CRASHED: 2 Ferrari 458 Italia and 430 Scud

Rainy day at Spa. Only 3 is a miracle!

Hope everyone is OK. Some look pretty well smashed.

At least the Europeans drive their cars like they are cars and not precious works of art.

 

Ouch! That video makes my blood run cold! $600K of prime ground-round-Italian.

 

The 458's now look a bit like the art of Frank Gehry
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What a shame and a waste. Thankfully the drive are said to be ok.

 

First time I tracked mine was in the rain at Spa, at the same event in 2012. It is not a natural result that you crash it, if you can drive reasonably well and know your limits.

The 458 was very confidence inspiring for me, in RACE mode- I always knew where its limit was and it was very progressive in going over it, no sudden surprises. The trick is to drive with your fingertips and like walking on eggs, as well as staying a bit further away from the limit in high speed corners. People who are not listening to their cars are the ones that go off, particularly as the day goes on and they have been building an incorrect image of what they and the car can do. Personally, I skipped the final session because I was getting tired, a usual recipe for crashing.

Our Ferrari Cub president always says: "there are no Ferrari scouts next to the track, and you can buy this cup for €15 in the shop. Don't push yourself, we want to go home in one piece and you can't win anything, only lose a lot"

But it might be that he just wants to win that cup for himself. He is a very good driver and loves tracking his 458.


Onno

 

Ouchhh...good that both drivers are ok

Rainy day on a track we use RACE or WET mode?

 

I was there when the 430 Scuderia crashed right in front of me!

Here you can see what happened:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FPn5iTwflY]Ferrari 430 Scuderia HARD CRASH! - YouTube[/ame]

 

Looks like a tie rod or something broke on the left hand side-not driver error.

 

Very good points

 

+1

 

That's too bad but on a good note the design of these cars to withstand a collision is amazing....total front end collapse and the cockpit is in perfect shape.....

 

If it was a tie rod the driver wouldn't be driving away in a straight line at the end of the video.

Looks like he turned in to the corner too aggressively for the wet conditions causing a snap oversteer.

He is lucky he hit the wall at a glancing blow and not head on...

 

I tend to disagree. I was there the full two days and did 140 laps with my 458 Challenge. While Spa is an amazing track (the most beautiful track in the world in my opinion), it is fast and tricky in the wet.

Spa + rain = stay away from white, painted lines, curbs and be on the edge all the time. I've seen stuff beyond what's safe during the two days. 3 each 458 Italia next to each other going through the pif-paf, using curbs and ... most of the drivers wanting to hit the curb at the entry of Eau Rouge. Most of them where using the dry line in wet conditions ... not a smart thing to do at Spa.

In my opinion, the driver in the Scud was braking hard and still had full pressure on the brakes while steering in. Back end gets light, panic in the cockpit with the known result. You can see that he continues to brake after he looses the back end. I've seen other cars making the same mistake that day at the double left hander.

There were 6 cars crashed in total during the 2 days of which one a 599 GTO during the last stint. Sad to see this happening. Luckily nobody got injured but a lot of dented cars and egos I guess.

Driver's briefing was better on Saturday than on Friday. On Saturday it was very wet at times with standing water on certain parts of the track. Yet ... some guys were still going full throttle as if they could win a $ 1.0M prize.

There is nothing to win ... only a lot to loose. Nevertheless, a great event. Very well done Ferrari and as every year ... a treat for every Ferrari owner to get to drive their cars on this fabulous track.

 

I agree. He went too hard on brakes never left them, didn’t compensate begin lost right rear, with a little steering movement to the right and BANG! Panic, notorious.

 

Coming from a guy who sells his new 458 Spider after only 500 miles to buy a Corvette that he won't have to worry about door dings or miles. Makes me chuckle..

 

Just got out of shape entering eau rouge and like many pro tracks there just is not much runoff. Driving in the wet is a real challenge, as it adds a constant search for grip (and lack thereof) to the many other tasks. You have to be ready for the car to get away from you at all times and it is as a rule a huge no-no to have steering input if you are going to use brakes or power very hard.

 

Excuse me? Do you know me?

Did you know that I was traveling 4 of those 6 months overseas? No, I suppose you didn't.

I knew 2 weeks after I got that car it wasn't keeping it. My reasons are between me and the dealer.

I think you might want to learn a little more and criticize a little less.


Oh... and BTW: The Vette replaces my 2002 Maserati Spider that I bought new and use as my daily driver -- and only car-- when in Las Vegas.

I am however trying to get an Alfa 4C because to be honest, on city streets and a legal speeds, it's probably a lot more fun to drive than a 575 HP 200 mph supercar.

Shoot me.

 

Lighten up Mayor. I enjoy your posts, but he has a point. Your car would have been worth as much if you put 1000 more miles on it. Not to be a hypocrite, but I don't drive my f cars very much either. I look at them every day though

 

He has what point? That I drove the car 500 miles in 2 months of ownership, didn't like it and gave it back?

I'm not going to have someone make snide remarks about what they don't know anything about without setting the record straight.

 

Why did you order the convertible? Are you a convertible guy or not? You either like them or you don't. I for one wouldn't order a convertible even if it were $50K cheaper than the coupe. But that's just me. I found the sunroofs in my previous cars (standard options) a waste, I never opened them.

 

LOL. Perfect!

 

My comment wasn't to criticize or be snide, just pointing out a little hypocrisy, that's all.
I see now that you have edited your last post (#20). You originally said you didn't like the 458 Spider at all and blasted it on this forum. Too strong of words for you? I'd say you've praised and defended the 458 Italia more than anyone else on this forum, by a long shot. Nothing wrong with that at all, just your opinion. I'm not here to criticize the car but I'd be interested to read where you blasted the 458 Spider?

 

Wonder if any of the owner's, had the "track event ", or is it even offered at European tracks? Do cars overseas have ant type of Carfax or something like it, to keep track of damage history/repairs/ odometer rollbacks ?

 

I don't see any hypocrisy because you haven't taken the time to understand the situation. As I said, I was out of the country 4 of the 6 months.

As to my revised post:

Ummmm... No. What I wrote (and took down) is that I haven't blasted it. You have it completely backwards.

Yes, I edited my post because I don't want to get other owners upset about my take on the car. My feelings about it are between me and my dealer. Little of it has to do with the 458 spider in general.

Now, can we get back to 3 crashed cars or do you want to hijack this thread any more?