Configuring Ferrari 458 Italia

Ferrari sent me a link to its new online configurator for the just-presented 458 Italia. It’s one of the benefits of owning a Ferrari…of course Ferrari doesn’t take into consideration that the combined values of my 328 GTS and 308 GT4 wouldn’t cover the sales tax on a 458 Italia.

Despite the undeniable fact that it will take a minimum of 25 years of depreciation before affording one, I decided to create one to my specifications. I like to stand out in a crowd — except to police, so I’m going not for Rossa Corsa (red), but for TdF Blue with black and charcoal interior.

As with most Ferraris, color has a drastic effect on the overall presence of the vehicle. To me, black (angry), silver (sporty) and TdF (elegant) look great.

What do you think?

Ferrari 458 Italia: The Best Just Got Better

The wait is finally over. Ferrari has unveiled the 458 Italia, one of the most anticipated debuts of the Frankfurt auto show, and it is stunning.

We’ll say this up front — we fell in love with this car the moment we saw the the pre-release photos and videos. The 458 is one hot car, and judging from the specs, a force to be reckoned with on the street.

The new 4,499 cc V8 engine produces 570 horsepower and 398 foot-pounds of torque. The F1-derived dual-clutch gearbox and superlight 3,042-pound dry weight (3.274 ready to drive) mean the 458 Italia shoots from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 3.4 seconds. Top speed is just a hair over 200 mph.

To read the specs, it seems the 458 can’t get any better. For starters, it has an ideal weight balance for a mid-engined sports car – 58 percent rear, 42 percent front. More F1-derived tech includes the electronic control system that Ferrari says guarantees optimal performance in all conditions. The new suspension, featuring twin wishbones with L-arms up front and a multilink setup out back, is tuned for maximum handling. The F430 is one of the best-handling cars on the planet, and the 458 promises to raise the standard.

For all the performance, the Ferrari emits a relatively low (for its class) 307 g/km of CO2. Fuel consumption is 13.3 liters per 100 kilometers on the Euro combined cycle, which by our count is roughly 17.1 mpg. Ferrari says it sets a new standard for the class, and that fuel economy figure is on par with the Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Corvette and Audi S5, to name a few.

As if the Italia’s stunning looks aren’t enough, the bodywork up front also features small aeroelastic winglets which generate downforce and, as speed rises, deform to reduce the section of the radiator intake and cut drag. The drag and downforce numbers are as impressive as the looks: A Cd 0.33 for drag and Cl 0.36 for downforce. At 200 km/h the 458 puts out 140 kilograms of downforce and no less than 360 kilos at top speed.

Faster yet smoother changes are on tap with this latest iteration of the best gearbox on the planet. Thanks to two separate input shafts and a liberal dose of F1 tech, Ferrari says the gear shifting time is essentially zero and there is no interruption in power sent to the wheels. The new E-Diff gearbox is lighter and more compact than the unit found in the F430.

No price was announced at the Frankfurt debut, but whatever the bottom line is, we are sure it will be worth every penny.

Edo Competition Turns The Ferrari Enzo Into Street-Legal XX Evolution

Despite only 400 Ferrari Enzos being produced in total (not including the even more extreme FXX and FXX Evolution models), German tuner Edo Competition has managed to turn the ultra-rare supercar into a street-legal version of the FXX Evolution.



For anyone unfamiliar with the FXX and FXX Evolution, the cars are a development test-bed for new technologies that will eventually filter across to Ferrari’s road cars. Those few lucky owners are given the chance to drive it regularly on Ferrari’s Fiorano test track in Italy, where the automaker’s own engineers compile useful data from the track sessions to help develop future models.

For this reason, the FXX cars were never intended to be driven on public roads. That was never going to stop Edo Competition’s founder Edo Karabegovic, who saw modifying them as a challenge. One year ago we saw Edo Competition modify the FXX to make it street legal and now the company has taken the Enzo and essentially converted it into a street-legal version of the FXX Evolution.

A bump in displacement from 6.0 to 6.3-liters, new camshafts, new titanium valve spring retainers and connecting rods, modified cylinder heads, new high performance exhaust headers, high flow catalytic converters, mufflers and air filters: that's the scope of Edo Competition's engine modifications. The standard hydraulic tappets are replaced with newly developed solid tappets, enabling the 12 cylinder engine to rev to an incredible 9,600 rpm. Additionally, the intake system of the V-12 was modified, a new high performance clutch--available with “strada” or “pista” friction pads--and a more powerful oil pump were installed. The power output is increased by 180 to 840 horsepower. Without mufflers more than 860 horsepower is possible. The maximum torque of 575 pound-feet is available at 5,800 rpm.

While the power output is increased, the Enzo's weight is decreased by a respectable 220 pounds. The result in numerical terms is that the Edo-prepped “Enzo XX Evolution” accelerates from 0 -62 mph in 3.2 seconds, 124 mph in 9.0 seconds and 186 mph in just 19 seconds. The top speed exceeds 242 mph.

The acoustical side of things are obviously not being neglected. A stainless steel muffler featuring remote-controlled butterfly valves is available on request. This setup lets the driver switch the high performance exhaust between two different sound levels.

In terms of the drivetrain, while the production Enzo takes 110 milliseconds for gear shifts, the Edo Enzo XX Evolution shift times are reduced to an incredible 60 milliseconds. For comparison, an F1 car shifts in 40 milliseconds.

Other mods include a race-spec suspension set-up from KW Automotive that features low-friction 3-way adjustable shock absorbers, tire pressure monitoring systems, Edo Competition wheels, and several aerodynamic aids.

A test day with an instructor, mechanics, data logging, transport and hospitality is include

Ferrari 458 Italia Configurator

In the midst of all the IAA 2009 press releases, Ferrari managed to find time to give us an online 458 Italia configurator. Along with the new peak into what the option’s list will be, they offered us a few more photo’s which we’ve included at the end of this post.

To get you started we’ve included a few pictures of our 458 Italia, inside and out! We started off with a Nero exterior alongside some 20-inch forged sport rims. Next we chose to add an Argento Alluminio colouring to the brake callipers and ticked the tyre pressure check, Scuderia shields, front and rear parking sensors and the rest of the options.

The interior was the tricky part. We’ve never really had a thing for Ferrari interiors. However, after a running through the options we went two-tone with Nero as our main colour and Sabbia to finish it off! Bianco stitching seemed to look fine so we ticked that box. We stuck to all the standard colours after this and finished our 458 Italia off with Alcantara arm rest’s, Ipod connection and Sat-Nav!

Ferrari 458 Italia at the Frankfurt Auto Show

Ferrari 458 Italia at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

Short of a test drive or actually owning one, this is the next best thing... the official Ferrari 458 Italia Movie! As we've seen this past week the new Fezza has made it's public debut at this year's Frankfurt Auto Show.

It's the official movie for the F430 replacement as is surprisingly good! It's not full of cheesy-ness and features a red and yellow 458 on a race track in a toe-to-toe battle. Filmed on the Mugello circuit in the Tuscan hills the two cars "play" together for a lap of the track.

Seeing the car in action and hearing the wonderful 4.5 liter V8 using every last one of its 562 horsepower is a treat, and I have personally watched this film, well... several times.

Enjoy the movie, it helps if your volume knob goes up to 11, and the slideshow!