The 599xx Yes (albeit not a street-legal car) But they pulled it off right imho...so much bloody sexier than a 458 S: Car Ferrari 599xx
If you like it or not, one thing is clear: the 458 Speciale will be from now on always the more expensive, more exclusive, more aggressive and considerably faster version of the standard 458. I'm looking forward to the first battle with the 458 Speciale on the track! To be honest, I don't see a chance to win...
30 hp, 200 lbs, a little firmer suspension with a little better aero. The actual lap performance differences is not that big, a good driver in a 458 can still pass a Speciale with a not as good driver.
It seems the game is to purchase the newest model and sell while the market is still hot. The 458 has such fluid and timeless lines (IMO), I wonder how well the successor will fare. The concept drawings indicate the successor to be very angular.
Jeff, howsoever, we have to accept it: with the 458 Speciale, the new king of the Ferrari midengine V8-series is born!
On the 458 Speciale colors are inverted: blue interior and white exterior Probably if the stripes had been like Tailor-Made the result would has been very different
When I first saw it (yesterday) I was appalled. However, taking another look at it today its not so offensive, sort of like the beefiness of it. Its definitely growing on me.
Sorry but I disagree.From my experience on race traks..1, 5 sec even if not huge...makes a big difference on a short track.Based on Ring then, this could even mean 10 seconds of differeance ..As a day and night..at the end.Just my 2 cents. Same happens with P.Gt3 and Gt3 Rs..And when you test them..no doubts on what is better.And there are just 20 kg and 20 hp of difference ..normally..
Again, the Fchat irony. We want a car that outperforms the existing car. That's the purpose, right? Instead of talking about how fast this thing is and the interesting new technology, we waste our time talking about its looks and painted stripes. And people wonder why they call us posers? This car was designed to go fast, handle better, brake better, and be more track focused. From what I can see, that's what it does.
What to add? Nothing I am even sure that this car is faster than declared at Fiorano...The reasons? Marketing..
While I really only have a couple os issues with the 458S (knee bumps on passenger side and the goofey looking winglets in front of the rear wheels) I wonder what my reaction would be if I went into the garage and found a 458S instead of the Spider. I would be anxious to drive it and see how it handles and performs. would I feel like I was going through mid-life crisis driving in such a boy racer agressive looking car. at 67.5 yrs old one wonders these things. I love top down driving but if I had to have a new coupe, the F12 is a beautiful car that a geezer could be comfortably seen driving. My guess is that the 458S will be priced less than the F12 and is targeted to a different buyer. Looks wise I would go with the F12. But the handling may be such that I would prefer the 458S. Would have to drive them to see what turns me on.
For everyone that is dissapointed in the looks you got to realize that extracting maximum aerodynamics is going to sacrifice design.Never before has a V-8 gone through as much transformation into a track version as has this one. I also gotta a feeling that Luca is going to restrict production Volumes
Some good points here, I can care less about paint, stripes etc., but what I want to see and read about is the engineering. i.e. what is and what's not "functional". I hear allot about the front grill winglets on the 458 creating more down force past 124mph. While somewhat true I am still perplexed how much of a % does this play into the overall down force equation. My guess thus far, not much. This new entry does away with this philosophy all together but incorporates other means to accomplish the front end down force it appears. I guess I will have to wait it out a bit more to see the true functional aspects of this new entry to see the hows and why's it handles better than the stock 458. This aspect alone will tell me what areas the 458 is lacking and what the future will hold for the next "better" iteration.
I should qualify my comment by saying that I have a deposit on the car for months and will be getting one of the first Having seen it for the first time, I think it is a success. It has a significant performance advantage to the stock 458, certainly no smaller than the one the Scuderia had over the 430. I am a Scuderia owner for the last 5 years and I absolutely adore it, but I didnt think that stylistically it was a big leap forward from the 430. These cars (CS, Scuderia, 458S) are designed to perform first and look good second and the people that buy them have exactly the same priorities. In any case I consider the 458S a far more cohesive design than La Ferrari, where the front looks like it is from a different car to the back and the side view is appalling. I also like it more than the F12 which is stunning from behind, but hideous from the front It is all a matter of opinion. What will NOT be a matter of opinion is the way it will drive...! Price wise, I have been quoted a shade under 200,000 EUR excluding options and European taxes...Sounds like great value to me...A reasonably specced car will be around 255-260,000 EUR incl taxes...I paid 222,000 for my Scuderia in 2008, so I dont think that is unreasonable
Aero only matters at above 200 kph (125 mph) or so, therefore for only a small portion of even a "big" track like Spa or Road America or Road Atlanta. It has no value at street speeds 99.9% of the time. And let's remember, the base 458 is no slouch aero wise. All the focus by Ferrari on aero, therefore, is purely theoretical and of little practical consideration for almost all customers. More marketing than anything. As some have said, the biggest difference between the Speciale and base 458 will be that of "feel" - due predominantly to the different suspension and perhaps suspension geometry. Hard driving (i.e. track) will also expose the difference of Sport Cup tires vs. Supersports. My problem with this new model is that much of this distinction could be achieved by just offering a sport suspension or "club sport" option to regular 458 owners. Lot's easier and much more cost effective. Then again, since when has Ferrari ever offered something "cost effective?"......
That is not true. Aero makes a difference even at 150 km/h. 150-200 kph are easily attainable speeds in such a car.
Looks are starting to grow on me. There are some fussy details but overall, I am starting to like it.
I think the trade-off is that the vents in the front hood are part of the mechanism that the Speciale uses to achieve down force. These vents undoubtedly eliminate most, if not all, of the front trunk space. It looks to me like air is drawn from the center area in the grill, and then passed through the hood vents and over the windhield/roof. This is OK in a track-oriented car, and probably produces substantially more downforce than the front winglets on prior 458s. The loss of the front trunk may be OK in track-oriented car, but would be problematic in a road-oriented car.
Some looks good, some not so good. Really like the integration of the rear lip, really don't like the goofy front fascia. Will be interested to see real world performance. What was the price forecast? $300ish?
