Speciale Vs Pista - which is the bigger leap

I think you need to stay with a NA engine…..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Easy: Speciale with your current Italia.

 

Speciale and Pista
.

 

Even though I haven’t driven a Pista or Speciale, I’d base the decision on if I were going to use one often for actual track use.
Personally…I’m not tracking either of mine, so I have two that I’m not really worried about putting miles on and they’re (potentially) the last of their kind. 458 + F8.
I realize the Speciale & Pista are truly special, and last of their kind as well, but personally I wouldn’t want daily miles on them, nor have them as art pieces. YMMV

 

488GTB is much more of a GT car than the 458. It is roomier, more comfortable, less frenetic, better tech, smoother riding, and better torque for everyday driving. So you can live with it very easily. Then for that special Sunday morning romp through the back country, or track day, in a car than sets your nerves alight you can experience Ferrari’s finest V8 ever produced—the Speciale.

 

Pista + 458 makes more sense - this way you'd experience a significant performance gap.
To me the worst combo would be 488 GTB and Speciale, because it would be frustrating to have the most hardcore car not performing better (the 488 is "softer" but has a big power advantage over the Speciale).

 

It's funny that with the two preceding posts you get totally opposite views I guess it proves it's a very personal assessment.

 

Have you spent much driving time in both?
They are completely different experiences.
Having different cars isn’t just about performance numbers. The 488 is every day livable, the Speciale is for occasional laugh out loud thrilling driving.

 

Speciale.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

FWIW, I think the Pista is probably the best modern Ferrari design. Full disclosure, I own one and that likely colors my opinion.

 

I'd say in terms of how different they feel from the base model I feel the pista edges it but the speciale is the better car I think and is an all time great

 

I owned (some still own) and raced almost every 4xx Model from Ferrari. 458 Italia, GT3, GTE, Speciale / 488 Pista Piloti, GT3 and GTE.

every time I push that start button on the 458 Speciale I can't believe that this was once legal. The Pista might have a bit more power and feels a bit more refined and "perfect" but the Speciale has this wildness, she is loud, hard, soo much fun to drive and so many emotions. the 458 Speciale is one of Ferraris all time great cars. the Pista is a very fast car but lacks a bit of emotions. the 2 Car Garage might be best with:

F8 Tributo Spider and 458 Speciale

(and add a 458 Challenge EVO for track days)

 

If one wants rawness and does not care about performance, for me a 360 CS or 430 Scuderia makes more sense than a Speciale.
The Speciale has the DCT and the introduction of the clinical electronics of later cars, without having the performance - it screams more, but in this respect it can't match a Challenge Stradale... and is still a lot slower than an F8.

 

Counter offer: Speciale é Lusso V12

 

I owned a ‘13 458 Spyder for 4 1/2 yrs and loved the car. Fabspeed full exhaust that sounded pretty awesome. Bought a Pista coupe February last year and truth be told its better in every way. Chassis stiffness being noticeably better among other things. Last summer the 458 made its way onto the top of my lift and I didn’t drive it for a little while. I was driving the Pista and my TT Gallardo. I eventually pulled the 458 out and took it for a drive with my son. The first hard pull we looked at each other and “wow this is slow”. Also the novelty of the loudness of the exhaust was gone - hence I sold it a month later and have not missed it. Most here will argue the “sound of the NA” but I actually prefer the Pista and “it’s not all about the speed” which i get but it does add a level of excitement, hard to argue against that.
I also think the Pista is more refined sounding and it doesn’t “shout” at you when you are on it. The driving precision is also a huge step forward in EVERY way - as it should be. All great cars nonetheless!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

In terms of comparison of the leap between standard 458 and Speciale and the leap between 488 and Pista, I'd say both VS editions "feel" vastly different than their non-VS editions - on about the same level. There may be slightly more difference between a regular 458 and a Speciale than a regular 488 and a Pista, but I think that's more due to the refinement of the 488.

I have both Speciale and Pista. Speciale more raw, NA. May feel more "speciale" than the Pista. Pista much more refined but much more powerful. Interiors pretty much identical but exterior Pista has a very marginal edge IMHO. As has been said, you cannot go wrong with either.

To me, these cars represent the last in a series of extremely special cars. I'd include the F8 in that, but there is no VS edition. New cars wlll be faster and more capable, but how much more capability do we need where the law of diminishing returns really factor in? These are street cars, not race cars, and 700+ hp is more than enough for me. On top of that, the new stuff just isn't doing it styling-wise for me. In every car guy circle or group txt I'm in, the majority are looking backwards, not forwards.

And by the way, I'm on my 4th (yes, 4th) Pista.

 

4th Pista? How so?


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

Went from an ordered coupe in 2019 to a spider, to another spider, back to a coupe.

 

Is that a black 570-4 Superleggera? How did that compare to the 458 you had for a while (except the huge power advantage as your SL is supercharged)?
I am curious as I have A SL 570-4 and had a 458 until recent but had to let it go as it (at least mine) honestly felt slower then the SL by some margin, and my SL is not even supercharged, even though I recently RWD converted it.
Just happy to hear your thoughts

 

the ULTIMATE 2 mid engine V8 Ferraris, for me, is NO QUESTION.... the Pista and the F8, period.... They have the best and most powerful V8 engines Ferrari has ever produced, they are the best looking by far over any other, they are the last of an era and they do everything else better than previous models too (steering, speed, braking, aerodynamics, handling, added features, etc etc)