458 Italia or F8 Tribute

458 coupe does have side scoops, just integrated into the rear quarter window.

 

Exactly. Luca was opposed to garish spoilers/ scoops. Thus, the design imperative back then yielded much cleaner (less cluttered) look.

 

I remember watching a video about the Enzo, they had Luca describing his vision - no wing! He didn't want the F40/F50 style rear spoiler, but instead aero focused underneath the car and venturi.

 

This is a bit silly...all their cars in GT racing have huge spoilers because it works!
Look at the 720s, fully integrated in the rear, can go up and air brake!

 

The Car Guys comparison between the 458 and 488

 

The front bumper is unattractive on both. The least well resolved design feature of the cars.

 

Not sure I completely follow you here, Yes, there are no large rear spoilers, but the F430, Enzo and La Ferrari all had some pretty big air intakes on the side, and they were pretty outlandish and big on both the Enzo and La F. They were all Luca era cars. While the F40 has a huge rear wing, it's also a very clean design compared to both the F50, Enzo and La F.

It's a matter of personal taste, but I think the air intakes on the F8 and 488 has been done quite nicely.

 

Keep in mind, also, that most of the amazing sounding 488's you see on YouTube with aftermarket exhausts also have the cats removed as well. I've driven behind nice sounding 488's, only to discover they have full exhaust and no cats.

So, if you are thinking you'll just do a cat-back system on your 488 and it will sound like these cars on YouTube, you're in for a big disappointment; moreover, if you do go the full route and remove the cats, then the overall exhaust volume goes through the roof. That might be okay if you're 25 or 30, but honestly how many adults 40+ want a car that rattles the windows off the neighbors' houses when they drive by? Not many. So in my experience it tends to end up being a bit of a catch-22 with the 488.

My vote goes to the 458 Italia, hands down.

Ray

 

I would guess the prices of TR's and 355 have gone down for a reason - they are a nightmare to maintain as they age. Those two cars are money pits these days. By contrast you can drive a 458 Italia for 50K miles with practically just oil & filter changes. The DCT gearbox is practically indestructible.

The last 355 I saw was an absolute disaster inside - all the plastic inside was decaying. It just looked like an old junker. If you want a car that will retain at least some value, pickup a manual gearbox 360 or a 430 Scuderia maybe. Unless you happen to own a 250 or something, usually cars don't make for very good investments.

Ray

 

Spot on you said it before I did. And that the strangest thing I saw and missed on the 458

 

Great vid


Sent from my 16M

 

Less technically adroit but greater visceral feel and sound vs faster, enhanced objective ability and refinement. Regrettably, it forces a choice involving inevitable compromise.

 

Both great...I love my 458 Italia!!!

 

Just wait...all the plastic inside 458s are starting to peel away and destroy themselves also.

 

What like thats not going to happen to 488's either? It's inevitable its going to happen to all of them over time ...even your 488.

 

Agreed...my point is that the newer cars are as bad as the older ones. Stupid Ferrari can't even make proper switches yet. Meanwhile, a Ford F150 from 2000 has switches that last...

 

I have a soft spot for the 458, I am going to look at one coming into Algar on Monday, (it is Red so I am not sure I am going to want it, but if anyone else is interested PM me). I don't really care what a car is going to be worth (after over 475 cars you can imagine how much I have lost) down the road, only what it is worth to me today. I do agree that a F12 might be a good car to look at or the Lusso, may not be pretty but it drives well. After over 5 decades of taking cars apart and rebuilding them (a whole lot of patents), I am not exactly young any more and though I have some very fast (including a one of a kind) cars in my garages, I cannot even get close to using even half of their capabilities. There is the dream world of the internet and the reality of the way you really drive. I imagine there might be some of you that live places where you can let your car loose, but if you live in an area like I do, you need to get out on the road at 5am (like I did today), if you want to past 60 MPH or take a tight corner and not worry about slamming in someone when you get to the other side of that tight bend. I was at a high dealer a few weeks ago and we were talking about the different types of people who buy these types of cars, and how few are truly car people, and not brand conscious people. I guess I come from a time when if you didn't know how to fix it, you didn't own it.

 

14:42 mark

I like it

 

i like sketch monkey and agree the original 458 is best of the 3 platform versions. ideally, would like a 488 grill grafted onto 458 as i never liked the catfish wiskers look

 

Having a 488 and an F8 makes very little sense in my opinion. Rather than the Italia, I'd look into a Speciale if you want to give the 458 a shot. In many ways it is a lot more sorted than the Italia. Also, for some of us, the 458 Italia has gotten to feel slow compared to the 488, and thust a lot of the excitement is lost. Lots of noise, but not a lot of movement for the volume.
Two things I personally especially makes the Speciale a much better drive are these. First is the throttle. It has been debated before at length, so you can find more info on this. But put in simple terms, the 458 Italia suffers from a ridiculously over-sensitive throttle pedal. The second is the gear shifts. In Race the shifts are incredibly jerky. I'm sure Ferrari did this to make it feel "sporty" and like a race car. But fact is that no racecar feels like that, and all it serves to do, is to upset the balance of the car and bump your head against the seat. I think it makes the car seem like it does not know how to **** gears.
The Speciale made this quite a bit better, and it is more comparable to the 488 in terms of speed. Still not as fast, but closer.

 

there was a comparison article while back in forza mag between the std models v track versions. 360 v cs, 430 v scud, etc. all the track versions won except the speciale. feeling was 458 is so much more usable on street while still having tons performance that trade off to speciale wasnt worth it.

 

Great video- and he caught what I've been saying too, is that McLaren suddenly started putting that arc onto the sides of new cars, including the Elva.

 

I don't think the Speciale is much more different than the Italia regarding street use. A set of floor mats will almost cover all the interior differences. Maybe the luggage space is the only thing, that is really different. But that being said, I don't really think the price difference between an Italia and a Speciale justifies buying a Speciale if you don't intend to use it on the track. I would personally buy another car for that price difference. But that's just me, of course.

 

Those whiskers are horrible. They fixed it up with the Specially.

 

458 or F8? That’s easy: both!

That being impossible: 458. There will be plenty of time to buy a turbocharged Ferrari, or any turbocharged supercar for that matter.

A screaming naturally aspirated italian V8 which happens to be the last of its kind and the last of one of not THE most iconic car brand in the world, which revs all the way to 9.200rpm? They don’t make them anymore, sorry about that.

The beauty of it is you can buy a 458 now and trade for an F8 later, should you decide I’m wrong or you’re satisfied with the 458 experience and want to move on. But I really think you should taste it first.

Kind regards,

Nuno.