Ferrari Owners vs Ferrari Drivers

Photo: Dario D'Alba

To paraphrase Il Commendatore "There are Ferrari Owners and there are Ferrari Drivers".

There is a whole category of web sites who thrive on the frequent misadventures of the first and indeed Ferrari makes a pretty penny on cars and parts. Guess what, it turns out 550hp plus, mid engine sports cars need to be treated with some respect, shocker.

Witness this pathetic example.



- Car bought that very same morning? Check
- New tires, still with their greasy compound and perhaps Armor All'd at the dealer? Not check but likely, so check.
- Wet road? Check.
- "I'm taking the traction control off because real men don't need it and I saw Chris Harris skid on Drive today"? Check.
- Prerequisite shadines of owner when car mysteriously disappears from the road before police can get there? Check.

Only thing missing it was a fire. This latest fail happened in southern Italy and as sad as it was, it's important to remember that it's really a reflection of the driver not, as some would have it, the brand. After all, all it really takes to be a Ferrari owner is money.

Truth is, Ferraris rip hard and are sublime, it's just that not everyone has the stones to do sideways at 120 mph like our tracktard buddy Manu in this classic, one of the most epic videos in the history of tracktardism, for example. Now, THAT is a Ferrari Driver.

How to build a Ferrari 458 Engine...

11 minutes and 37 seconds of cool
(Ferrari S.p.A.)

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Mclaren MP4-12C vs Ferrari 458: Strike Three!

Holy smokes, this one is devastating. One of the reason we like 5th Gear shoot outs with Jason Plato and Tiff Needell best is because, they are fun of course but mainly because they are racing drivers, old fashioned ones at that, they like their cars with a good analog feel and soul.

Have a look at what happens to Tiff when he tries a long drift, that is just horrible! And Plato's verdict is even more devastating: "This car is programmed to be driven the way McLaren wants you to drive and I'm not programmed that way". Ouch. Downshifts? "It does not downshift when you want it"...Ouch.

I guess cars truly are the personification of the companies who build them, Ferrari might have had some combustion problems but the 458 is clearly the car of the moment, the one all other makes need to measure up to. The Mclaren MP4-12C reflects Mclaren's corporate image, it's impeccably built and with clever engineering, the best money can buy and all... but apparently, soul is not for sale.
(Thanks Ruben!)
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Mclaren MP4-12C vs Ferrari 458, Round 2: D'OH!

Spring must be Supercar test time in the UK. CAR pits the McLaren versus the Ferrari 458, Porsche GT2 RS, Mercedes SLS, Audi R8 V10 and Lamborghini LP 670-4 PS. This is the way all tests should be, BTW, Same track, same day, same driver, in this case, the ex-Stig Ben Collins.

SLS 1:33.1
Audi: 1:31.06
McLaren: 1:30.1
Lambo: 1:29.92
GT2 RS: 1:28.78
458 Italia:1:28.30

In the video, tires are not specified save for the Porsche GT2 RS' standard Michelin Sport Cup which makes the Ferrari time that much more remarkable. Also, you can't turn traction control fully off on the 12c, really?

As you can see at the end of the video, Mclaren claimed there was a mechanical issue with the car tested and later returned to the same track with their chief test driver and a presumably perfect MP4 12c fitted with optional Pirelli Corsa.

Their time? 1:28.0 ....D'oh!

It's all in the July Issue of CAR

Ouch.

Mclaren MP4-12C vs Ferrari 458: Ouch!

Some interesting previews of an upcoming super test from EVO have hit the net and Mclaren comes out looking a bit like Lewis Hamilton's chin strap beard.

The test pitted the MP4-12c against the 458 Italia, the Porsche Turbo S, Mercedes SLS, Ford GT and the Noble M600.

Here are some of the more surprising figures:

Mclaren weighed in at 1433 kg/3159 lbs with the carbon brake option, the 458 at 1469 kg/3238 lbs a much smaller weight delta than I imagined.


And the track time at the Bedford Autodrome:

Mp4-12c: 1:20.6
458: 1:19.3

Mclaren had sent a full sized technical support team with the car for the test (where is the outrage Mr. Harris?) who then fitted Pirelli Corsas on the MP4.... they still lost, 1:19.6 , The Ferrari was on Michelin Super Sports.

More troubling for Mclaren are reports magazine testers found the handling "unrewarding", the brakes laking feel and the ride "citroen like" (yikes) at regular road speeds. at fast road speeds the MP4 "...suddenly feels all at sea, with only moderate loadings to deal with, the strange Citroen like ride reactions are back and the chassis feels out of tune with road''

Ouch.

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Fernando flogs a 458 at Fiorano

This clip is sort of ruined by the the passenger's incessant cackling but watching Alonso at work in a Ferrari 458 Italia is cool.

The first lap is for showboating and then he tries to shoot for a faster lap. Quite interesting that even Fernando would change the manettino setting. Also notice how the dual clutch paddle shifter lets him upshift mid corner, while fully sideloaded, to reduce torque and catch a slide. "it's a very comfortable car" says Alonso towards the end...

It would have been nice to have some lap times for comparison but they were running on a non standard configuration of Fiorano so the 1:31 laps are not comparable to the official 458 record time of 1:25. 1:25 is the same lap time as the stripped out, track oriented 430 Scuderia, pretty awesome for a fully GT car. If you want to play guessing games on the inevitable future hardcore version, the 458 Challege laps in the 1:16s, add a few seconds for tires and you get the idea! Lust.


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Ferrari 458 GT2 First Picture

Testing at Fiorano last week. The competition... probably not happy about this.

Some technical details have emerged today:

Power with ACO mandated restrictors is around 470hp. That's 100 less than the 458 Italia street car and 30 less than the 4 liter engined F430 GT2.

6 speed paddle shifter.

18" wheels (vs 19 on the Challenge).

Weight is, again ACO mandated minimum, 1245 kg / 2745 lbs, up 27 kg / 60 lbs from the 430.


(via Luke-Hazard).

Magnum P.I. Alert!: Ferrari 458 GTS

Get your mustache and hawaiian shirt ready if this targa topped variant turns out to be true. The rumor is that Ferrari will opt for a removable hardtop (or as some suggested, a Superamerica like flip top) so as not to compete with the hard top convertible California, a car not in the Maranello lineup when the 430 Spyder was for sale.

The last GTS was the 355 and before that of course Ferrari went "targa" with the 308 and the Dino 246 GTS.



(photos: M.Alreshaid, Laurent Duchene)



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Ferrari's awesome achievement.

Forget the sensationalist headlines about a few examples burning to the ground, Ferrari was really on fire when Evo tested the 458 Italia on its reference track and Maranello's latest managed a lap 1.5 seconds faster than the already fantastic 430 Scuderia.

What makes this incredible is that the 458 is not meant to be a track focused special, it's very much conceived, let's say, as a 911 Turbo rather than a GT3. The 458 weight in on the EVO scales at 3370lbs (1529kg) and is not running the Scuderia's Pirelli Corsa tires but rather a more everyday Michelin Pilot, albeit a special version developed specifically for the car.

A note of caution though, at the Nürburgring, a slightly heavier 458 was only one second faster than a Scuderia (7:38) as tested by Sport Auto. whatever the numbers, the potential of a 458 Scuderia (or CS) makes our mouth water!



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Instant Depreciation

Ferrari owners have a reputation, it's not a good one. It's been that way forever as Il Commendatore famously said "there are Ferrari owners and Ferrari drivers".

Question is, crashing your just delivered 458 right outside the Ferrari factory gates after doing burnouts and pulls on Maranello city streets makes it
A: epically embarrassing or
B: more convenient for repairs?

Well, they do say cars depreciate as soon as they leave the showroom...


(cvdzijden/YouTube)

Ok so thanks to one of our readers, the facts of the case emerge and spoil it a little bit: the car is claimed to be a rental which in turn explains whi renting exotics is so expensive! Let's face it, if you were going to crash a $200k + rental, more fun to do it at the Nurburgring than on a back street of Maranello. A further win would be that you might make Darwin happy! Win.

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Will Eric Clapton get his V12 458 Italia?

(photo: Phillip Pluecke)

Or would that be a 4612 Leyla?
Anyway, there is this rumor, you may have heard about it, that long time Ferrari fan Capt. Slowhand has asked Maranello to make him a 458 Italia with a v12 engine from a 599GTB. Ferrari is said to be "thinking about it".

True or just a rumor? We say do it: 620HP in a chassis that is faster than the Enzo around Fiorano? That can only result in a massive win.

Auto Sport und Motor recently tested a 458 and came up with these numbers:
0-100km/h (62mph) 3.4
0-200km/h (124mph) 10.4
0-300km/h (186mph) 32.4 (the Carrera GT did it in 34.2 and 997 GT2 in 35.4)
Weight: 1544 kg-3404 lbs




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Ferrari 458 Challenge

We're not 100% sure but the car has all the right accessories and the the right tires and it was photographed in the garage at Vallelunga...you draw your own conclusions!

(thanks Debi)


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Ferrari 458 Five Minutes at Fiorano.

Five minutes around Fiorano with Ferrari's legendary test driver Dario Benuzzi.

Interesting about the 458 is Ferrari's claim, confirmed by all the reviews I've read so far, that the car achieves its maximum performance with the the driver aids on, albeit on their most "aggressive" settings. On this "RACE" setting, the traction control, more than a "nanny", is a performance aid along the lines of what was used in F1 a few years ago. Probably involves more than an adjustment, a leap of faith: just stay flat in corners where you would normally would run partial throttle ( Imagine the esses at VIR...) and let the car sort it out!

Of course Ferrari saw fit to allow the driver the choice to go slower, or to try and prove them wrong, by turning off separately, traction and stability controls. Rubber will be burned!

(autoDigest.it)


Home

Ferrari 458 in Car Sound Porn

Nobody makes a better sounding v8.


(thanks AD!)


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Ferrari 458: First Video Review

Autocar got to drive and review the Ferrari 458 Italia. Stunning looking car, super bold of Ferrari to finally put a lid on the luddites and not offering a manual transmission and once again pushing the envelope as far as driver interface. They'll be lots of mooing about the lack of a manual shifter but Ferrari has the clout to tell it like it is, a gated shifter is an inferior engineering-performance solution!



Read Autocar's review

after the jump you can see EVO's review...

More Ferrari 458 Italia than you can watch...

What look to be out takes and b-roll from the official launch clips at Mugello was "leaked" to the net. I find the car stunning but I hear a lot of people are not convinced by the looks. What will be unquestioned will be its performance.... let's just say 430 Scuderia owners should get the highest price while they can, the 458 is lapping Fiorano in Enzo territory!

In other surprising Ferrari news, Maranello will enter the Bentley GT market with the successor to the 612 Scaglietti. Codenamed F151 it will be a 600+hp v12, full 4 seater with luggage space and all wheel drive.


(youtube/Debi)
More after the jump

Ferrari 458 Italia Ordering Guide

Let me one up, in friendly way of course, all the big sites who recently published a dutch price list: you will of course have to brush up on your Italian but, I'm sure you'll get the gist of this Ferrari 458 Italia ordering guide. Have fun!

Download the full .pdf HERE


More Ferrari 458 Italia on Axis

More Ferrari 458 Italia pictures

There was a showing for Maranello employees last week and pictures were "leaked" via a gaming forum? OK...
(remember how the fake Cayman Wagon pictures were spread? keep your salt handy!)
Anyway, the only differences I see from previous pictures are the wheels, anyone spot anything else?


(bad music alert...)



More Ferrari 458 Italia news

So what will the Ferrari 458 Italia be like?

An evolutionary step similar to the step up from the 360 Modena to the F430. Insiders who have had a chance to drive the car say it has better turn in then the f430 Scuderia and less understeer at the limit. The improved rear suspension design will give the car traction on corner exit on par with a Porsche GT2.

Also some interesting tidbits from Italy's top car mag, Quattroruote. Apparently, though the design of the car has been finalized, Ferrari is playing games with the pictures it has released so far. The car's appearance will be somewhat different especially the nose and the sides which will both be more aggressive in styling that what you see now. The nose will feature an elastic "lip" which will change in shape as speed increases and there will also be other movable aerodynamic parts on the car.

As a side note, Dany Bahar, Ferrari's Global Brand Manager who came to Maranello two years ago from Red Bull, has very suddenly "resigned". It is rumored that he had personally bought into as much as 20% of Lotus and this did not sit well with Ferrari's management, for obvious reasons.

And here is the rest of it.