Return to 458 or go for the new 488?

Loose??

 

Quite.
Combination of tires and SSC2.
Dealer agrees.
The car is wonderful though and the best looking.

 

You must be pushing pretty hard!
I had an Italia and currently have a Speciale and a 458 Spider.
Speciale is laser-focused for me, almost telepathic in its response.

 

I am facing a similar choice. I now own a f430 but have a 488 spider on order. Every thing I read says the 488 is the best car. But I am concerned about the sound including 9000 revs vs 8000. I am debating getting a 458 vs the 488. I am real concerned the 488 will not be as exciting as the 458 when it comes to sound. I am researching a modified exhaust system. But what about the 9k vs 8k revs. Help!

 

If you like revs there’s no getting away from the fact that you’ll miss that top end in the 488. It does do a lot of other things better than the 458 though, so only you can decide how important a factor that is. For me, thankfully for my wallet, the top end scream of the 458 is fundamental to my enjoyment, so I have no desire to “upgrade”.

 

You have clearly made a choice already - why on earth would you would even order a car having these concerns?

 

Why don't people only looking for revs go for a Honda with VTec? it's far cheaper than a 458
(sorry, it's just a joke, I do not want to offend anyone)

 

Looked like a troll post to me..... I mean 8000 vs 9000 - car ordered already but still deciding

 

I’ve owned and driven 360, CS, 430, 458, Speciale and 488. My advice is to go 488 Spider. Mainly because you have tried 458 - your own spec too - so to go back to a car you owned previously, in a version that is not exactly yours feels like you will be missing out. There are other reasons too.

Sound is not the reason to prefer 458 (though it is slightly better IMV). You should remember that people criticised the sound of the 458 when it was launched, compared to the earlier cars. Chris Harris is on record as preferring the 488 sound to the 458 and called the Speciale a ‘shouter’. Speciale is my favourite car, but I recently had a 991 RS and the sound of that thing is far ahead of my Speciale and all the Ferrari V8s, so sound needs to be taken in context.

Instead, the best driving reason IMO to choose a 458 is the redline. Not because of the sound but the fact that the 488’s redline is over 1,000rpm less, it is also lower geared and higher powered so the redline comes much much quicker. Some don’t like that as much and it does make for a more frenetic drive. If that sort of drama doesn’t worry you, I don’t believe there are any other reasons to choose the 458, perhaps other than looks or price. Classic value? Yeah, in 20 years.

In the meantime, the 488 is faster, handles better (really quite a lot better) and while the sound is not of quite the quality of the 458, it is more engaging, especially on the Spider, since the exhaust is much more reactive to your throttle inputs. I personally feel the 488 exhaust has a different character to the 458. Overall, the sound demerit is quite small to me (and non-existent to some) but the handling and pace advantage is significant. The 458 will start to feel quite outdated by the time the next gen 488 arrives, whereas the 488 will at least be closer to its pace. (Pace is not the be-all-and-end-all but it can be a useful element).

 

488 spider sounds pretty good. Closer to a Speciale than the 458 Italia or spider. Deeper sound, none of the high end f1 wail.
But it does sound good on its own if you don’t compare or have the fixed memory already.

And for some, sound is a reason to own.

 

Honestly they are both great cars I personally think it's a call between the upcharge of about 100k if you are comparing coupe to coupe. And whether the additional speed and looks or the car are a deal maker or breaker. Personally between a 458 spider and the 488 coupe I chose the 458 spider my reasons were I'm not a turbo fan I like the looks better on the 458 I like the sound better as well as the high revving RPMs. I chose the 458 spider my reasons were I'm not a turbo fan I like the looks better on the 458 I like the sound better as well as the high revving RPMs. The Price difference between the two cars are about 50,000 give or take. To me it was not worth it. Also after going convertible I don't think I could go back to a coupe. Just my 2 cents.

 

Of note, the 488 spider is a lot less jiggly than the 458 spider.

 

Good to know

 

Given the valve you seem place on the redline, I’d cancel the 488 order and stick with the F430.

 

So my salesman call to tell me the Speciale was sold. That was fast. Maybe the money Gods are sending me a message. Pick up a 458 and save 150-175k. I was trying to leave money out of the equation. Is the Speciale or 488 worth almost 2x the cost as a 458? Is it twice as good? Probably make for an interesting new post topic.

 

I am interested in the answer to this too... out of the Coupe, Spider or Speciale.... which is the best bang for the buck?

 

I had a 458 coupe, then Speciale, and now 458 Spider.

Speciale looks the best IMO and will hold value long term. Can be had now for $350k +/- any spec you want. I found it to be noisier but sound quality far less pleasing than the Italia/Spider due to the changes made to the Speciale. Wild and raw ride though, and that can be fun.

Italia coupe's are an incredible bargain now. Awesome cars. Loved mine, wanted more noise.

Spider lets all that noise in, just incredible. Tradeoff is a very, very non-composed ride. Steering wheel shakes and shimmy's, quite a bit of flex. But the noise! Decent value now on Spiders, aprx $100k off new.

We got a 488 spider also, and very surprised how good it sounds. Deeper and louder, but no wail. Less shimmy for sure. And a lot quicker. Soon they will be just $50k more than a 458 Spider.

 

Thank you ... very informative!

 

Hard to answer the question about values other than this; I wouldn’t buy a 458 and I will not sell my Speciale. That car is fantastic. Only two choices IMV, Speciale or 488. Forecasts on the future value of the 488 are unfounded - who knows?! (again IMV) If they stay $50k above 458 in the UK, that’s not bad because the 458 is still an expensive car. A 488 Spider is easily worth that in addition to a 458 Spider.

 

Re the 458 spider jiggles...if you have good roads then this isn’t an issue.
Here in SoCal it’s a problem.

 

The answer to your question is of course not.

You can get more sound out of a 458 Italia if you want more sound.

The 488 is insanely fast and is more composed, but there is something more "alive" I find about the 458. And I actually prefer the Italia looks to the Speciale. My ideal car would be to take the Italia shape and have the Speciale mechanicals. I'm not sure I really missed the last few RPM driving the 488 because the way the power comes on, its like a sledgehammer of power. If you have the roads to truly exploit it, that can be a lot of fun. The 458 is far more linear. I also find the 458 sound more exciting/ inspiring.

As I see it:
Italia: better going in value, the best sound with an exhaust.
Speciale: retain value better, but you're putting more money at risk. Comparing stock-stock the most "fizz" / "alive" of them.
488: Spider has a better structure and the most refined drive of the bunch.

I have a 458 Italia and I won't ever sell it.

 

It is telling that this is even a discussion worthy of debate.

 

Respect all views, but no debate here. 488 gtb cleans clock.

 

You would be very hard pressed within reason and financial value to try to upgrade the internals of an Italia to a Speciale. And then it would sound like a Speciale, which is not as good as an Italia!

 

I like to make the camprison between the 458 and the 488 to the gt3 and the Porsche turbo. You are either a turbo guy or a Naturaly aspirated guy. To me that's what it comes down to sure the 488 is a little faster but I'm not willing to sacrifice the positives of the 458 for a little more acceleration.