Ferrari 458 News

Ferrari’s hardcore 458 Italia, the successor to the 430 Scuderia, has been revealed as the new Ferrari 458 Speciale.

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

An Italian driver has crashed his $600,000 Ferrari 458 Italia Spider while trying to overtake another Ferrari on a freeway. The expensive crash was captured on the dash camera of the Ferrari that was travelling with the 458. The crash in southern Italy occurred as the driver of the Ferrari 458 Italia tried to get past the camera car, but instead lost control and fishtailed into a roadside guard rail. According to reports in overseas media, the police were called to the site of the crash, but the Ferrari was not there when they arrived.  

Named after the Circuit de la Sarthe where the famed 24 hours race is held, the brand says the supercar is inspired by Le Mans prototypes from the 1980s. But there’s a definite resemblance to the McLaren MP4-12C, especially around the gills.The Sarther’s 45 per cent front/55 per cent rear weight distribution is centred on mid-mounting the 380kW/650Nm GM-sourced V8.The engine is mated to a six-speed transaxle – combining transmission and differential into the rear axle – rather than the high-tech computerised transmission you might expect in today’s supercar.It’s a bit spare on electronic technology everywhere under the skin, with ABS brakes really the only departure from a thoroughly old-school approach that might appeal to purists.And with a light tubular steel frame, carbon fibre body and honeycomb aluminium floor keeping the weight down to an anorexic 1387kg, you can have some faith in Vencer’s claims of a 0-100km/h time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 328km/h.However it will still trail behind the Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP4-12C who can do the distance in as little as 3.2.Vencer hasn’t released any details of when – or if – it will go into production, and at what price point they will pitch it.

Kids aren’t usually a factor in Car of the Year judging.  But child friendliness rates highly with women buying cars – and with women judging cars.The countdown has been kicked off to decide the Women’s World Car of the Year, and the kid factor is one the judges pay a lot of attention to.“Statistics show that women drive children in cars significantly more often than men – and that means women need to take that into account, both when buying and as judges of cars,” WCOTY president Sandy Myhre said from New Zealand.“Any woman who has grappled constantly with child seats and belts and children considers those things when looking at buying a car.  Men might too but the fact is, women drive children in cars more than men.“Women would not consider that aspect in a Porsche 911 more than a bloke. The point is, it can be considered in these awards - and that is one of the points of difference in these awards.”Myhre points out that significant research into buying habits show that in addition to buying for themselves, women have a major influence in household purchase decisions for big ticket items.Ford Australia, for example, says their research shows that women are behind the majority of purchases of the Territory SUV – either as single women buying one, or in influencing the joint decision with their partner. “A report from Mattingly & Associates in Australia concluded, in part, that businesses that didn't understand this influence would be hard-pressed to stay in business.  That report was aptly called 'When I've Made Up Our Minds',” Myhre says.However, the kid factor is just one of the criteria by which the 2012 Women’s World Car of the Year will be judged.There are four categories in the Women's World Car of the Year – Family Car, Luxury Car, Sports Car and Economy Car. Points are allocated to each of ten criteria: driveability, engineering, comfort, child friendliness, style, interior, storage, dashboard efficiency, carbon footprint and colour range.The 20 judges from eleven countries have submitted their own personal short list and more than 300 cars were suggested. These individual choices were then whittled down to form a master list of 32 in terms of popularity. Judges will now allocate points for these cars from a criteria list.The announcement of the winning cars in each category and the supreme winner will be made before the end of March. The supreme award trophy and category certificates will be presented to the car companies concerned at the Mondial de l’Automobile 2012 – the Paris Motor Show – in September. The supreme trophy will this year be made in The Netherlands. Category-winner certificates will be designed at Peartree Studios in Colerne, UK.The first winner of the Women's World Car of the Year was the Jaguar XF in 2010 and the trophy made in South Africa was presented at the Jaguar boutique showroom in Knightsbridge, London. In 2011 there was a dead-heat between the Citroen DS3 and the BMW 5 Series. The two trophies made in India were presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2011. 

The racing version of the Ferrari 458 Italia road car took the lap record at the legendary Mt Panorama race track during a practice session. Allan Simonsen at the wheel posted a 2:04.9560 time at the weekend around the 6.2km track. This is more than four seconds quicker than the existing lap record for a GT3 category car and the quickest for any form of non-open wheel racing car. It was the first outing for the newly arrived Ferrari 458 GT3, which will be campaigned in Australia by Maranello Motorsport and their sponsor Il Bello Rosso.  The Ferrari is now a front runner for the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour event in February. Straight out of the box, the Ferrari has proven to be highly competitive. Simonsen was thrilled with the race package of the Maranello Motorsport entry. "This car is damn fast! Given this is our first test, it's certainly nice to break the lap record finally and we did it in style," he said.  "From the first laps at Bathurst the car was very quick, given it has a great setup baseline from running in Europe this year so we knew we'd be able to work from where they'd left off. "The power and the chassis are so complementary and I'm feeling really comfortable in the car and with the team. These new generation cars are all going to have a fast pace, and there's no doubt the (Bathurst) 12 Hour is going to be very fast and incredibly competitive it's an event I'm definitely looking forward to on the calendar."

1 Jay Leno: Duesenbergs What a Doosey of a way to start this top 10 star cars feature! One of the world's most expensive cars and most sought after by Hollywood legends over the years is the American luxury Duesenberg. Talk show host Jay Leno has one of the biggest stables of exotic cars in the world, including six Deusenbergs, each worth more than $1.5m. They are so luxurious, they gave birth to the expression "What a duesy/doosey"! They have been owned by celebs such as Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, and Mae West. they have also been owned by millionaires Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst, criminal Al Capone and royalty. 2 Simon Cowell: Bugatti Veyron They cost about $2m and are one of the fastest production cars on the planet with a top speed of 431km/h. The Veyron also launches to 100km/h in 2.5 seconds. The TV talent show judge is a good judge of a car with a garage that also includes a Ferrari F430 and Rolls Royce Phantom. He has also paid a deposit for the Rolls-Royce 100EX Cabriolet which is still just a concept. 3 David Beckham: Custom Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead The V12-powered Roller is worth about $1.3m in "standard" trim. But there is nothing standard about this Roller for the soccer superstar and husband of Posh Spice. For a start, it has custom-made 24-inch Savini forged wheels which cost several thousand dollars each. Beckham's number 23 is embroidered on to the leather seats. 4 Jerry Seinfield: Porsche 959 The reclusive comedian built a $1.4m multi-storey garage in New York just to house his 46-car collection, most of which are Porsches. The most expensive is his rare 959. Only 337 were built and only 200 of those were street legal. A 959 is estimated to cost more than $1m. Bill Gates also owns one, but neither he nor Seinfeld can drive them on the streets as they don't pass US emissions tests. 5 Jay Z and Beyonce: Maybach Exelero Rapper Shawn Corey Carter (Jay Z) and Beyonce Knowles paid about $8m for this one-off German luxury sports car. It was commissioned by Fulda Tyres to test their widest tyres, but now Maybach is building the Batmobile-esque cars for general sale. The 350km/h two-seaters are powered by a 522kW twin-turbo V12 engine. The Exelero features in Jay Z's Lost One video. 6 Kim Kardashian: Ferrari 458 Italia Now that she has filed for divorce from her husband of 10 weeks, Kris Humphries, her collection of cars could also be split up. The reality TV star has several cars, including a Bentley Continental GT, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Range Rover and Ferrari F430, to which she has added the F430's successor, the 458 Italia. In Australia they cost more than $500,000, but Kim's has apparently been specially pimped. 7 Paris Hilton: Bentley GT Continental Of course, it's pink! The body, the grille, wheels, seats and interior trim. If that's not bling enough, it features a diamond-encrusted dashboard that is reported to be worth more than $250,000. In Australia, they cost about $400,000, but with a diamond-encrusted "PH" badge on the front, this one cost a whole lot more. The heiress bought it as a Christmas gift to herself in 2008. 8 Nicolas Cage: Ferrari Enzo The Hollywood actor's addiction to cars caused his financial ruin. At one stage he owned nine Rolls-Royces. But his most valuable and valued car was the legendary Ferrari Enzo which was gone in less than 60 seconds at auction for a bargain price. The V12 sports car, named after Ferrari's founder, had a top speed of 350km/h. Only 399 were built. They can sell for up to $20m. 9 Ralph Lauren: McLaren F1 LM The American fashion designer owns a huge collection of classic cars including the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe, Porsche 550 Spyder, a Bugatti Veyron, two Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas and a rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, of which 39 were made. While some might consider the 250 GTO the greatest Ferrari of all time, fetching up to $15m at auction, it's not as rare as the McLaren. Only five were built to honour the five McLaren F1 GTRs that finished and won the 1995 Le Mans 24-hour race. 10 Patrick Dempsey: Jaguar XK120 The hunky actor from Grey's Anatomy has great taste in cars, especially race cars. The aspiring racer has driven the pace car in Indy 500 and has raced sports car and off-road buggies. He is a co-owner of an IndyCar team and also owns a classic Jaguar XK120. They were built between 1948-1954 and successfully raced at Le Mans.  

The McLaren MP4-12C tops the list of Dad's dream cars.

The second member of the new 458 family follows the family droptop pattern, as the second model in the new mid-engined range, with a go- faster Scuderia expected out of the blocks in the second half of 2012. The Ferrari 458 Spider is confirmed for production next year with the first Australian deliveries before the end of 2012. No-one is betting yet on the bottom line, but it's likely to be somewhere significantly beyond the $526,950 of the 458 coupe. The big difference in the new fresh-air speed machine is the roof - it's been switched from a canvas soft top to a folding clamshell similar to the one already fitted to the Ferrari California. It comes with the promise of more security and reduced noise levels, although the top speed is still pegged at 320km/h with a 0-100km/h sprint in 3.4 seconds. The top is made from aluminium, achieving a 25 kilogram weight reduction over the previous system, and Ferrari says it can be raised or lowered in 14 seconds. The design was integrated into the 458 program from the beginning, which Ferrari says has not compromised the car's aerodynamics or the ability to carry luggage on the small bench behind the car's twin bucket seats. The Spider will be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month but the car is already close to a sellout in Australia - at least for deliveries in the first 12 months. "At this point we're sitting on well into the double figures of expressions of interest. It's not a case of how many cars we can sell, but how many are allocated for sale," says Edward Rowe, spokesman for Ferrari in Australia.

Holden leads with 12 models plus 10 HSVs, all of which are naturally aspirated. Ford was second, before it deleted all its XR8 models and handed the V8 exclusively keys to FPV which has nine supercharged V8s in its Falcons.So it's now - surprisingly - Mercedes-Benz that is runner-up to Holden in the muscle-car stakes, with 12 models, four different V8 capacities and three turbocharged choices.Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy says the number will increase with the introduction of the E 63 AMG estate with twin turbo later this year."And that's in response to customer demand," he says.McCarthy calculates that V8 sales represent about $200 million a year in AMG and $50 million in other models."A quarter of a billion dollars is a pretty sizeable chunk of our business."He says V8s account for about 10 per cent of sales in most classes, except the super-costly CL 500 which is 20 per cent."That will probably change a little when we release the CL 500 bi-turbo."McCarthy says the future looks good for V8s."The reason for that is that technology is delivering lower emissions and better fuel economy without sacrificing power," he says.The ranks of the supercars are surprisingly not dominated by V8s, but by bigger cylinder capacities. For example, all Lamborghinis are either V10 or V12. The most expensive V8 in Australia is the $526,950 Ferrari 458 Italia with a 419kW 4499cc V8. If you can still find one, the cheapest is the Falcon XR8 ute with a 290kW 5408cc V8 starting at $41,690.The most powerful is the 420kW 6208cc V8 in the Mercedes-Benz SLS ($468,820) which has just 1kW more than the 458 Italia. Least powerful V8 is the 250kW 5.7-litre HEMI in the Chrysler 300C ($46,000), although the SRT version is a healthy 317kW.