458 Speciale Revealed

Geo, I'm well aware of what they do - but let's face it if someone is so concerned about outright performance they should buy a track car like a 458 Challenge which seems to do manage fine without the vortex generators as witnessed by the fact that the new 458C evo mods don't contain it.

Perhaps I am cynical but after 3 Ferrari's of various types and many presentations of new cars I am all too aware that a lot of this tech stuff is really marketing. When the model is4 years old and the hardtop isn't selling well anymore, and you can buy a low mileage one year old 458 in the UK for at least 25% off list, then Ferrari has to justify to the new buyer why he should part with £208k+

 

hate to say it but this type attitude is exactly the reason Porsche drivers laugh at Ferrari drivers. only thing that matters on speciale is the color of the interior stitching and the stripe. same thing they re saying about the gt3 on their forums. ugh

 

+1

 

Yeah, it should be second half of February indeed. The GT3 is supposed to be here in 2 weeks.

Funny remark about flying it in, since the Sales Manager told me last week that I have to pay 12k AED extra to get it flown in rather than shipped. Allegedly some sort of new rule. Hmmm...

 

You never know, they may fly it in for free any way if you refuse to pay. I actually told them to ship mine, coz I am in no hurry and enjoying my porsche and wanted to receive the car closer to my B'Day. But they flew it in any way. They have a tendency to do that coz they love to get paid asap. Try this reverse psychology with them.

 

What reason is that?

 

because other car enthusiast groups stereotype ferrari owners as posers. speciale is an ultimate driver's car meant to dominate on the track but all this thead seems to care about is color and stripes. there is so much advanced technology, etc to discuss.

when other forums discuss their car's performance versions, the discussion is on performance. gt3 threads on rennlist are about driving the car not whether or not to choose model delete option. same on gtr forums about the nismo. no one obsesses on the red trim it comes with.

i can see interior and color focused threads on any other ferrari model, just not the speciale. at the least, i hope a new owner can start a thread on driving impressions and leave this one for the interior stitching

 

+1

maybe you're just realistic.

The same like homeopathy: the main thing is you believe in it.

 

+1.000.000 Bravo

 

None of us here in the USA have gotten our cars.When we do we can post our driving experiences and comment on technical aspects.

 

I don't get the dichotomy.

Why can't owners/fans talk about the car's looks and respect/admire/enjoy the performance?

Why can't someone buy one of these tech marvels strictly for the visual joy of it? (Striking looks and exclusivity are defining attributes of Ferrari ownership, are they not?)

Have we become so comfortable with the perverse notion that we can and ought pass judgment on the value others place on things that we can condemn those who stress esthetics as poseurs?

 

I know usa doesn't get cars till later on but maybe those outside of usa can chime in soon.

yes scuderiawithstick, its fine with me to discuss looks and I would probably spend plenty of time thinking of color choices too. just seems striking to me that the one speciale thread in fchat is all about stripes, stitching, and color. that makes sense for the ff, calif, etc but not this one.

 

I'm not bashing anybody, but I think part of the reason for the previous comments is because judging a car's looks is generally what people who don't know a lot about cars tend to do. They only know what they can see and don't bother learning about the rest. Also, someone who is only worried about the way a car looks could be compared to a kit-car owner, caring only about the styling of his/her car and not its performance.

Again, I'm not saying that this is the case here, just giving some suggestions as to why it might be perceived that way.

 

Porsche can put all the wings in the world on a GT2/3 model and that's fine. When Ferrari puts some small aero appendages, they only for show, even though the car is a lot faster in the end... You 've got to love this place!

 

not a big fan of the winglets in front of the rear wheels. fugly. too bad they did not come up with another more aesthetic solution to the airflow problem. I would not buy a car that had ugly ad-ons just to go a little faster. Yes, for me looks are important.

If you do not care about looks, the 911 is a great option.

If a poser who is someone who cares about looks AND performance...then I am happy to be called a poser.

best.

Life is good.
Life is better driving a Ferrari.

 

Amen, brother.

 

I think looks are in the eye of the beholder. Everyone's opinion counts. Don't have a problem with that.

My opinion is that the speciale looks much sportier and meaner than the 458. To me, the looks are better and more purpose-oriented. I am ordering one as low optioned as I can for maximum performance. Is it going to make me faster? Probably not. It's just the mentality. A front lift? Hell no. Sat nav? Nope. Cruise control? Of course not. Again, just my preference. To my eyes, the car belongs on the track and occasional spirited drives. Cars and coffee, shopping, and cruising are okay too, but there's cooler F cars for that. Just give me the car and the track, I'll be happy.

 

Funny thing was back when I raced in the Ferrari Challenge, it was the Ferrari drivers laughing at the Porsche drivers.

First off, many of the Challenge drivers I raced with ran many other series. Some have since raced at Daytona 24, Le Mans, prototypes, and of course, Porsches. I raced a C4S with the Porsche Club and POC as well as a Formula Mazda with SCCA.

So why did all the Ferrari drivers laugh at the Porsche drivers?

All the Porsche drivers would ever talk about would be how to make their car faster and never themselves faster. They would constantly talk about what mods they could buy and install to tune their car and heaven forbid talk about their own capabilities.

 

There is a lot of truth to your statement. I do many events with my GT3 RS and hear a lot of what you are saying.

 

I would argue that Porsche Cup is the equivalent to Ferrari Challenge cars. The amateur drivers of Porsche Cup cars are very good drivers. As a group, arguably much better than the Ferrari Challenge drivers (anyone see the race in Austin? Oy vey!).

You can't compare Porsche Club racing to Ferrari Challenge as so many classes and vintages participate, and it is fairly local/regional... come to think of it, there really isn't any Ferrari Club racing is there? And I am not referring to open track days.

 

Please allow me to be a little bit cynical and critical regarding all the Speciale marketing promises, the thread is so harmonious so far...

My perception: Ferrari makes a lot of noise around the Speciale, one time more there are so many promises, so many superlatives "THE MOST HIGH PERFORMANCE FERRARI V8 SPORTS CAR EVER".

Ferrari is telling us that they did all to make the Speciale so fast as possible on the track (more power ("135 cv/l is a world record for a road-going naturally aspirated engine"), many different aerodynamic solutions ("the fruit of a string of innovative and original advances"), modified chassis, less weight, faster gearshifts, special tyres etc. etc.).

The result: 1.5 seconds faster than the Italia in Fiorano. Whow - an improvement of approx. 1.7%!

If I simply mount on my Scuderia slicks instead of the MPSS the improvement is much more then 2%!

The stupidest statement I've read recently was regarding the Side Slip Angle Control (SSC): "an innovation, as spectacular as incredibly - helps that also amateurs can drift the car".

Helps to drift the car? So fast as possible?

 

Racing teams spend a lot of money to find a 1.7% improvement on a lap time.

If Alonso is 1.5 seconds faster around Monza than Vettel, Red Bull is wondering what the hell is going wrong.

And if LaFerrari was 1.5 seconds faster around the same circuit as P1 wouldn't that be news?

 

Faster comparably equipped.

 

All in all, looks are very subjective. To me Ferraris are track and b-roads cars. Maybe a putz or two around town. That is why I like the Speciale a lot. Every journalist that has driven a standard 458 says the Speciale improved on what was already the segment best car. I will withhold any farther praise till the cars make it to the US and I can drive one around.
Do you guys want to know what is the option I am excited the most about? Telemetry. I know...I am Special(e) myself...

 

Best post.