARDC Andrew Leithhead says. Ferrari Racing Days will be held at the Sydney Motorsport Park from 11-13 April 2014. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn  

The video of this teen at the wheel of his father's Ferrari 458 Italia -- worth more than $525,000 plus a hefty amount of Luxury Car Tax here -- claims insane acceleration. The footage doesn't quite match to the promise, with the young tacker taking it pretty carefully. But you still get a good earful of the fantastic 458 engine: a whomping 4.5-litre V8 that pushes out 425kW of power at 9000rpm and 540Nm of tyre-shredding torque at 6000rpm. Getting that to the rear wheels via a seven-speed sports auto, it delivers a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.4 seconds. We don't see that in the kid's video, but he seems to be already driving fairly confidently. And while we might be a bit envious that he gets to play with this kind of toy, at least he's treating it with a bit of respect -- unlike the video earlier this year of a young lad drifting his dad's Ferrari around a dusty carpark. Watch the desktop version of the 14-year-old takes dad's Ferrari 458 super car for a blast video here.  This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott    

You know you're getting old when car comfort is more important than a stoplight sprint. Either that or, like me, you've recently spent too much time with doctors and comfort suddenly becomes the single most important thing in your driving day.I love the Ferrari 458, but right now I would hobble straight past the rip-snorter Italian thoroughbred on the way to a cushy Jaguar XJ limo. It would be the same situation for my first-choice funster, the Porsche Cayman.I've recently driven a race-prepared Fiat 500 Abarth and the pain was almost - almost - worse than the pleasure of romping the pocket rocket around the high-speed swoops and curves of Phillip Island. I was more than happy to slide back into the cushiness of a Chrysler 300 for the drive home, even if the seats in the motown monster don't give as much support as I normally like.The ride back to the airport got me thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of a number of vehicles that have recently passed through the Carsguide garage, focusing on how they make you feel in the body instead of in the head. Every week there are emails to CarsGuide from people of age, asking about upgrading - from a conventional passenger car into something in the SUV style that's easier on the hips and legs at mounting and dismounting time.An SUV can look like a good idea on the comfort front, but lots have bench-flat seats, crappy ergonomics and nowhere near enough suspension compliance. The Subaru Forester has a nice ride, but I prefer the seats in the Toyota RAV4. On the car front, the new Nissan Pulsar has seats that do nothing for me, but the Renault Clio is surprisingly comfy for a little, affordable car.My top favourite seat is a Recaro racing bucket that is almost shrink-wrapped to my shape, like a bathtub full of jelly that provides perfect support. But it's just about the toughest seat to get into or away from. So, right now, the first-choice comfort car is a Range Rover. It's stupidly expensive, but everything works for me, from a body that drops down on its air springs for easy access to beautifully-shaped front buckets finished in lovely leather and even a user-friendly automatic gearbox that means my left leg never has to move out of its comfort zone.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

The Prancing Horse brand is about to launch an even prancier version of the already snorting 458 Challenge. Called the 458 Challenge Evoluzione, the new car -- set to be fully revealed later today -- draws on the experience the Italian supercar maker has gained in GT racing. Ferrari says that experience has led to aerodynamic improvements, most notable in this first image with a leviathan rear wing to produce increased downforce, balanced at the nose by modifications to the splitter and floor. This "allows drivers to make full use of the 458 Challenge Evoluzione's dynamics and performance, extending its limits and those of the driver, while improving performance both in terms of laps times and over long distances," the Ferrari teaser statement says. The donor 458 Challenge's mid-mounted 4.5-litre V8 engine carries over without any increases to the 419kW of power and 540Nm of torque, but Ferrari has modified the gear ratios and calibration to deliver peak torque earlier and has added its first electronic differential for a track car. Interested buyers will have to wait a little while to hear the price, but those who already own one of the 458 Challenges -- first launched in 2010 overseas for the 2011 one-marque season -- will be able to upgrade with the Evoluzione pack. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

Formula One has moved into turbo charged engines – and so will Ferrari road cars

One of the big magnets at Frankfurt motor show this year was the dynamic BMW i8 - but performance purists might be horrified to learn the Bavarian muscle car only has a three-cylinder turbo 1.5-litre petrol engine. And an electric motor.But the output is staggering: 170kW/320Nm from the tiny petrol motor and the rest from the electric power plant, for a total output of 266kW and a whopping 570Nm of torque. It goes to 100km/h in 4.4seconds and uses next to no fuel. Try 2.5litres/100km.It's an all-wheel drive model, with the electrics powering the front wheels and the three-potter the rear. Most of the body is of carbon fibre plastic, the suspension and other underbody parts are aluminium and the electric bit can be recharged at home in about four hours.BMW says the i8 is likely to go from concept to production in a matter of months and has even worked out a price for it: US$136,000. It might be a tad more if it comes to Australia.Ferrari produced a 458 Speciale, said to be its 'best V8 ever'. The blue-striped red coupe producing some pretty decent numbers: 445kW/540Nm, three seconds flat from standstill to 100km/h and a top speed of 325km/h.Across the passage Fiat had a flotilla of its cute littlies. There was the 500e, an electric powered one with a 140km range, the 63kW GQ Twinair, a turbo S version with 77kW and one called Living which offered a head-spinning 88kW.Plus a 500 Abarth circa 1959, one of the world's earliest mini hotties, alongside the latest and considerably bigger version. But Alfa Romeo's 4C was possibly the best of the Italian sporting machines, a lovely blend of style, performance and balance at a comparatively affordable price.  

Russian dash-cam footage may dominate the world of viral motoring videos, but the Middle East still wins when it comes to truly crazy car culture. Whether it's hypercars abandoned in the desert or rich Saudi Arabians posing with supercars and their pet tigers and lions (seriously, that's a thing now), the Internet is awash with very wealthy people doing very silly things. DON'T MISS: Crazy truck jump | video This young kid hooning a Ferrari 458 Italia around a dusty parking lot is the latest, and we're just as confused as you are. Who owns the Ferrari? How do two kids -- the one driving and the one holding the camera -- get access to such a thing? ALSO SEE: Watch a Jaguar XJ220 hoon around a farm | video Luckily, despite shouting what we assume is the Arabic for "watch this!", the kid manages to avoid destroying the 458 as he zips around the parking lot. Impressive age of the driver aside though, it's a bit of a disappointing video. Any true hoon would have turned off the traction control first... Watch video here.  

The hardcore version of Ferrari’s 458 Italia supercar, the spiritual successor to 2007’s 430 Scuderia, is reportedly being prepped to be unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show this September. The biannual event has been favoured by Ferrari of late for debuts concerning its entry-level mid-engine model, with 2007’s Frankfurt Auto Show playing host to the debut of the 430 Scuderia followed by the debut of the 458 Italia at 2009’s event and the 458 Spider at the most recent 2011 show. Thus, it’s easy to see why Car and Driver is reporting that the new hardcore 458, which some are suggesting will be called the 458 Challenge Stradale or perhaps even a 458 Monte Carlo, will be shown in Frankfurt in just a few months.   Like its predecessors, the hardcore 458 will be lighter than its donor 458 Italia. The previous 430 Scuderia weighed 100kg less than the regular 430, meaning the hardcore 458 could end up weighing about 1300kg. The car is also expected to borrow a number of elements from the 458 Challenge racer, and utilise knowledge learned during development of the new LaFerrari flagship supercar. Look for new gear ratios and a more tightly calibrated tune for the 458 Italia’s seven-speed dual clutch transmission. There should also be stiffer suspension, uprated brakes, stickier rubber and the aforementioned lighter kerb weight. Peak output from the 458’s 4.5-litre V8, meanwhile, is reported to see an increase to around 450kW, up from the current 425kW rating. This is said to be courtesy of forged internals, the redline moved up 300 revs to 9,300 rpm, and the exhaust system made less restrictive. Finally, new aerodynamic features are said to be planned, including the use of active winglets on the rear diffuser. Oh yes, one of the best supercars on the market is about to get a whole lot better. www.motorauthority.com