Tag: 458

Video: Top Gear and the Ferrari 458 Italia. What are you waiting for?

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Ferrari

Top Gear reviews the Ferrari 458 Italia – Click above to watch video after the jump

Jeremy Clarkson has got his hands on a Ferrari 458 Italia, and his particular take on the coupe involves a comparison to the venerable 308, a drag race with James May’s personal F430, Clarkson opening his heart to flappy paddles, a “humiliation” and of course, a lap with The Stig. All that and more is a click away, so follow the jump to get watching. Hat tip to Tyler!

[Source: BBC via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Top Gear and the Ferrari 458 Italia. What are you waiting for?

Video: Top Gear and the Ferrari 458 Italia. What are you waiting for? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ferrari drops new photos of 458 Challenge test session at Vallelunga

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Ferrari, Racing

Ferrari 458 Challenge – Click above for high-res image gallery

A few weeks ago, Ferrari officially debuted its latest Challenge race car, based on the 458 Italia. Now they’ve released new photos of the car during its test session at the Vallelunga race circuit. Factory test drivers Maurizio Mediani and Jaime Melo were on hand to provide feedback on the 458 Challenge, and predictably, both seem impressed with the car’s capabilities. Mediani described his drive as “very quick and extremely good fun,” while his counterpart commented, “I am sure that Prancing Horse competition owners will be very pleased with the car.”

Using the standard roadgoing 458 Italia as a base, Ferrari creates the Challenge version by increasing output of the 4.5-liter V8 to 570 horsepower, cutting weight via thinner and lighter body panels, adding a race-specific suspension setup, fitting 19-inch BBS wheels with Pirelli racing slicks, installing a set of carbon ceramic Brembo brakes and more.

So equipped, Ferrari claims the 458 Challenge can lap Fiorano over two seconds per lap quicker than its predecessor, the F430 Challenge, while pulling a cornea-yanking 1.6g’s worth of lateral acceleration. You can check out the new photos below, and we’ll be sure to bring you any more if Ferrari sends them our way.

Gallery: Ferrari 458 Challenge racer

[Source: Ferrari]

Ferrari drops new photos of 458 Challenge test session at Vallelunga originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sibal renders Ferrari 458 GT

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Ferrari, Design/Style, Racing

Ferrari 458 GT by Jon Sibal – Click above for high-res image

Brace yourself for big ol’ dose of sexy. Ferrari hasn’t exactly made a secret that this is the last year for the F430 GT in the American Le Mans Series. With its days numbered, more than a few souls have begun meditating on what will come next for the Prancing Horse’s ALMS teams. Most have settled on the notion that the new 458 Italia will make its way to the paddock in race guise, resulting in a 458 GT. Fortunately for us, one of those contemplative souls just happens to be the design guru Jon Sibal.

Sibal worked up a quick rendering of what the new bruiser would look like, and we have to say we’re smitten. The lunging lines of 458 Italia lend themselves well to an even more low-slung race stance. Throw in a few aerodynamic tweaks, a new set of shoes and proper rubber and you’ve got a genuine heart throb. Sibal says the rendering is just a quick shot at what the car looks like – we’d can’t wait to see what happens when he takes his time with the car.

[Source: Jonsibal]

Sibal renders Ferrari 458 GT originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ferrari 458 Italia fans the flames in the City of Lights

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Europe, Ferrari, Luxury

Ferrari 458 on fireFerraris have been known to have the fire inside, and sometimes the coupes like to give their owners a baptism by fire. Literally. The gent in the photo was cruising through Paris in his new 458 Italia when he noticed that the rear fender was on fire. While he bolted from the driver’s seat and left the car burning in the middle of the street, a passerby happened to have a fire extinguisher and put the flames to rest before the 458 got an even blacker paint job.

We presume that was a different passerby than the one with the camera, who just took lots of photos of the car-b-que. Click the link for more of them, and watch out for flaming stallions in Paris.

[Source: Autogespot (translated)]

Ferrari 458 Italia fans the flames in the City of Lights originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Officially Official: Ferrari 458 Challenge races in

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Europe, Ferrari, Racing

Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge – Click above for high-res image

The 458 Italia, like any other roadgoing Ferrari, draws its inspiration and development from the Scuderia’s considerable racing prowess. Turning the 458 back into a racing car, then, is an extra special feat – one to which Maranello is well accustomed, from the Challenge versions of the 348, 355, 360 and 430 that came before. The new race car will run alongside the F430 Challenge as part of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo next year, the latter of which is also getting a new Asia-Pacific series for 2011 as well.

While the Challenge car maintains the production 458’s 5.5-liter V8 drivetrain, it has gone on a substantial diet that includes thinner body panels comprised of Lexan and carbon-fiber. Ride height has been dropped for circuit duty by 30mm, and the Challenge also gets its own suspension bits and setup with stiffer springs, dampers and aluminum bushings. Center-lock 19-inch racing wheels are banded in slick Pirelli tires, and the whole gorgeous Italian parade reins to a halt with Brembo CCM2 carbon-ceramic brakes from the 599XX. In other big news, the 458 Challenge receives F1-Trac electronics that makes use of specific programs that help set the car up for both wet and dry conditions.

All of this information arrives on the heels of the initial spy shots and the video that followed, with Ferrari having issued an official statement (available after the jump) and the image above. In addition, a small batch of photos have crept their way onto the Teamspeed forums, apparently from the vehicle’s official unveiling in Maranello. You can check them out at the gallery below.

Gallery: Spy Shots: Ferrari 458 Challenge

[Sources: Ferrari, Teamspeed.com]

Continue reading Officially Official: Ferrari 458 Challenge races in

Officially Official: Ferrari 458 Challenge races in originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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