Clarkson on the Ferrari 458
#1
04-01-2010 | 02:13 PM
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From: Zoo York
Clarkson on the Ferrari 458 
"Writers on car magazines like to say that they've driven new cars ‘at the limit'. When the truth is they have been round the block a few times and maybe to the pub. Well, this time, I really can say, hand on heart, that I have driven the new Ferrari 458 ‘at the raggedy edge of what's possible'. Not just for a brief moment. But for hour after hour after hour. And at no point did I exceed 37mph.
As I said on the television recently, the Italia is the only car I was really looking forward to this year. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, Pininfarina has pulled its finger out this time and produced the first properly pretty Ferrari since the 308, 30 years ago.
Yes I know it's all very smooth and so on, and that its front end is made from a deformable plastic that changes shape as you go faster. But I don't really care about any of that. In the same way that I don't care about Keira Knightley's eating habits.
Mostly though, I was looking forward to this car because of the power. The old 430 - which was by no means a slouch - produced 483bhp. The 458 wades into battle with an incredible 562 and an engine that revs to a stratospheric 9,000. Apparently. As a result, 0 to 62 is dealt with in 3.4 seconds. The top speed is 202mph, and the chaps down the road at Lamborghini must now be wondering how to respond with the forthcoming Gallardo replacement. Make a bet: it won't produce 561
Sadly, there is a price for the extra oomph and all the attendant electro-trickery needed to remind customers that Ferrari has a Formula One team as well. The 458 Italia is £169,545. That's 30 grand more than the car it replaces and means that for the first time in a while, the baby mid-engined car in Ferrari's range is not the cheapest. You want a Fezza on a shoestring now, you buy the California.
I suspect, however, that if you want the best, you buy the Italia. That's why I was so looking forward to driving it, and that's why I was so disappointed to find, on the day it was due to be delivered to my house, that the weather was having a period.
Most of the snow had gone in most of the country. But not where I live. Where I live, it had been converted into a giant ice cube, and because where I live is Oxfordshire where the council will only grit bus lanes and cycle paths, the roads were more slippery than a pensioner's shoes.
I was assured by the man from Ferrari that such things would not trouble the new supercar; that while the headline figures suggest a rip-snorting monster with water-boatman agility, it is mainly about refinement and ease of use and that no matter what weather conditions happened to be prevailing at the time, he'd have no trouble getting it up my drive.
This turned out to be somewhat wide of the mark. The Fezza made it through the gates, skidded about a bit and that was that. So for two days, it looked like Cheshire round here, like I'd parked my flash new motor near the road so it could be seen by neighbours, and then walked to the house.
On the final day of its visit to the Cotswolds, I thought the weather had improved enough for me to go for a drive. But I was wrong. It hadn't - a point that became blindingly obvious on the first bend I encountered."
Full story on Top Gear
Anyways I hope to see a proper review of this car on Top Gear sooner than later...
#3
04-02-2010 | 04:13 PM
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From: Minnesota
He makes a great point about the new steering wheel. I hadn't thought about it before but it's got to be an absolutely nightmare to operate the turn signals, wipers, etc while driving, especially if the road gets twisty at all.
That being said, I can't wait for a review on the show and a lap around the track.
That being said, I can't wait for a review on the show and a lap around the track.
#7
04-02-2010 | 06:08 PM
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From: Fort Lauderdale, FL
He makes a great point about the new steering wheel. I hadn't thought about it before but it's got to be an absolutely nightmare to operate the turn signals, wipers, etc while driving, especially if the road gets twisty at all.
That being said, I can't wait for a review on the show and a lap around the track.
That being said, I can't wait for a review on the show and a lap around the track.
This car is the Chuck Norris of cars.
#10
04-02-2010 | 08:25 PM
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From: Mulholland Drive